[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 15 (Thursday, January 25, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S1186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         COMBATING GUN VIOLENCE

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, one effort that must not be overlooked in 
our fight to combat gun violence, is the work of local law enforcement 
agencies. Detroit's Joshua Project is but one example of the successful 
work law enforcement agencies are doing all across the country. The 
Joshua Project began in 2004 as a collaborative effort between multiple 
law enforcement agencies, to curb gun violence in Detroit's 
Southwestern 3rd Precinct.
  The Joshua Project, modeled after programs in several other cities 
including Boston, Minneapolis, and Indianapolis, institutes a zero 
tolerance policy when a gang member commits any type of gun violence. 
Any gang member's use of a gun results in strict and sustained law 
enforcement attention for everyone in the gang. The project also seeks 
to deter gun violence by increased monitoring of probationers and 
parolees through the use of unscheduled home visits and mandatory call-
in meetings. So far over 2,000 former offenders have been called in and 
nearly 3,000 home checks have been conducted. These measures give law 
enforcement officials the opportunity to proactively intervene in a 
high-risk offender's life before another crime is committed.
  The implementation of the program relies on an innovative partnership 
between the Detroit Police Department, the Attorney General's Office 
and Michigan Department of Corrections, along with the assistance of 
the State courts. Community involvement also plays a critical role in 
offering both ideas and solutions within the Joshua Project. Community 
organizations provide assistance, support and counseling to offenders.
  Within the first 17 months after the Joshua Project was implemented, 
shootings in Detroit's 3rd precinct decreased almost 33 percent and gun 
related homicides dropped nearly 40 percent. As a result of this 
success, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Attorney General Mike Cox, and 
Governor Jennifer Granholm announced this past summer that the Joshua 
Project would be expanded to Detroit's 2nd precinct.
  Mayor Kilpatrick said of this expansion:

       We are most successful in our fight against crime when we 
     maximize the strengths of our law enforcement partners 
     throughout the country and state. Our partnership with the 
     Attorney General has reduced gun violence and has saved lives 
     in southwest Detroit. By expanding this program, we hope to 
     build upon our current successes and make the neighborhoods 
     of the second precinct as safe, if not safer, than we have in 
     the third precinct.

  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all State and local 
law enforcement officials for their continued service and vital 
contributions in ensuring the safety of our communities. I am hopeful 
the 110th Congress will support their efforts by taking up and passing 
sensible gun safety legislation.

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