Reducing Gun Violence

Sponsor Organizations:  Project Safe Neighborhoods, U.S. Department of Justice
Web Site:  www.psn.gov
Volunteer Agency:  Mullen

Despite progress in the fight against gun crime in America, gun crime rates continue to be among the highest in the industrialized world.  In 2005, for example, guns were used in more than two-thirds of the 16,700 homicides and in an estimated 420,000 nonfatal violent crimes in our country.

Furthermore, 31% of all homicide victims were 13 to 24 years old, and these teenage and young adult victims were four times more likely to be murdered with a gun than with all other weapons combined.

In reaction to this trend of violence, a campaign was launched in 2003 with Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide commitment to reduce gun violence in America. The campaign is continually funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. 

This PSA campaign speaks directly to the offender and forces them to think about the consequences- the emotional pain, loneliness, and financial hardship that their families will experience as a result of their crime.   

The new TV spots deliver an emotional depiction of the hardships that families face as a result of gun crime.  New radio spots feature testimonials from offenders, who are currently in prison, speaking about how their incarceration has affected their families.  The PSAs all conclude with the campaign tagline, “Gun Crimes Hit Home.”