Project Safe Neighborhoods – Louisiana Law Enforcement for Gun Safety

Project Safe Neighborhoods – Louisiana Law Enforcement for Gun Safety

Louisiana Law Enforcement for Gun Safety is a Project Safe Neighborhoods project led by law enforcement personnel.  Its mission is to promote awareness and accident prevention in an effort to reduce the risks of childhood injuries and deaths due to accidental gun fire.

Louisiana ranks second in the nation in accidental firearm-related deaths and injuries.  These accidents are attributable to a child mistaking a real gun for a toy or believing that the gun is unloaded. 

The Project directly addresses the primary causes of accidental gun discharges by educating children about prevention and illustrating the power of firearms in an understandable way.  Law enforcement officers certified in firearm instruction lead interactive presentations.  The Project (1) dispels unrealistic beliefs about the ability to distinguish between real and toy guns based on characteristics such as color, weight, material, markings, and size; (2) identifies hazards of unsecured firearms and brings awareness of the necessity of safely maintaining firearms; (3) illustrates the destructive force of firearms; and (4) distributes gunlocks to adults who own unsecured firearms. 

To date, the Project has taught approximately 47,000 children statewide and distributed 400 gunlocks to adults who own unsecured firearms. 

Most recently, Holly Sheets, USAO-LAM’s Law Enforcement Coordinator, along with representatives of Baton Rouge Police Department, presented the program along with violent crime reduction efforts to approximately 300 participants of ICARE’s 2019 Prevention Summit on Saturday, June 1, 2019.