ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office was granted $100,000 to support their Gun Violence Reduction Program.
The grant was awarded by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention of Maryland.
"As the Anne Arundel County community continues to grow, unfortunately, so has the number of crimes that have been committed involving the use of guns," says Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess. "With the Gun Violence Reduction Grant, the State's Attorney's Office will be able to provide a more thorough and targeted focus on gun violence prevention throughout the county as a whole and within those communities that have been immediately affected by gun violence. I hope to identify those individuals who are starting down the path toward violent crime and disrupt their trajectory through early intervention before it is too late."
Anne Arundel County officials plan to use the funds to target repeat offenders charged with the illegal use or possession of firearms. They also want to start new prosecution strategies focusing on identifying at-risk youths and minor offenders in an effort to prevent re-offenses. The grant will also add an additional prosecutor to the State's Attorney's prosecution team.
The grant is scheduled to begin July 11.
