The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded grant money to two middle Georgia counties to implement an initiative to reduce violent gang and gun crimes.

U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore announced that Bibb and Twiggs counties received the grants. The two counties have joined forces to fight gun and gang violence along their shared border.

The $150,000 in grant funds are to be used to: complete a community-wide gang assessment; create a gang database; implement a gang intervention program for 40 juvenile offenders; implement cognitive behavioral treatment for 15 adult offenders; modify the Bibb government website to include graffiti reporting; implement an abatement program for abandoned homes; create a public education campaign; and create a crime review panel.

The initiative is called Project Safe Neighborhoods.

Tags: crime, Macon, Bibb County, Twiggs County, gang violence. U.S Department of Justice