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WILKES-BARRE — The Luzerne County District Attorney’s office has announced that it has received a $250,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency that will go towards a new gun violence reduction task force.
The grant will be used to fund two new officer positions — one full-time officer and the other is a part-time one.
“These officers will be assigned to the newly minted Gun Violence Reduction Task Force and will coordinate with other members of the District Attorney’s Office, the Luzerne County Drug Task Force and local law enforcement to arrest, prosecute, and convict violent criminals,” the office stated in a news release Tuesday.
District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis has also pledged to dedicate some money from the grant to fund an assistant district attorney position solely responsible for the prosecution of gun violence crimes.
“We are optimistic that this grant and the new task force will reduce gun violence across Luzerne County,” Salavantis said.
“Systemic problems such as gun violence require sustained and concentrated law enforcement and prosecutorial attention in order to root them out and begin to heal communities in Northeastern Pennsylvania that for too long have been plagued by violent crime.”
Salavantis issued her thanks to U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, the City of Hazleton and the Criminal Justice Advisory Board for issuing letters to the PCCD on the office’s behalf.