LOUISVILLE, Ky. — City leaders are looking at new collaborative measures to curb Louisville’s gun violence by focusing their efforts on repeat felony offenders.
During a news conference on Tuesday, Mayor Craig Greenberg announced the Prohibited Firearms Possessors Initiative (PFP). It’s an enhanced partnership between the mayor’s office, the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD), prosecutors, and the Louisville Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF).
The initiative focuses on identifying and prosecuting repeat offenders on gun possession charges, specifically those who have a history of violence and felony convictions.
Although LMPD and prosecutors already work together in gun violence cases, LMPD Lt. Col. Aaron Crowell said these groups will now be meeting earlier in the legal process -- sharing evidence collected -- to see what other criminal activity a suspect could be connected to.
"A lot of times that doesn't come into fruition until much further down the road," Crowell said. "We're already past grand jury hearings, we're already past pleas being offered and things like that -- before they're getting the full picture."
Louisville authorities have repeatedly said that a majority of the violent crime in the city is committed by a small group of individuals. Their goal is to narrow down the evidence needed to prosecute that small portion of criminals.
"That's just the start, and it's an increasingly narrow funnel as you go forward with gang involvement, criminal activity," said Crowell, who told WHAS11 the strategy is about "internal accountability."
Greenberg said LMPD has already formed a unit and the Commonwealth’s Attorney has identified prosecutors to lead these investigations.
The city said leaders from each agency met officially on Jan. 8 and identified four cases to review, as a start. The mayor said the group will meet once a month.
At the news conference, officials said the hope is the initiative will lead to putting those driving Louisville's violence behind bars.
"There is always just a small amount of people who are wreaking havoc, so yes the bigger part is to get the most dangerous ones off the streets and keep them in jail," Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney Gerina Whethers said. "That's the whole reason why we have the initiative."
LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel sees PFP as a new tool to help the department continue to reduce gun violence in Louisville. According to the mayor's office, homicides are down 16% and non-fatal shootings are down 38%, compared to 2021.
Greenberg has said in the past that some of the responsibility also falls on judges to ensure repeat offenders are held accountable, in the form of stiffer sentences. He doubled down on that in the news conference.
"They are very aware of our view on this, of our city's need for their cooperation and their focus on these gun violence crimes," Greenberg said.
The program takes a similar approach as LMPD's non-fatal shooting squad, launched last summer, dedicated to investigating the incidents where people are shot but not killed.
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