WASHINGTON-- The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) today informed U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) that the Providence Police Department has been awarded a $225,000 grant to help reduce crime rates and drug abuse in the Citys Olneyville neighborhood.The Olneyville community has developed a strategy and coordination plan to weed out violent crime, gang activity, drug use and drug trafficking through community-oriented policing, and seed those neighborhoods through social and economic revitalization. The program received its first Official Recognition from the DOJ in 1999 and then received approval to expand the site into the Hartford neighborhood in 2004. These funds will enable the Providence Police to continue to work in and with the community to reduce violent and drug-related crimes and to help provide a safe environment for law abiding citizens to live, work and raise a family, said Reed.Four elements makeup Weed and Seed: law enforcement; community policing; prevention, intervention and treatment; and neighborhood restoration. Law enforcement activities constitute the weed portion of the program. Revitalization, which includes prevention, intervention, treatment services and neighborhood restoration constitute the seed element. Community policing serves as bridge to link the program elements together.Prevention, intervention and treatment goals include providing safe havens and positive youth development. Neighborhood restoration goals include implementing a multifaceted approach grounded in the direct participation of residents as leaders and through the development of a comprehensive community strategies plan.