WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department announced acrackdown Wednesday aimed at driving down violent crime in seven of thenation’s most violent cities.
Attorney General William Barr is announcing theinitiative known as Operation Relentless Pursuit at a news conference inDetroit, Michigan, alongside the leaders of the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration,the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. MarshalsService.
As part of the initiative, the Justice Departmentwill intensify federal law enforcement resources in the seven cities — Detroit,Albuquerque, Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, Memphis and Milwaukee — whichhave violent crime rates high above the national average.
The Justice Department will increase the number offederal law enforcement officers in each of the cities and add additionalofficers to federal task forces. The department is also committing up to $71million in federal grant funds that can help fund the task forces, be used tohire new officers, pay overtime and purchase new equipment and technology.
The federal law enforcement agencies will work withlocal and state investigators to target violent criminals, members of drugcartels and gun traffickers by utilizing federal resources and intelligence.Agents will also utilize the ATF’s national database known as NIBIN, or theNational Integrated Ballistic Information Network, which can help match imagesof bullet cases collected at crime scenes to link shootings.
Targeting violent crime has been a top priority forthe Justice Department, Barr and President Donald Trump.
Barr, an ardent backer of law enforcement, was knownfor a tough-on-crime approach in his previous stint as the nation’s chief lawenforcement officer in the early 1990s as the national violent crime ratepeaked. Those efforts, he has said, helped seriously cut down the nation’sviolent crime rate.
Since he assumed the role of attorney general inFebruary, Barr has vowed to use the federal government’s resources to drivedown violent crime in cities where the crime rate has been rising and has madeprosecuting violent criminals and gun offenders a top priority for federalprosecutors.
Still, Barr has also embraced a bipartisan criminal justice reform measure known as the First Step Act, which gives judges more discretion when sentencing some drug offenders, eases mandatory minimum sentences and encourages inmates to participate in programs designed to reduce the risk of recidivism, with credits that can be used to gain an earlier release.
Western District Attorney General Michael Dunavant followed U.S. A.G. Barr’s news conference with one of his own regarding crime reduction initiative “Relentless Pursuit.”
