While crime has dropped in recent years, not every part of America is safer.
In response, Attorney General Bill Barr just announced that the Department of Justice has unveiled Relentless Pursuit, a plan to focus federal resources on 7 high-crime cities.
Attorney General William P. Barr Announces Launch of Operation Relentless Pursuit
Today, Attorney General William P. Barr announced the launch of Operation Relentless Pursuit, an initiative aimed at combating violent crime in seven of America’s most violent cities through a surge in federal resources.
Targeting “extraordinary violence”
“Americans deserve to live in safety,” Attorney General Bill Barr declared at a Detroit press conference last month. “And while nationwide violent crime rates are down, many cities continue to see levels of extraordinary violence.”
“Operation Relentless Pursuit seeks to ensure that no American city is excluded from the peace and security felt by the majority of Americans, while also supporting those who serve and protect in these communities with the resources, training, and equipment they need to stay safe.”
The cities Barr’s initiative is slated to focus on include Albuquerque, Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, Memphis, and Milwaukee. According to a DOJ statement:
The operation will involve increasing the number of federal law enforcement officers to the selected cities, as well as bulking up federal task forces through collaborative efforts with state and local law enforcement partners.
A combined effort
Barr wasn’t alone at the event. One of the other officials present was DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon, who also weighed in on the plan.
“Drug traffickers – including cartels and street gangs – will stop at nothing to turn a profit, often using violence and intimidation to expand their reach,” Dhillon noted. “This targeted surge of resources will further strengthen our ability to work with our federal, state, and local partners to pursue the worst offenders and make our communities safer.”
Another attendee was ATF Acting Director Regina Lombardo, who stressed her agency’s role in going after illegal weapons and the perpetrators who wield them.
“Through Relentless Pursuit, we pledge to hold accountable the trigger-pullers, firearm traffickers, violent criminals and those who supply them the guns to terrorize our communities,” she said.
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray and United States Marshals Service Director Donald W. Washington spoke up too about what their personal have to contribute. “The FBI remains committed to providing our specialized expertise and resources to assist our federal, state and local partners fighting violent crime,” Director Wray explained.
Meanwhile, Director Washington pledged that the US Marshall Service “will continue to work with our local, state and federal partners to make communities safer by addressing violent crime at its core and taking the worst of the worst fugitives and other felons off the streets.”
The increase in manpower will be matched by more federal dollars, with $71 million dollars in funding for anti-crime efforts.
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