US Expands Crackdown On Violent Crime With $5.3Mln In Grants To Police - Justice Dept.

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2020) Grants totaling $5.3 million for cities in the United States will allow local police department to set up real time intelligence centers to provide quick information and identify emerging crime patterns as part of Operation Legend, a crackdown on violent crime fund launched in July, US Attorney General William Barr announced in a press release on Thursday.

In addition, more than $1.3 million of the total will fund special prosecutors who have been cross-designated to try Federal firearms cases originating in cities of Albuquerque, Memphis, St. Louis, and Kansas City, the release said.

"Cities plagued by violent crime need the resources to tackle it, and these grant awards will help do that," Barr said. "On the enforcement side, Real Time Crime Centers will make policing more efficient and targeted; and on the prosecution side, Special Assistant US Attorneys will help bring more federal firearms cases to justice."

Prosecuting gun crimes is central to the Justice Department's strategy under Operation Legend, an initiative in which federal law enforcement agencies work with state and local officials to fight violent crime, the release said.

The Justice Department launched Operation Legend in Kansas City in July, following the murder of 4-year-old child in Kansas City and subsequently expanded the program to eight additional cities: Albuquerque, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Memphis, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Indianapolis, the release added.

Police in Operation Legend cities have made more than 5,500 arrests, including 276 for homicide, seized more than 2,000 guns and charged more than 600 defendants with firearms offenses, according to the release.