(NewsNation) — Federal prosecutors are “surgically targeting” violent offenders, including carjackers in Washington, D.C., to curb gun violence and other crimes as part of an initiative driven by the Department of Justice.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said there’s been an “encouraging decline” in violent crimes in many parts of the country in 2023. However, he added that in other areas — including the nation’s capital — there is still much work to do.
The Justice Department announced a surge in additional law enforcement resources that will be devoted to D.C. violent crimes, including taking dangerous drivers and other offenders off the streets. The announcement comes after District of Columbia police reported a 35% jump in homicides in 2023, the most in 20 years. Police also reported a 39% percent hike in homicides and 959 carjackings.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has already charged hundreds of violent crime cases in recent years. The crackdown includes charges against five alleged fentanyl traffickers, three of whom were charged with firearms violations in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, the DOJ said. The case was a result of a yearlong multiagency investigation into drug distribution points in Washington’s Highlands neighborhood in the city’s southeast sector.
“We have been surgically targeting and prosecuting those driving violence within our community,” U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia said in a statement released by the department.
The additional law enforcement resources include a multi-component “Gun Violence Analytic Cell,” which is led by the FBI with partners from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“This surge in law enforcement resources will build on the Department’s efforts to target the individuals and organizations that are driving violent crime in the nation’s capital,” Garland said. “The Justice Department will not rest until every community in our country is safe from the scourge of violent crime.”