The Justice Department (news - web sites) is dispatching teams of federal agents to 15 cities struggling with violent crime problems despite a dropping U.S. crime rate, Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) said Thursday.
Ashcroft told reporters that the effort would be targeted at “the hottest zones of criminal activity” in cities where high murder and violence rates persist despite a violent crime rate that is at a 30-year low nationwide, based on federal victimization statistics.
The initiative also is aimed at reducing the traditional summer increase in murder and violent crime, he said. Firearms offenses are the main focus because they are often more readily proven in court than other crimes.
“We hope this will be successful early — that this summer will be a different kind of summer,” Ashcroft said.
Teams of agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshals Service; FBI; and Drug Enforcement Administration will be assigned to each of the 15 cities for six months. A Justice Department prosecutor will handle cases of those charged.
Good in theory assuming they don’t use racial profiling and such.
Edit: Read the article. This strikes me as bizarre. They’re going to send teams of ATF agents to police the streets? I can’t imagine how this is going to work, coordinating with LAPD, fire/ambulance, hospitals, etc. The DEA is always running into problems with that–locals arresting guys the DEA has up, or vice-versa. Well, whatever. Sounds like more work for me, so I’m not complaining. I’ve never seen federal police cars outside of federal land (like around federal courthouses). Seeing them prowling the streets of downtown is going to be really weird.
Federal agents have nationwide jurisdiction in terms of where they can go to fight crime (not counting Indian reservations). I was confused because I thought MS was saying the ATF would be enforcing state laws, which is clearly outside their jurisdiction (there are federal laws against common crimes like murder and robbery, but they only run on federal land). Reading the article, though, it sounds like the ATF is going to be enforcing regular federal gun laws, with the difference being (I guess) that they will be out on the street patrolling, like a police officer, rather than following tips and leads the way ATF agents usually do. Apparently the FBI, DEA, and USMS are going to be doing the same thing for their own areas of expertise (WTF is the FBI going to do? Patrol the streets looking for bank robbers and kidnappers?).
It sounds plausibly legal–for example, the DEA is already out surveilling, stopping, and busting people all over the country–but like a logistical nightmare. Also, I feel really queasy thinking that a bunch of agents are going to be prowling around in cars stopping penny-ante criminals. It’s not really what they’re trained to do, I don’t think, and it seems like there’s just going to be too many cooks in the kitchen. Plus, the whole idea of the federal government patrolling my hometown…shiver.
whee, pittsburgh is on the list. i wasn’t even aware that we were a high crime area.
i’m not sure exactly what i think about this. on the one hand, i don’t want an FBI agent staring in my window while i’m downloading mp3s. on the other hand, it would be nice to have additional manpower on the streets, picking up armed criminals.
i guess it just depends on what type of crime/criminal they are targetting.
i wonder if these are additional resources specifically hired for this, or are they people that were diverted away from other responsibilities? if our federal law enforcement is already stretched so thin, is it a good idea to pull these people off whatever they were doing and put them on “the beat”?
[edit]
note to FBI agents stationed in pittsburgh: i NEVER download mp3s.
I think we’ve got a great idea for a story arc for season 4 of the Shield! A turf war with the feds, just what Mackey needs!
Although I think you guys are over reacting. There’s probably a thread on this very forum with people complaining about how under funded and under supported local law enforcement is and how the Feds should do more to help. maybe you guys don’t realize it, but there are probably already federal agents fighting crime in your area as we speak!
Federal agents have nationwide jurisdiction in terms of where they can go to fight crime (not counting Indian reservations). I was confused because I thought MS was saying the ATF would be enforcing state laws, which is clearly outside their jurisdiction (there are federal laws against common crimes like murder and robbery, but they only run on federal land). Reading the article, though, it sounds like the ATF is going to be enforcing regular federal gun laws, with the difference being (I guess) that they will be out on the street patrolling, like a police officer, rather than following tips and leads the way ATF agents usually do. Apparently the FBI, DEA, and USMS are going to be doing the same thing for their own areas of expertise (WTF is the FBI going to do? Patrol the streets looking for bank robbers and kidnappers?).
It sounds plausibly legal–for example, the DEA is already out surveilling, stopping, and busting people all over the country–but like a logistical nightmare. Also, I feel really queasy thinking that a bunch of agents are going to be prowling around in cars stopping penny-ante criminals. It’s not really what they’re trained to do, I don’t think, and it seems like there’s just going to be too many cooks in the kitchen. Plus, the whole idea of the federal government patrolling my hometown…shiver.[/quote]
Yup sounds like an incident waiting to happen. The feds haven’t been known to handle their own problems very well as witnessed by Ruby Ridge, Waco, Elian Gonzalez (although I was all for the court decision, a father should have the right to raise his children how and where he sees fit however the pictures still looked really really bad).
If I were a left or far right wing conspiracy nut I’d take note of the fact that these are all liberal strongholds and that if the vote starts going against bush in fall they would all be in perfect position to deploy and declare martial law.
