U.S. Department of Justice officials announced Monday that they will grant more than $2 million to fight and prevent crime in Memphis and Shelby County.
This, according to a press release that officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee published on their website Monday.
The U.S. Department of Justice awarded more than $458 million in funding to support state, local and tribal law enforcement efforts to combat violent crime in jurisdictions across the United States, the press release said.
“The funding announced today continues the Trump Administration’s commitment to reducing crime and improving public safety. In the two years before President Trump took office, America had experienced a precipitous rise in crime, particularly in serious violent crime,” the press release said.
“The President elevated community safety to the top of his domestic agenda and crime rates have fallen steadily since. Recent data from the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statistics for 2019 show a drop in crime and serious victimization for the third year in a row. However, a number of cities are experiencing conspicuous countertrends. Today’s grants will bolster crime-fighting efforts in those communities and in jurisdictions throughout the United States.”
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant, speaking for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said in the press release that he and his staff will use the money to fight violent gun crime in Memphis. He said they would “effectively target the real crime drivers in Memphis and Shelby County: gangs, guns, and drugs.”
As The Tennessee Star reported last month, federal officials are working in Memphis, among many other U.S. cities, to fight violent crime as part of Operation Legend.
U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr said that, as of last month, officials had charged 51 defendants with federal felonies, including those for narcotics and firearm-related offenses.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Memphis Police” by Office of Public Affairs CC BY-SA 2.0.
