DOJ Issues More Grants, Adds New Focus Cities in Fight Against Violent Crime
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the next phase of its violent crime reduction strategy. It includes an expansion of the Violent Crime Initiative (VCI), as well as grant money for communities.
Attorney General Merrick Garland noted the DOJ strategy is paying dividends, citing FBI statistics that show homicide rates falling 13 percent nationwide in 2023, the largest one-year decline in 50 years. That includes significant reductions in homicides in cities like Detroit, Baltimore, Chicago, New Orleans, and Philadelphia.
“I want to be very clear about something: there is no acceptable level of violent crime. Too many communities are still struggling, and too many people are still scared. The hard-fought progress we saw last year can easily slip away. So, we must remain focused and vigilant,” said Attorney General Garland to attendees at a conference on community violence prevention grants in Chicago.
At the conference, Attorney General Garland announced an additional $78 million in grants for the Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative.
The program, which had already received some $350 million in federal funds, uses evidence-informed strategies to reduce violence through community-centered initiatives.
"Those funds will go directly to organizations like those represented in this room that are making strides in driving down violent crime and building community trust across the country," said Attorney General Garland.
Violent Crime Initiative
DOJ is also adding three cities into its Violent Crime Initiative (VCI) which surges resources into areas experiencing a spike in violent crime. The cities are St. Louis, Missouri, Jackson, Mississippi, and Hartford, Connecticut.
The VCI is a cooperative effort between prosecutors in the Criminal Divisions’ Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, prosecutors in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, as well as members of the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and state and local law enforcement.
The VCI was first launched in Houston, Texas, in 2022, and expanded to Memphis, Tennessee, in 2023.
The VCI works with community leaders to “best understand citizens’ concerns and to work to support them.”
“As our work in Houston and Memphis has shown, together we can make a difference,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of DOJ’s Criminal Division.