Justice Department Braces for Rise in Violent Crime
Yet the federal government, for all its vast investigative powers, plays a supporting role when it comes to fighting street crime. The Justice Department prosecutes major drug and weapons trafficking cases, provides technical support on gun tracing and the analysis of other evidence, and distributes billions in grants to supplement the budgets of local departments that are mainly paid for by area taxpayers.Over the past year, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has announced a series of steps intended to bolster efforts to counter rising crime rates. It comes at a time when the administration as a whole is anxious about the dire political implications of the perception that it is letting the situation spiral out of control.They include the creation of five “strike forces” that work with local law enforcement…