The Justice Department (DOJ) is ramping up efforts to target carjackings in Washington, Chicago and several other cities in a new initiative.
Eleven U.S. Attorneys’ offices across the U.S. have established a carjacking task force to mitigate ongoing threats, the Justice Department said in its announcement. These task forces will be led by the federal attorney’s offices, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which will all work alongside local law enforcement officers, per the Biden administration.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the department is launching seven additional task forces after the success of the carjacking task forces in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Philadelphia and Tampa.
“The Justice Department has no higher priority than keeping our communities safe,” Monaco said in a statement. “We do so by targeting the most significant drivers of violent crime and by acting as a force multiplier for our state and local law enforcement partners. We’re seeing results — with violent crime declining broadly nationwide.”
The administration noted that carjackings are down in cities where task forces have already been set up. Incidents in Philadelphia dropped by 31 percent from 2022 to 2023 and carjackings in D.C. have dropped 28 percent in 2024 compared to the same period last year, according to DOJ.
Soon, there will be carjacking forces set up in U.S. Attorneys’ offices in the District of Oregon, Eastern District of Texas, Northern District of Alabama, Northern District of California, Eastern District of Louisiana, Southern District of Mississippi and the Western District of Washington.
Monaco told The Associated Press in an interview that there was “absolutely much more to do” to make communities safer.
“No level of violence is acceptable,” Monaco said in an interview this week. “We are seeing progress, but we’re far from done.”
“We have to double down on the strategies that work, by bringing federal resources to act as force multipliers,” she added.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
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