LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – United States Attorney General B. Merrick Garland joined federal, state and local law enforcement leaders in Little Rock to discuss the progress of curbing violent crime in Arkansas.
Garland said the Justice Department will award more than $1 million in funding to the state under the DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction Program. He added that Arkansas received $4 million under the National Criminal History Improvement Program this week.
Garland says he won’t let the Justice Department be used as a political weapon
Garland stated that the U.S. Department of Justice launched a strategy to combat violent crime more than three years ago. He noted that progress has been made with a decrease in homicides within the last year and violent crime is continuing to decrease this year.
The Department of Justice is working with law enforcement agencies in Arkansas to arrest violent felons, seize and trace guns, and target gangs involved in violent crime, Garland said.