Jan. 26 (UPI) — The Justice Department said Friday it will surge additional law enforcement resources into Washington, D.C., to target violent crime and carjackings.
“Last year, we saw an encouraging decline in violent crime in many parts of the country, but there is much more work to do – including here in the District of Columbia,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement.
“This surge in law enforcement resources will build on the department’s efforts to target the individuals and organizations that are driving violent crime in the nation’s capital.”
Rep. Henry Cuellar , D-Texas, was the victim of an armed carjacking in Washington in October. At that time, the nation’s capital had seen 750 carjackings, with three-quarters of them involving guns during the year.
Matthew Graves, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a Friday statement, “We have been surgically targeting and prosecuting those driving violence within our community. The surge of resources to these efforts will allow us to continue to expand on these efforts and to take even more drivers of violence off our streets.”