WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday he is reviving a Bush era crime-fighting strategy that emphasizes aggressive prosecution of gun and gang crimes.
Similar efforts fizzled in recent years due to funding cuts and concerns that they focused too heavily on common street criminals as opposed to major players. But Justice Department officials insist they are drawing from lessons learned since Project Safe Neighborhoods was initially launched in 2001.
Part of the program’s focus is on sending certain gun crimes to federal court, where they carry longer sentences in far-away prisons. The department will station 40 additional federal prosecutors in districts that are struggling with spikes in crime.
It’s the latest move by the Trump administration as it enacts its tough-on-crime agenda and a cornerstone of Sessions’ promised crackdown on violence. Sessions told the nation’s federal prosecutors in a Thursday memo that they would be evaluated regularly based on their commitment to Project Safe Neighborhoods, which also emphasizes partnerships among local law enforcement and community groups.