Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
The Justice Department’s Violent Crime Reduction Steering Committee met last week to discuss the efforts, challenges, and successes in reducing violent crime — as well as how the Department can further the steady, continued decline in violent crime in 2024. The Steering Committee is chaired by Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General (PADAG) Marshall Miller and composed of leadership and representatives from across the Department.
After PADAG Miller called the meeting to order, the Committee was briefed on the latest violent-crime statistics. Preliminary data from 88 cities showed that violent crime has continued to decline considerably in 2024, including a 16.9% decline in murder, a 7.5% decrease in rape, a 3.4% decrease in aggravated assault, and a 5.2% decline in robbery.
The Committee received updates from U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger for the District of Minnesota on the various initiatives employed by members of the U.S. Attorney community to crack down in violent crime during the summer months, when violent crime historically surges. These initiatives, employed by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country, included such efforts as: increased outreach and intervention activities; weekly, data-driven coordination with local law enforcement to identify shooters and other drivers of violent crime for federal prosecution; surges in federal firearms prosecutions; increased focus on prosecution for possession or use of machinegun conversion devices, which convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic machineguns; launch and implementation of carjacking task forces; and partnerships with the Department’s Criminal Division to bring prosecutions under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Early data showed successful outcomes from initiatives that included, for example, further year-over-year reductions in homicides in Detroit and a zeroing out of carjackings in the Eastern District of Texas during the summer months of 2024.
The Committee was briefed by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service on their efforts and successes in combating violent crime over the summer through Operation Overdrive and Operation North Star, respectively, and from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regarding the Department’s convening with the additive manufacturing industry on how to reduce the availability and use of unlawful machinegun conversion devices, which was held Friday and included remarks from the Deputy Attorney General.
The Committee also heard from the Department’s grantmaking components regarding grants and additional resources to combat violent crime. The Office of Justice Programs discussed its use of grants, training, and technical assistance to assist state, local, and Tribal justice agencies in addressing their communities’ specific public safety needs. After previewing plans to observe the upcoming 30th anniversary of the Violence against Women Act, the Office of Violence Against Women briefed the Committee on its work at the intersection of firearms and domestic violence and on an important resource for prosecutors, the Framework for Prosecutors to Strengthen Our National Response to Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Involving Adult Victims. The Department’s Community Oriented Policing Services discussed additional grants and resources available for combatting violent crime, including the award of grants to local law enforcement to hire career law enforcement officers.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Miller discussed a new directive from the Deputy Attorney General on combating machinegun conversion devices. He also indicated that the Steering Committee’s work would be reported to Department leadership, including developments from the Department’s violent crime reduction initiatives and recommendations regarding additional policy and enforcement strategies.