The Department of Justice is expanding its efforts to reduce violent crime in major U.S. cities. At the Second Annual Violence Reduction Summit, Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates announced that five new cities were selected to join the Violence Reduction Network: Little Rock, Ark.; West Memphis, Ark.; Compton, Calif.; Flint, Mich.; and Newark, N.J. They join the inaugural sites of Oakland, Calif.; Richmond, Calif.; Wilmington, Del.; Chicago, Ill.; Detroit, Mich.; and Camden, N.J.
“The Violence Reduction Network uses every tool in the Justice Department’s toolbox to help communities combat violent crime,” said Yates. “And we deploy these resources in a targeted, strategic, data-driven way to get the most bang for our buck.”
Unfortunately, we doubt reforms that help get guns in the hands of vulnerable law-abiding citizens are part of the agenda. It may sound strange, but cities currently experiencing spikes in violent crime may profit by looking at the example of Detroit.
