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Federal government announces new 'strike force', other initiatives to combat crime in BR

6 years 5 months 3 weeks ago Thursday, October 05 2017 Oct 5, 2017 October 05, 2017 1:00 PM October 05, 2017 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE – Federal authorities have announced new measures to address violent crime in Baton Rouge.

At press conference Thursday, U.S. Attorney Corey Amundson detailed a number of steps the Department of Justice is taking to combat crime, including a new "strike force" force to target violent criminals. 

Amundson says the federally-led strike force will be composed of more than 50 members and will specifically target the most violent groups in the area. The US attorney added that members of the strike force had already begun training as of Thursday's conference.

Other steps include a stronger gun violence prosecution initiative, increased funding for local law enforcement and a renewed focus on apprehending drug traffickers, not just users. 

The news conference comes almost exactly a week since EBR Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome told WBRZ she was soliciting the help of State Police in dealing with escalating violence. 2017 is set to break violence records. Broome's interview – the first she conducted on such a plan – came after a violent night that saw numerous shootings and murders.

     > CLICK HERE to read more/ watch more about the interview with the mayor 

In the interview last week, Broome suggested she was meeting with State Police Monday. Details of any meeting have not been released as of this post.

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