Operation Relentless Pursuit, announced by Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday, will crack down on violent crime in seven of the United States' most violent cities.
The operation will be led by the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
It will crack down on the violence in Detroit, Albuquerque, Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, Memphis, and Milwaukee, all of which have violent crime rates above the national average.
Up to $71 million in federal grant funds will be used to fund task forces, hire new officers, pay overtime, and pay for new technology and equipment.
"Americans deserve to live in safety," Barr wrote in a statement. "And while nationwide violent crime rates are down, many cities continue to see levels of extraordinary violence. Operation Relentless Pursuit seeks to ensure that no American city is excluded from the peace and security felt by the majority of Americans, while also supporting those who serve and protect in these communities with the resources, training, and equipment they need to stay safe."
President Donald Trump's administration has long promised to address violence in U.S. cities.
The federal law enforcement agencies will work with local and state investigators to target violent criminals, members of drug cartels, and gun traffickers by utilizing federal resources and intelligence. Agents will also utilize the ATF's national database known as NIBIN, or the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, which can help match images of bullet casings collected at crime scenes to link shootings.
Targeting violent crime has been a top priority for the Justice Department, Barr, and President Donald Trump.
Barr, an ardent backer of law enforcement, was known for a tough-on-crime approach in his previous stint as the nation's chief law enforcement officer in the early 1990s as the national violent crime rate peaked. Those efforts, he has said, helped seriously cut down the nation's violent crime rate.
Since he assumed the role of attorney general in February, Barr has vowed to use the federal government's resources to drive down violent crime in cities where the crime rate has been rising and has made prosecuting violent criminals and gun offenders a top priority for federal prosecutors.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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