LOS ANGELES, Calif. (CN) — Federal and local law enforcement officials will work together in a new operation targeting violent crime, including kidnappings, commercial robberies and gun violence.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that Operation Safe Cities is now underway in cities across California, with aid from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Federal prosecutors will train state law enforcement partners and identify investigations and cases to pursue.
According to the Justice Department, the goal is to increase the number of arrests, prosecutions and convictions of people “engaged in the most dangerous conduct.” The operation aims to improve public safety by targeting illegal gun use and robberies causing “havoc and extensive losses” to retail establishments.
“Both individual victims and entire communities are being traumatized by the epidemic of gun violence, and the Justice Department is committed to saving lives and improving public safety by using every possible tool to target offenders,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “We are increasing our collaboration among law enforcement agencies to lock up offenders who are a demonstrated threat. We have limited enforcement resources, but we can multiply our efforts by collaborating with our colleagues at local police agencies to have the most significant impact on violent crime.”
So far, the LA County Sheriff’s Department, the LAPD and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office have joined the initiative. ATF special agent Christopher Bombardiere said that in 2023 his division initiated almost 500 arrests, 93% involving illegal use of firearms.
LA County Sheriff Robert Luna and Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff applauded the help from the feds, with Fryhoff saying that "having the full weight of the federal government behind our efforts to keep our communities safe from violent crime is not only important, it’s crucial.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says that since 2022 it has charged nearly 600 with illegal gun possession offenses, with nearly 30% of these cases involving “ghost guns.” Approximately 450 defendants stand accused of possessing firearms or ammunition, and others are accused of possessing illegal firearms such as machine guns, short-barreled rifles and silencers.
Other indictments have already taken place as a result of federal and local law enforcement partnerships in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Two Los Angeles County men faces charges stemming from a series of armed robberies of massage parlors in Orange County and Torrance. An Inland Empire man was sentenced in February to 15 years in federal prison for possession of ammunition after being accused of threatening and firing a gun at family members.
Defendants charged with violent and gun-related offenses face significant sentences in federal prison with no parole. Commercial robbery offenses charged under the Hobbs Act each carry up to 20 years in federal prison, and sentences can be increased if a person possessed a firearm. Armed career criminals with three prior convictions for violent offenses face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm under federal law.
The operation echoes California Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent push to focus in robberies and retail thefts amid a nationwide decrease in violent crime.
Newsom in February sent 120 California Highway Patrol officers to Alameda County to partner with local law enforcement agencies, in a “targeted crackdown” on criminal activity. The operations come as California's elected officials face political pressure to address public perception of crime, following a brief surge in violent crime during the Covid-19 pandemic.
But violent crime trended downward for the second year in a row in 2023 in more than 175 cities — with homicides down by nearly 12% compared to 2022 — according to the federal government's preliminary data and the Center for American Progress.
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