Violent Crime Impact Teams

Last updated

Violent Crime Impact Teams (VCIT) in the United States work proactively to identify, disrupt, arrest and prosecute the most violent criminals through innovative technology, analytical investigative resources and an integrated federal, state and local law enforcement strategy along with the leading federal law enforcement agency for the VCIT, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) (an agency within the United States Department of Justice). [1]

Contents

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
(ATF)
ATF Logo.jpg
ATF Logo

Background

In June 2004, Attorney General John Ashcroft, Deputy Attorney General James Comey, and Carl J. Truscott, director of the ATF, announced a federal initiative aimed at reducing crime in 15 cities in the United States through the development of VCIT. The cities include:

The VCIT launched as a pilot program built on the success of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a comprehensive nationwide strategy geared toward combating gun crime in communities across the country. In March 2005, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced the selection of five additional cities (Hartford, Connecticut, Houston, Texas, Fresno, California, Camden, New Jersey, and New Orleans, Louisiana) to participate in the VCIT program. [3]

Goals and objectives

The goal of the VCIT initiative includes decreasing the number of homicides, firearms-related homicides, violent crimes, and the number of violent firearms crimes. Two primary purposes of the VCIT initiative, as articulated by the Office of the Deputy Attorney General (ODAG) and ATF, aim to seek to reduce homicides and violent firearms crimes in cities where these rates disproved the national downward trend and to test the effectiveness of the VCIT strategy in reducing, rather than displacing, the incidents of firearms-related violence in communities by identifying, targeting, and arresting the "worst" violent offenders in specific targeted areas. [4] When responding to firearms-related crime scenes, including homicides, VCIT members assist the local police by investigating all firearms-related leads and ensuring traced firearms evidence. [5]

Strategy

VCIT takes a six-point approach for reducing violent crime:

  1. Use technology and human intelligence to identify geographic areas with violent firearms crime
  2. Identify the worst violent offenders, support for criminal organizations, and armed career criminals
  3. Use criminal investigations and investigative tools to disrupt criminal activity
  4. Arrest and prosecute individuals and associates in federal or state jurisdiction looking at maximum penalty
  5. Work with community leaders to develop a valuable commitment between the community residents and law enforcement
  6. Evaluate results regularly to assess VCIT progress toward achieving the goals [6]

Composition

VCIT consists of federal agents and support personnel working with state and local law enforcement, producing interdependent benefits and powerful technology of all participating agencies. In addition to the ATF, The Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service, federal and state prosecutors, state and local law enforcement officers, and federal and state parole officers may participate in the VCIT program. [7]

Partnerships

Partnerships are deemed essential for VCIT. Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies actively work together through patrolling and conducting proactive investigations to improve prevention efforts through targeted outreach efforts within at-risk communities. In addition, resources in the communities, such as community leaders and social service agencies, provide help for VCIT. The partnerships cultivate positive relationships between law enforcement and communities, resulting in stronger existing partnerships and new relationships forming. The VCIT routinely and systematically analyzes problems before developing solutions by utilizing a partnered problem-solving process. [8]

ATF Commitment

Federal, State, and local partners must work with an understanding of the knowledge of ATF capabilities available to them in support of their local enforcement efforts. ATF commits to distributing new technologies and investigative advances to help suppress violent criminals in VCIT cities. These tools increase the ability to collect, analyze, and disseminate data, increasing the likelihood for identifying violent crime areas, targeting individuals accountable for firearms-related crime, and improving the quality of life in communities. Technology, such as the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), Crime Gun Analysis Branch (CGAB), and the National Field Office Case Information System (NFOCIS), helps accomplish the goals of the VCIT initiative. [9]

Results

More than 2,000 arrests of individuals possessing firearms and other criminals, received local, state or federal charges through the program in 2006. The VCIT arrested 650 of the "worst" offenders and the team recovered more than 4,900 firearms. In 2006, the VCIT program added five cities (Atlanta, Georgia, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Birmingham, Alabama, Laredo, Texas and Milwaukee, Wisconsin). [10]

Best Practice Report: Success

The "Best Practice Report" identifies the specific practices contributing most to the program's success. In addition, the analysis is essential to strengthen future VCIT deployments. The ten "Best Practice" implementations include:

  1. Set clear goals and measure performance
  2. Develop collaborative partnerships with local police
  3. Target the "worst" criminals
  4. Use the full array of intelligence assets
  5. Maintain a dynamic approach when targeting offenders and hot spots
  6. Conduct proactive street enforcement with local police in targeted hot spots
  7. Deploy resources during peak hours of criminal activity
  8. Investigate the sources of firearms linked to violent crime
  9. Prioritize prosecution of defendants linked to targeted hot spots
  10. Publicize success stories [11]

Office of the Inspector General Review: Recommendations

According to the Office of the Inspector General, the ATF did develop objectives for the VCIT Strategy (six- point approach) to combat violent firearms crime, but the ATF did not execute the Strategy, primarily due to ATF's inconsistent oversight of its Field Divisions on adapting the VCIT Strategy to local operations. The ATF did not develop an adequate evaluation strategy to measure the performance of the VCIT initiative, and ATF's analysis of the data it collected does not support its claims of success. As a result, although the Strategy on paper appears effective, after 24 months of operations and the allotment of more than $35 million in funds for VCIT, ATF cannot definitively show whether the initiative successfully reduced firearms crime in areas with high levels of violent crime. [12]

For 2006, ATF received $20 million to expand the VCIT initiative. The ATF should execute the program consistent with its VCIT Strategy allowing the ATF to determine whether the Strategy deems successful. To accomplish this, recommendations for the ATF include:

Additions to VCIT

New designated cities became the target of federal violent crime task forces. New legislation strengthens federal laws, targeting violent criminals as part of the Department's expanding efforts to fight violent crime. In 2007, the VCIT initiative added four cities, including Mesa, Arizona, Orlando, Florida, San Bernardino, California, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. [14] Currently, VCIT target 31 U.S cities. [15]

The Violent Crime and Anti-Terrorism Act of 2007 proposes to effectively fight violent crime. The comprehensive package includes violent crime legislation strengthening existing laws to ensure federal law enforcement agencies the power to successfully investigate and prosecute many types of violent crime. One of the provisions, Improving Violent Crime Prevention and Strengthening Anti-Gang Measures, amends several criminal statutes to strengthen penalties and existing tools used to combat violent crime, including firearms and gang violence. In addition, the Flexible Penalties for Firearms Dealers' Violations of the Gun Control Act, provides additional flexibility in the penalties imposed on federal firearms licensees (FFLs) violating the Gun Control Act. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

United States Department of Justice U.S. federal executive department in charge of law enforcement

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United States. It is equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries. The modern incarnation of the department was formed in 1870 during the Ulysses S. Grant presidency. The department is composed of federal law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The primary actions of the DOJ are investigating instances of white collar crime, representing the U.S. government in legal matters, and running the federal prison system. The department is also responsible for reviewing the conduct of local law enforcement as directed by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.

Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act US federal law

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, commonly referred to as the 1994 Crime Bill, the Clinton Crime Bill, or the Biden Crime Law, is an Act of Congress dealing with crime and law enforcement; it became law in 1994. It is the largest crime bill in the history of the United States and consisted of 356 pages that provided for 100,000 new police officers, $9.7 billion in funding for prisons and $6.1 billion in funding for prevention programs, which were designed with significant input from experienced police officers. Sponsored by U.S. Representative Jack Brooks of Texas, the bill was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Then-Senator Joe Biden of Delaware drafted the Senate version of the legislation in cooperation with the National Association of Police Organizations, also incorporating the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) with Senator Orrin Hatch.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives United States federal law enforcement organization

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention of federal offenses involving the unlawful use, manufacture, and possession of firearms and explosives; acts of arson and bombings; and illegal trafficking and tax evasion of alcohol and tobacco products. The ATF also regulates via licensing the sale, possession, and transportation of firearms, ammunition, and explosives in interstate commerce. Many of the ATF's activities are carried out in conjunction with task forces made up of state and local law enforcement officers, such as Project Safe Neighborhoods. The ATF operates a unique fire research laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, where full-scale mock-ups of criminal arson can be reconstructed. The agency is led by Regina Lombardo, Acting Director, and Ronald B. Turk, Acting Deputy Director. The ATF has 5,101 employees and an annual budget of $1.274 billion (2019).

A Special Agent is an investigator or detective for a governmental or independent agency, who primarily serves in criminal investigatory positions. Additionally, many federal and state "Special Agents" operate in "criminal intelligence" based roles as well. Within the U.S. federal law enforcement system, dozens of federal agencies employ federal law enforcement officers, each with different criteria pertaining to the use of the titles Special Agent and Agent.

Gun shows in the United States Display and sales event for guns and related paraphernalia in the USA

In the United States, a gun show is an event where promoters generally rent large public venues and then rent tables for display areas for dealers of guns and related items, and charge admission for buyers. The majority of guns for sale at gun shows are modern sporting firearms. Approximately 5,000 gun shows occur annually in the United States.

The National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) is a specialist FBI department. The NCAVC's role is to coordinate investigative and operational support functions, criminological research, and training in order to provide assistance to federal, state, local, and foreign law enforcement agencies investigating unusual or repetitive violent crimes.

The Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) is a department of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) that uses behavioral analysts to assist in criminal investigations. The mission of the NCAVC and the BAU is to provide behavioral based investigative and/or operational support by applying case experience, research, and training to complex and time-sensitive crimes, typically involving acts or threats of violence.

The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force is a federal drug enforcement program in the United States, overseen by the Attorney General and the Department of Justice. It primarily concerns itself with the disruption of major drug trafficking operations and related crimes, such as money laundering, tax and weapon violations, and violent crime. The task force was created in 1982, and employs approximately 2500 agents.

Crime in the United States

Crime in the United States has been recorded since the early 1600s. Crime rates have varied over time, with a sharp rise after 1900, reaching a broad bulging peak between the 1970s and early 1990s. Since then, crime has declined significantly and remains moderate at best nationwide, with crime rates continuing to decline through the first two decades of the new millenium. Since 1994, crime rates have steadily decreased, before rising up after 2015 until 2018. From 2018 to 2019, crime rates have recontinued at a steady decline onwards from that point in time.

Behavioral Science Unit

The Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) is the original name of a unit within the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Training Division at Quantico, Virginia, formed in response to the rise of sexual assault and homicide in the 1970s. The unit was usurped by the Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG) and renamed the Behavioral Research and Instruction Unit (BRIU) and currently is called the Behavioral Analysis Unit (5) (BAU-5) within the National Center for Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC). The BAU-5 currently works on developing research and then using the evidence-based results to provide training and improve consultation in the behavioral sciences—understanding who criminals are, how they think, why they do what they do—for the FBI and law enforcement communities.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to law enforcement:

The federal government of the United States empowers a wide range of law enforcement agencies to maintain law and public order related to matters affecting the country as a whole.

California Department of Justice Statewide investigative law enforcement agency

The California Department of Justice is a statewide investigative law enforcement agency and legal department of the California executive branch under the elected leadership of the California Attorney General (AG) which carries out complex criminal and civil investigations, prosecutions, and other legal services throughout the US state of California. The Department is equivalent to the State Bureau of Investigation in other states.

Project Gunrunner is a project of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) intended to stem the flow of firearms into Mexico, in an attempt to deprive the Mexican drug cartels of weapons.

Greenville County Sheriffs Office Sheriffs office in the U.S. state of South Carolina

The Greenville County Sheriff's Office is based in Greenville County, South Carolina, and has its headquarters in the city of Greenville. The office employs more than 450 deputies who serve a county of more than 500,000 residents.

eTrace

eTrace is an Internet-based firearm trace request submission system, developed by the United States' federal government, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, that provides for the electronic exchange of traced firearm data in a secure internet-based environment. Participating law enforcement agencies with access to the internet can acquire 24/7 real-time capabilities to electronically submit firearm trace requests, monitor the progress of traces, retrieve completed trace results, and to query firearm trace related data in Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) firearms registration database at the National Tracing Center. Firearms tracing is the systematic tracking of the movement of a firearm from its creation by the manufacturer or its introduction into U.S. commerce by the importer, through the distribution chain to the first retail purchase. Release 4.0, a bilingual version of eTrace was deployed in December, 2009 for the benefit of Spanish-speaking countries.

New York City Police Department Detective Bureau

The Detective Bureau is one of 20 bureaus that constitute the New York City Police Department and is headed by the three star Chief of Detectives. The Detective Squad was formed in 1857 with the Detective Bureau later formed in 1882.

ATF gunwalking scandal US operation to capture weapons smugglers

"Gunwalking", or "letting guns walk", was a tactic used by the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office and the Arizona Field Office of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which ran a series of sting operations between 2006 and 2011 in the Tucson and Phoenix area where the ATF "purposely allowed licensed firearms dealers to sell weapons to illegal straw buyers, hoping to track the guns to Mexican drug cartel leaders and arrest them". These operations were done under the umbrella of Project Gunrunner, a project intended to stem the flow of firearms into Mexico by interdicting straw purchasers and gun traffickers within the United States. The Jacob Chambers Case began in October 2009 and eventually became known in February 2010 as "Operation Fast and Furious" after agents discovered Chambers and the other suspects under investigation belonged to a car club.

The National Network for Safe Communities (NNSC) is a research center at City University of New York John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The NNSC works with communities to reduce violence, minimize arrest and incarceration, and increase trust between law enforcement and the public. Working in partnership with cities around the country the NNSC provides advising on implementing evidence-based violence reduction strategies. Additionally, the NNSC provides guidance on how to build trust between law enforcement and the communities it serves, facilitates connections between practitioners within and across jurisdictions, and serves as a resource for knowledge about violence prevention and reduction strategies.

Operation Legend Police operation in the United States

Operation Legend was a federal law enforcement operation in the United States initiated by the administration of President Donald Trump. The operation was named after four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 29, 2020. According to the White House, Operation Legend was implemented after President Trump began deploying federal law enforcement agents to “fight violent crime” in the wake of the George Floyd protests. For Operation Legend, agents from various federal agencies were deployed to aid and assist city and county law enforcement officers.

References

  1. ↑ ATF (January 2007). "Violent Crime Impact Teams Initiative" (PDF). ATF. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  2. ↑ Chipman, David., H., Pappas, Cynthia, E. (2006-02-14). "Cops Innovations" (PDF). U.S Department of State. Retrieved 2008-12-20.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ Cops Innovations U.S. Department of Justice
  4. ↑ Review of VCIT Office of the Inspector General
  5. ↑ ATF (December 2005). "Violent Crime Impact Teams Best Practices" (PDF). U.S Department of Justice. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 17, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  6. ↑ Violent Crime Impact Teams Initiative ATF Fact Sheet
  7. ↑ Violent Crime Impact Teams Initiative ATF Fact Sheet
  8. ↑ Chipman, David., H., Pappas, Cynthia, E. (2006-02-14). "Violent Crime Impact Teams Initiative: Focus on Partnerships" (PDF). U.S Department of Justice. Retrieved 2008-12-20.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ Violent Crime Impact Teams Initiative Best Practices U.S. of Justice
  10. ↑ Violent Crime Impact Teams Initiative ATF Fact Sheet
  11. ↑ Violent Crime Impact Teams Initiative Best Practices U.S. of Justice
  12. ↑ Office of the Inspector General (May 2006). "Review of VCIT Office of the Inspector General". Office of the Inspector General. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  13. ↑ Review of VCIT Office of the Inspector General
  14. ↑ Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales (2007-06-01). "Expansion of Justice Department to Help Prevent Violent Crime". U.S Department of Justice. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  15. ↑ ATF (2008-07-01). "San Bernardino Police Department Highlight Accomplishments of VCIT". ATF. Archived from the original on 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  16. ↑ Expansion of Justice Department to Help Prevent Violent Crime
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.