U.S. to Set Up Special L.A. Crime Task Force
In an effort to stem increasing violence on urban streets, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms announced Tuesday that special anti-crime task forces will be formed in Los Angeles and seven other cities.
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will be assigned to the bureau to arrest and prosecute three categories of criminals: armed felons who have three prior convictions, armed drug traffickers, and suppliers of illegal guns.
Andrew Vita, special agent in charge of the bureau’s Los Angeles office, said that a number of recent laws enacted by Congress provide tough penalties for those who use firearms while trafficking in drugs or in the commission of violent crimes.
The task forces also will operate in New York, Chicago, Miami, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Detroit and Washington.
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