Garland: DOJ to deploy help to fight expected increase in violent crime

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday announced federal help to local police departments to curb a violent crime spike in cities across the country, including New York City where shootings and murders have increased.

The Department of Justice’s plan directs local U.S. Attorney’s offices, including the Eastern District in Brooklyn which covers Long Island, to create a strategy to address anticipated crime increases this summer with an emphasis on community engagement and intervention programs.

"Today, we renew our commitment to reducing violent crime and building strong communities where all Americans are safe," Garland said in a statement. "The Deputy Attorney General is issuing a comprehensive strategy to deploy our federal resources in the most effective way, disrupting the most dangerous threats and supporting the ground-level efforts of local law enforcement."

Long Island has not experienced a rise in violent crime, unlike cities across the country which have seen sharp jumps in homicides and aggravated assaults.

In fact, violent crime is down in Nassau and Suffolk counties when compared to the same time period as last year, according to the most recent statistics provided by both county police departments. Nassau County police reports major crime — which includes murders, robberies and felony assaults — fell over 14% as of Tuesday, when compared to the same time period in 2020.

"Nassau County and its communities have continued to see historic decreases in crime of over 30% in the last decade," Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said. "We continue to keep crime at historic lows by working with our local, state and federal partners."

Suffolk Police statistics also shown a decline. The department’s violent crime statistics, which are comprised of murders, robberies, rape and felony assaults, fell 38% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same time last year.

"The Suffolk County Police Department values our existing close working relationships with these federal law enforcement partners," said Suffolk Acting Police Commissioner Stuart Cameron. "We are appreciative of the additional assistance that will be offered to our department through this new initiative that will dovetail and strengthen our department’s existing community engagement efforts."

In neighboring New York City, the NYPD has reported a pronounced uptick in homicides and shootings when compared to last year. The NYPD has also seen a spike in hate crimes, including those targeting the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, and crime on the subway has also been on the rise, according to the NYPD.

The DOJ plan will provide assistance from federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and DEA to target gangs and drug trafficking operations.

Joseph Giacalone, an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan and a former NYPD sergeant said the police reform movement since the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer last year has affected the way police do their jobs, leading to more crime.

"De-policing is real problem, where they’ve gotten away from the proactive policing," he said. "They’re not aggressively going after things because the community and the activists have been screaming the police are too aggressive. I don’t care how many feds you got, they’re not going to be able to fix that."

But Giacalone said the federal could help Long Island prevent a future flare-up of gang activity, like the Island saw in 2016 when authorities say MS-13 began a deadly killing spree.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.