Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Western District of Tennessee to Receive Two Additional Federal Prosecutors to Fight Violent Crime
Memphis, TN – The Western District of Tennessee will receive two additional federal prosecutors to combat violent crime in the district, announced United States Attorney D. Michael Dunavant.
As one of many steps Attorney General Sessions has announced to counter the surge in violent crime afflicting communities across our country, the Department of Justice is allocating 40 Assistant United States Attorney positions to U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide. These prosecutors will be solely focused on bringing violent criminals to justice through aggressive enforcement of federal laws.
The Western District of Tennessee is receiving two of the new dedicated positions. One of the additional prosecutors will be assigned to the Memphis office, and the other will be assigned to the Jackson office.
United States Attorney Dunavant said, “To those communities in the Western District that have been besieged by gangs and violent crime, I am thrilled to say that help is on the way. These dedicated prosecutors – working closely with our law enforcement partners – will help incapacitate violent offenders and remove them from our streets. I look forward to filling these slots promptly and putting these additional resources to work for the citizens of West Tennessee.”
Violent crime is on the rise in Memphis and Jackson. For example, Memphis saw 228 murders and a major violent crime increase of 25% last year. And the violence is not confined to Memphis and Jackson. Other cities and communities in West Tennessee such as Dyersburg, Savannah, and Covington have also seen recent increases in these areas. These increases in violent crime led the Department to select Memphis and Jackson as two of the 12 cities in the National Public Safety Partnership (PSP). The Western District is the only district to have two cities selected for this program.
These two new AUSA positions will complement the Department’s ongoing enforcement efforts in West Tennessee. They will also be instrumental as the U.S. Attorney’s Office recommits to initiatives that have worked in the past to reduce violent crime, such as the Project Safe Neighborhoods program.
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