North Carolina lawmakers seek funding to combat gangs, violent crime

As a means of targeting gangs and violent crime, a pair of North Carolina lawmakers are advocating additional funding for the Middle District of the state’s U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Richard Burr (R-NC) recently forwarded correspondence to Jim Crowell, director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, expressing support for the increased funding allotment.

“As you are likely aware, organized crime has dramatically increased in the State of North Carolina and in the Middle District in particular,” the senators wrote, focusing upon the remainder of fiscal year 2019 and all of fiscal year 2020. “This dramatic increase in criminal activity more than warrants additional resources for the Middle District and we hope you will consider our request and make the allocation of additional resources a top priority.”

The Department of Justice has identified several of the priority transnational criminal organizations are actively engaged in criminal activity in the Middle District. The criminal enterprises represent a safety threat to the people of the Middle District and require a strong, concerted federal effort to eradicate the threat they pose.

“We recognize the pressures your office faces in allocating resources to all United States Attorneys, and we are committed to working with you to secure increased congressional appropriations for the requested resources,” the senators concluded. “However, in the interim, we believe the unique challenges in the Middle District more than warrant an increased administrative allocation for fiscal years 2019 and 2020.”