Local and federal law enforcement presents a united front to capture some of the area's most violent offenders.
By GRAHAM BRINK
Published June 25, 2004
TAMPA - A new law enforcement initiative announced Thursday will target some of Tampa's most violent criminals, especially the ones who illegally use guns.
Local members of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have teamed with Tampa police and other agencies to go after the "worst of the worst."
The initiative, called the Violent Crime Impact Team, has been unveiled in 15 cities nationwide. The idea, officials said, is to build on Project Safe Neighborhoods, initiated in 2000.
The Violent Crime Impact Team initiative will be more proactive, aggressively using new technologies, intelligence resources and traditional enforcement strategies to identify the worst offenders and get them off the streets, officials said.
Tampa and the other cities were selected because they either had high crime rates despite the falling national average, or they had specific areas that needed help. John Ryan, assistant special agent in charge of the ATF's local office, said Tampa has the second highest crime rate of similarly sized cities in the country.
The two main target areas for the initiative in Tampa are Jackson Heights and Sulphur Springs.
"It starts with the thug on the corner," Tampa police Maj. George McNamara said at a news conference Thursday. "We are coming to get you."
The officials would not say how many agents and officers would be involved. The ATF is not getting any new agents in Tampa to help out, and McNamara said the police will not add more officers to the targeted areas. Ryan said it was more a "fine tuning" of resources.
The officials said they have already identified many of the worst offenders, those who repeatedly commit violent crimes. The agencies will also make better use of comprehensive gun tracing technology to help locate suspects and make arrests. Ryan said that new technologies can yield as much information from guns as from live informants. State and federal prosecutors will also play a hands-on role in the new initiative. One of the goals is to determine which system, federal or state, will yield the longest sentence in each case. Depending on the circumstances, federal gun cases can come with long mandatory sentences.
"We're looking for the best way to proceed to get that person off the street for the longest amount of time," McNamara said.
Other cities initiating the program are Miami, Albuquerque, N.M.; Baltimore; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Richmond, Va.; Greensboro, N.C.; Tulsa, Okla.; Pittsburgh; Las Vegas; Columbus, Ohio; Philadelphia; Los Angeles; Tucson, Ariz.; and the Washington, D.C.-Northern Virginia region.
