"We can make America safe again:" AG Sessions asks for 2 new prosecutors to handle violent crime in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE -- Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday, December 18th delivered remarks in Milwaukee on efforts to combat violent crime in American cities and neighborhoods. Sessions said he is asking for 40 new prosecutors for violent crime -- with the Milwaukee area getting two.

"We understand the police are not the problem. The criminals are the problem," Sessions said.

Sessions blamed drugs for the increase in violence across the country, including in Milwaukee. He said the DOJ has focused on charging and convicting gang members involved in the drug trade, as well as focusing on sex trafficking and terrorism.

"We are now adding 40 slots across the country, but this is just the beginning of our push to increase the tooth-to-tail ratio at this Department to drive down violent crime.  We plan to push out an additional 260 AUSAs in the months to come. To do that, we are asking Congress to support these efforts, and to invest in you, too. I know this is an important investment that will pay dividends for years to come and one that will make a discernible impact in communities struggling with violence. We're in a tough budget time. Crime is rising. I'm determined to move resources in the Department of Justice to the most productive areas. We have no money, not a dime to waste," said Sessions.

"We've long advocated for additional prosecutorial resources. We recognize we generate more arrests than can be handled by the courts as it is, but obviously, having the federal venue for our more serious federal gun offenders is promising," Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said.

Rep. David Bowen, D-Milwaukee , was one who protested outside the Milwaukee Federal Building and US Courthouse where Sessions spoke Monday.

"If he was truly committed, he would start with making sure that we have a police department that has great community relations with the people that they serve, treating people with dignity, respect -- and focusing there first," Bowen said.

In the months to come, Sessions said he plans to push for an additional 260 prosecutors across the country.

Meanwhile, Sessions said he believes in continuing a federal, state and local law enforcement effort in which a task force combines to target street crime. He said he hopes to get funding so this can continue next year.

Sessions in August stopped in Green Bay, where he spoke during the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children’s annual conference — telling the Wisconsin audience that the opioid epidemic was “the top lethal issue” in the U.S. and urged people to “foster a culture that’s hostile to drug use” that reminded some of the 1980s War on Drugs.

Read It: AG Jeff Sessions' remarks on the Dept. of Justice's efforts to combat violent crime: