Feds pledge to use $3.5M in state funding for new violence reduction initiatives

Federal law enforcement officials will use $3.5 million in state money to fund a set of new initiatives aimed at reducing violent crime, U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron said Wednesday at a news conference in Baltimore. Barron announced three strategies that he said his office has never before undertaken in its pursuit of repeat violent offenders. His office reorganized, combining the narcotics and organized crime sections into a single violent crime division that will include additional prosecutors and investigators.