Federal law enforcement officers captured more than 1,500 wanted criminals during a recent 30-day initiative to combat violent crime across the United States, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

  • Federal law enforcement officers captured more than 1,500 wanted criminals during a recent 30-day initiative to combat violent crime across the United States

  • The effort, called Operation North Star, was led by the U.S. Marshals Service, who set out to capture the most violent criminals with arrest warrants in 10 major cities

  • The North Star effort was an extension of the anti-violent crime strategy launched by the Department of Justice last summer, as crime continued to spike during the pandemic

The effort, called Operation North Star, was led by the U.S. Marshals Service, who set out to capture the most violent criminals with arrest warrants in 10 cities across the country during the month of June.

Marshals captured more than 1,500 fugitives, including many who were “wanted for the most serious, violent and harmful offenses, including in particular homicide” Garland said.

“I know how hard and dangerous this work is for the Marshals Service,” he added. “We are incredibly grateful for the efforts to take the most dangerous shooters off the street.”

The month-long effort focused on Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Memphis, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

Marshals used their “broad arrest authority and network of task forces” to arrest 1,501 total people, including 230 for homicide and 131 for sexual assault. 

The North Star effort was an extension of the anti-violent crime strategy launched by the Department of Justice last summer, as crime continued to spike during the pandemic.

That DOJ initiative included increased partnership with state and local law enforcement, community engagement and a focus on the most dangerous criminals, such as repeat offenders who are often connected to gangs or criminal networks.

“We find this to be the most successful and swiftest way of bringing bad violence under control,” Garland said.

“The Justice Department will continue all this summer and as long as it takes to drive these numbers down,” he added.

The homicide rate in major U.S. cities increased by 5% from 2020 to 2021, which equaled a 44% increase from 2019, according to the Council on Criminal Justice.