Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday revealed that the Justice Department would be giving Chicago law enforcement additional resources to help combat crime and also filed a brief in opposition to a proposal to reform city policing practices.
In large cities like Chicago, the duty to maintain “public safety, security and order” generally falls upon their police departments, Sessions said in a news release from the Justice Department.
“There is one government institution, and one alone, that has the ability to make Chicago safer – that is the Chicago Police Department,” Sessions said. “Our goal should be to empower it to fulfill its duties, not to restrict its proper functioning or excessively demean the entire department for the errors of a few. Make no mistake: Unjustified restrictions on proper policing and disrespect for our officers directly led to this tragic murder surge in Chicago.”
