DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA – Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) are asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide the Quad Cities with additional resources to combat rising crime. The Iowa senators urge DOJ to establish a violent crime task force and to assign agents to the Quad Cities to support local law enforcement efforts.
 
“As a result of the unprecedented rise in violent crime, elected and police leadership from the Quad Cities communities recently met with us to identify solutions to combat violent crime in their communities and to identify federal law enforcement resources which could be assigned to the Quad Cities to assist local law enforcement,” the senators wrote. “[O]utside of a small satellite FBI office in Moline, IL, there are no federal law enforcement agencies represented within the communities. Additionally, there are currently zero federal task forces operating in the Quad Cities targeting violent crime.”
 
Grassley and Ernst specifically ask DOJ to adhere to the requests made by community and police leadership, which include:
 
  • Developing a coordinated, cross-jurisdictional task force covering the Quad Cities to fight violent crime;
  • Assigning Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) special agents to the Quad Cities to coordinate with local law enforcement on violent crime and firearms investigations; and
  • Facilitating meetings that include regional leadership from the ATF, FBI and respective U.S. Attorney Offices to better target violent crime in the Quad Cities and to discuss creating the proposed cross-jurisdictional task force.

In September, Grassley and Ernst met with city and law enforcement officials to discuss public safety priorities. Additionally, Grassley held a roundtable in Davenport earlier this year to learn more about issues facing local law enforcement.
 
Full text of the letter is available HERE.
 
Recently, a number of Grassley-led bills supporting law enforcement passed the Senate with bipartisan support, including the Invest to Protect Act. This bipartisan bill seeks to provide $250 million over the next five years to small law enforcement agencies across the country. This funding will help these local departments invest in training, equipment, mental health support and recruitment and retention of officers.
 

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