Graphic concept for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). (Photo: AdobeStock)
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecuted a record number of violent crime, gun crime and illegal immigration cases.
Under the leadership of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Department of Justice charged the largest number of violent crime and firearm defendants in its history in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018.
“President Donald Trump is a law-and-order President—and this is a law-and-order administration,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “The Department of Justice is breaking law enforcement records and doing so by significant margins.”
While President Donald Trump and his attorney general are often at odds over the latter’s recusal from the special counsel investigation — and subsequent refusal to un-recuse himself given the misconduct uncovered — the law-and-order agenda the campaign ran on has been implemented successfully. Certain areas have seen limited success given the necessity of congressional action, such as immigration.
But the numbers are ripe with talking points for the attorney general, who hopes to keep his job after the midterms.
“When I took office as Attorney General, I ordered federal prosecutors and agents to take illegal guns off of our streets, to prosecute crimes aggressively, to protect our nation’s borders, and to target white collar fraud. With support from our state and local partners, our federal prosecutors and agents have delivered—and I am grateful to them and the fabulous state and local officers who worked so hard to make these achievements possible. And we are seeing results.”
From FY 2017 to FY 2018, the total number of defendants charged with criminal felony offenses increased by nearly 15% to 81,800defendants, up from more than 71,200. That’s according to data from the Executive Office of United States Attorneys (EOUSA), which also offered more details.
In FY 2018, DOJ charged the largest number of violent crime defendants since EOUSA started to track this category more than 25 years ago (more than 16,800)—surpassing by nearly 15% the previous record set just last year.
In FY 2018, the Justice Department charged more than 15,300 defendants with federal firearms offenses, or 17% more than the previous record.
In FY 2018, over 23,400 defendants were charged with felony illegal re-entry, an increase of more than 38% from FY 2017.
In FY 2018, over 23,600 defendants were charged with drug-related offenses, an increase of more than 6% from FY 2017.
Also in FY 2018, the Justice Department increased white-collar prosecutions by more than three percent, charging more than 6,500 defendants.
Finally, in FY 2018, more than 68,400 defendants were charged with misdemeanor illegal entry. This is the highest number of such defendants charged since EOUSA started to track this category and an almost 86% increase from the previous year. This total is also more than 4% higher than the previous record of over 65,500 defendants set in FY 2013.
“Violent crime and homicides, which jumped in 2015 and 2016, both dropped in 2017 and will drop again in 2018,” Attorney General Sessions added. “There can be no doubt that good law enforcement policies can make our communities safer.”
