FBI Discusses Law Enforcement Priorities in Illinois

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Assault & Battery

Recently, Federal Bureau of Investigations Director James Comey paid a visit to Illinois law enforcement officers to discuss FBI priorities in the region. According to news coverage on the subject, he said that stopping violent crime and police corruption are priorities in the area. This statement was consistent with what FBI’s new local agent in charge, Sean Cox, declared at a conference about a month earlier. Mr. Comey also indicated that the FBI would soon be increasing its number of employees throughout the country.

What exactly is meant by these FBI enforcement priorities?

Public Corruption

According to the FBI’s website, the FBI investigates types of police corruption such as bribery, extortion, embezzlement, racketeering, kickbacks, and money laundering. It also investigates allegations of wire, mail, and tax fraud. Presently, the FBI is focusing on trending public corruption issues such as government officials who try to take advantage of natural disasters or economic crises to divert government aid dollars into their own pockets.

The FBI website states that sources of corruption can come from officials at various federal, state, and local levels. They investigate allegations from legislatures, courts, law enforcement departments, school and zoning boards, and all types of government agencies.

They aim is to make investigating public corruption as a priority “because of its impact.” Public corruption may undermine public safety and public trust. It may result in large scale wasting of federal dollars that are designated for important programs.

Violent Crime

The FBI partners with state and local law enforcement departments to investigate violent crimes such as bank robberies, gang violence, murder for hire, and serial killings. It also works in crimes that affect the public across state lines, such as internet crimes to conduct child sexual exploitations and kidnappings.

Violent crime investigation and enforcement is particularly relevant to Illinois residents. Over the past five years, cities in Illinois such as Chicago and Rockford (for example) have been rated as some of the most dangerous cities in the country due to high per capita aggravated assault rates, increasing murder rates, and high per capita property crime numbers that are almost three times the national average.

At Kathryn L. Harry & Associates, P.C. we specialize in the types of crime the FBI has identified as locally prevalent. Our Cook County criminal defense attorneys have over 20 years of experience and several specialize in litigating white collar criminal cases defending clients against charges for identity theft, fraud, embezzlement, forgery and theft by deception. We have been able to successfully negotiate to have criminal charges reduced and have worked with victims to implement a repayment plan, thus allowing our clients to avoid criminal charges. We encourage you to call us today at 630-472-9700 to talk to an experienced criminal defense attorney about your options.