FBI ANNOUNCES NEW SAFE STREETS TASK FORCE
FOR NORTHEASTERN ALABAMA

Birmingham - Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Carmen S. Adams announced today the newly formed Safe Streets Task Force (SSTF) for Northeastern Alabama. These task forces pursue violent gangs through sustained, proactive, coordinated investigations to obtain prosecutions under the U.S. Code, Titles 18 and 21, including violations such as racketeering, drug conspiracy, and firearms violations. The Safe Streets Task Force expands cooperation and communication among all law enforcement at every level, increasing productivity and avoiding duplication of investigative efforts. The SSTF will serve as a force multiplier in a combined effort to disrupt and dismantle criminal enterprises.

The SSTF includes 22 federal, state and local partners who will be working side by side with FBI agents in Marshall, Etowah, DeKalb and St. Clair counties. Included in this task force are the following agencies:

Alabama Department of Public Safety

Alabama Bureau of Investigation

Etowah County

Etowah County District Attorney
Etowah County Sheriff's Office
Etowah County Drug Unit
Gadsden Police Department
Southside Police Department

Marshall County

Marshall County District Attorney
Marshall County Sheriff's Office
Marshall Country Drug Enforcement Unit
Albertville Police Department
Boaz Police Department
Guntersville Police Department

DeKalb County

DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
DeKalb Drug Task Force
Collinsville Police Department
Crossville Police Department
Ft. Payne Police Department

St. Clair County

St. Clair County Sheriff's Office
Springville Police Department

The SSTF will operate in coordination with the United States Attorney's Office,
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the United States Marshals Service (USMS).

SAC Adams stated: " I told the citizens of north Alabama in September of last year at the conclusion of Operation Clean Sweep that the FBI and our partners would continue to aggressively pursue individuals who threaten the safety of our communities. The Safe Streets Task Force that we are announcing today is a continuation of our ongoing efforts to combat violent crime, gangs, drugs and those who choose to pursue a life of violent criminal behavior in northeast Alabama. I said in September, and I say again today, violent gang and drug criminal enterprises are no longer an option in Northeastern Alabama."

In January 1992, the FBI announced the Safe Streets Violent Crime Initiative, designed to allow each field office to address violent street gangs and drug related violence through the establishment of FBI sponsored, long-term, proactive task forces focusing on violent gangs, drugs and crimes of violence. The Violent Gang Safe Streets Task Force became the vehicle through which all of the federal, state and local law enforcement agencies joined together to address the violent crime plaguing their communities.