U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, left, speaks at a law enforcement roundtable at the Rhode Island U.S. Attorney’s Office in downtown Providence on Oct. 2, 2024. To his right: Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha and Central Falls Police Chief Anthony Roberson. (Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland made his first official visit to Rhode Island Wednesday, where he touted state and federal efforts in lowering violent crime rates — along with what can be done to further reduce those numbers.
“We know that progress in many communities is still uneven and, of course, there’s no level of violent crime that is acceptable,” Garland said at the opening of a law enforcement roundtable at the Rhode Island U.S. Attorney’s Office in downtown Providence.
Garland spoke for just a little over seven minutes before reporters were rushed out so he could chat privately with local, state and federal law enforcement leaders. Garland did not take questions from the press.
Garland began his brief remarks highlighting the U.S. Department of Justice’s strategy of lowering violent crime by partnering with state and local law enforcement agencies and providing funding for technology needed to identify repeat shooters and gang members.
“Today, we know that work is paying off,” Garland said.
He cited statistics released Monday by the FBI that showed violent crime nationwide decreased by 10.3% between January and June 2023 and the same period for 2024.
Despite what some politicians say, crime rates are decreasing
Garland did not cite any numbers specific to Rhode Island. FBI data shows the state’s violent crime rates have fluctuated throughout Garland’s tenure at the Justice Department.
When the Biden administration began in January 2021, Rhode Island’s violent crime rate was 61.4 per 100,000 people. When Garland took office that March, the state’s rate was 66.42 per 10,000 people. The most recent data for December 2023 was 70.9 — still 10 points lower than the high reported in May 2022.
In his introduction of Garland, Zachary Cunha, U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island, said he was proud of the collaborative work accomplished by Rhode Island officers.
“We are geographically small, but we punch well above our weight due to these partnerships,” Cunha said.
As to what can help bring those numbers down further, Garland pointed to a federal partnership launched last month in Central Falls, Pawtucket and Woonsocket to reduce intimate partner firearm violence. The initiative prioritizes federal firearms prosecutions of domestic violence offenders.
Ensuring resources for Spanish-speaking voters
Garland also highlighted the Department of Justice’s role in monitoring the city of Pawtucket’s compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act. Federal officials in May reached a consent agreement with the city to resolve allegations that election officials failed to provide access to provisional ballots for Spanish-speaking voters — which the city has disputed.
The agreement mandated city officials provide election-related information in English and Spanish — including information at voting precincts and online.
How closely the city has followed the consent order is up for debate. Common Cause Rhode Island in September sent a letter to the city registrar and Pawtucket’s Board of Canvassers alleging that volunteers found six of the city’s 28 precincts were missing Spanish-language signs during the state’s primary elections.
Common Cause called on the DOJ to send federal observers to all Pawtucket precincts during the general election.
How the department plans to proceed will be announced in the coming weeks, Garland said.
“The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy. It is the right of which all other rights derive,” he said. “There are many things up for debate in the United States, one of them is not the right to vote.”
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