Violent Crime Impact Teams (VCIT) in the United States work proactively to identify, disrupt, arrest and prosecute the most violent criminals through innovative technology, analytical investigative resources and an integrated federal, state and local law enforcement strategy along with the leading federal law enforcement agency for the VCIT, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) (an agency within the United States Department of Justice). Background In June 2004, Attorney General John Ashcroft, Deputy Attorney General James Comey, and Carl J. Truscott, director of the ATF, announced a federal initiative aimed at reducing crime in 15 cities in the United States through the development of VCIT. The cities include: Albuquerque, New Mexico Baltimore, Maryland Chattanooga, Tennessee Columbus, Ohio Greensboro, North Carolina Las Vegas, Nevada Los Angeles, California Miami, Florida Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Richmond, Virginia Tampa, Florida Tucson, Arizona Tulsa, Oklahoma Washington, D.C. The VCIT launched as a pilot program built on the success of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a comprehensive nationwide strategy geared toward combating gun crime in communities across the country. In March 2005, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced the selection of five additional cities (Hartford, Connecticut, Houston, Texas, Fresno, California, Camden, New Jersey, and New Orleans, Louisiana) to participate in the VCIT program. Goals and objectives The goal of the VCIT initiative includes decreasing the number of homicides, firearms-related homicides, violent crimes, and the number of violent firearms crimes. Two primary purposes of the VCIT initiative, as articulated by the Office of the Deputy Attorney General (ODAG) and ATF, aim to seek to reduce homicides and violent firearms crimes in cities where these rates disproved the national downward trend and to test the effectiveness of the VCIT strategy in reducing, rather than displacing, the incidents of firearms-related violence in communities by identifying, targeting, and arresting the "worst" violent offenders in specific targeted areas. When responding to firearms-related crime scenes, including homicides, VCIT members assist the local police by investigating all firearms-related leads and ensuring traced firearms evidence. Strategy VCIT takes a six-point approach for reducing violent crime: Use technology and human intelligence to identify geographic areas with violent firearms crime Identify the worst violent offenders, support for criminal organizations, and armed career criminals Use criminal investigations and investigative tools to disrupt criminal activity Arrest and prosecute individuals and associates in federal or state jurisdiction looking at maximum penalty Work with community leaders to develop a valuable