article_snippet.sent: (CNN)Job one for New AG Loretta Lynch is to create a muscular federal response to months of national unrest over controversial police killings like that of Freddie Gray, 25.
article_snippet.sent: New AG Loretta Lynch's job won't be easy: As the nation's top law enforcement officer, the nation's top law enforcement officer takes the reins of a Justice Department that has been walking a fine line between nudging local police departments in the direction of better community relations, and threatening legal action against departments where discrimination or brutality are out of control.
article_snippet.sent: New AG Loretta Lynch will need to put down the carrots, pick up the stick and make clear that a Justice Department intends to crack down on police abuse by using one of a Justice Department most potent weapons: the power to withhold federal funds from local departments.
article_snippet.sent: In the days ahead, I intend to work with leaders throughout Baltimore to ensure that we can protect the security and civil rights of all residents,New AG Loretta Lynch New AG Loretta Lynch said within hours of being sworn in on Monday.  
article_snippet.sent: As attorney general, Lynch has several tools with which to guide local law enforcement toward better behavior.
article_snippet.sent: Lynch can also apply the tougher approach of suing local departments and securing court-ordered reforms, a power conferred by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
article_snippet.sent: That leaves Lynch with a final, even tougher weapon: the power, under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to deny federal law enforcement dollars to departments that engage in discriminatory practices.
article_snippet.sent: Lynch's predecessor as attorney general, Eric Holder, generally refrained from yanking funds, although in 2013 Lynch's predecessor as attorney general, Eric Holder did deny drug forfeiture money to the sheriff's office in Alamance County, North Carolina, claiming Justice Department was unlawfully targeting Latinos for traffic stops.
article_snippet.sent: the sheriff sued Justice Department and the case remains unresolved -- but the sheriff underscores the fact that Lynch has the power to press local departments, legally and financially, to curb local abuses.
highlights_snippet.sent: New AG Loretta Lynch will try to get cops to improve community relations, end abusive practices .
  
highlights_snippet.sent: New AG Loretta Lynch will have to apply range of tough measures to fix this, Errol Louis says .