The US Department of Justice will try to help Davenport reduce violent crime. Wednesday the police department announced it's been accepted into a three year federal program called the Public Safety Partnership that'll focus on crimes involving guns.
Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski says the partnership will not mean more officers, instead it will offer expertise - and help the department analyze what it's doing.
"Whether it's street crime fighting strategies or investigative strategies. It also deals with crime analytics - how are we analyzing crime and how do we use those statistics to best place our people and prioritize our offenders."
Marc Krickbaum, the US Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, says his goal is to identify the most violent people in the city and charge them with whatever crimes he can. His office has already started looking at recent gun crimes in Davenport to see if any can be transferred to federal court.
"In the federal system there is no parole - ever. So if you are sentenced to federal prison for a gun crime, you can guarantee that you will serve your time."
And he says the Public Safety Partnership will make sure Davenport has whatever it needs to fight violent crime - such as training and resources.
Chief Sikorski also says this partnership will benefit more than just his city because he'll share what he learns with other departments in the Quad Cities.
