Birmingham police, US Marshals team up to combat violent crime during summer [Video]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) – Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond announced a new initiative to crack down on violent crime — with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service.

At a press conference Thursday morning, Chief Thurmond revealed he reached out to U.S. Marshal Martin Keely in April to formulate a plan to combat crime in Birmingham during the summer.

“We wanted to target those who are the most prolific violent offenders, if you will,” Thurmond said. “In doing that we created a list of those offenders [and] we compiled a number of law enforcement personnel and resources to kick this initiative off.”

Chief Thurmond said the collaborative effort with the U.S. Marshals Service has been extremely successful so far. Since May 10, there have been 121 felony arrests which include 23 for homicide, 21 for robbery, 22 for sexual offenses and 17 for aggravated assault cases.

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According to the chief, 20 illegal …