MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is scheduled to speak with Tennessee law enforcement officials about efforts to fight violent crime, nearly two weeks after he said prosecutors should bring the toughest charges possible against most suspects.
Sessions' speech is set for Thursday morning in Memphis, a city beset by gang activity, drug crime and gun violence.
One of the poorest big cities in the country, Memphis saw a record 228 homicides last year. Statistics show the overall crime rate through the first four months of this year is 7 percent higher than during the same period in 2016.
Sessions has contended that a spike in violence in some big cities and the nation's opioid epidemic show the need for a return to tougher tactics compared with the Obama administration.