Burlington County Prosecutor Launches New Effort To Battle Recent Rash Of Violent Crime
BURLINGTON COUNTY, PA (CBS) -- Burlington County's new prosecutor used his first news conference Tuesday to announce an effort to combat a recent wave of gun crimes.
There were six homicides in Burlington County in 2015, 19 last year, and six already in the first three months of this year.
Prosecutor Scott Coffina, sworn in at the end of March, is announcing a program allowing local police to apply for extra officers from participating departments for specific operations.
Coffina says they would be paid with funds seized from criminals.
"I call this initiative 'Enough is Enough' because I know the residents are fed up with gun violence that has dominated the headlines for the past year-and-a-half," he said.
The county is setting aside $50,000 in forfeited funds for this program.
Coffina also announced that county investigators assigned to the major crimes, gun violence, narcotics, crime scene and sexual assault/child abuse units would working later shifts during the summer, to stretch their workdays into nighttime when more crime takes place.
