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About VCRS

The Violent Crime and Racketeering Section (VCRS) is a specialized group of prosecutors charged with developing and implementing strategies to disrupt and dismantle the most significant regional, national, and international organized crime groups and violent gangs.

Organized Crime

VCRS coordinates the Justice Department's program to combat organized crime.  The principal enforcement efforts are directed against international organized crime groups, which pose serious threats to the well-being of Americans and the stability of our economy.  International organized crime (IOC) promotes corruption and violence, jeopardizes our border security, and causes untold human misery.  IOC undermines the integrity of banking and financial systems, commodities and securities markets, healthcare systems, and internet commerce.

VCRS attorneys prosecute organized crime cases in cooperation with United States Attorney's Offices across the country.  These cases involve a broad spectrum of criminal statutes, including extortion, murder, bribery, fraud, money laundering narcotics, and labor racketeering.  In addition, VCRS reviews all proposed federal prosecutions under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute (18 U.S.C. § 1961, et seq.) and provides extensive advice to prosecutors about the use of this powerful statute.

In a more specialized context, VCRS also coordinates the Justice Department's labor-management racketeering program.  VCRS provides expert advice and litigation support to prosecutors and investigators pursuing corruption and abuse involving labor-management relations, internal union affairs and employee pension and health plans in the private sector.

Gangs

VCRS attorneys prosecute important gang cases, formulate violent crime and gang prosecution policy, and coordinate with United States Attorney's Offices on legal issues and multi-district gang prosecutions. VCRS attorneys work with numerous domestic and foreign law enforcement agencies to construct and coordinate effective enforcement strategies regarding violent street, prison, and motorcycle gangs.  For example, VCRS attorneys work with law enforcement agents located at the Special Operations Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration in a collective effort designed to target and dismantle the most serious gang related threats nationwide and internationally.

VCRS also maintains oversight responsibility over all domestic violent crime and firearms related statutes within the United States Code.  Most notably, VCRS oversees the statute addressing the use of firearms in a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. § 924) and the commission of violence crime in aid of racketeering or “VCRS” statute (18 U.S.C. 1959).

Updated November 15, 2023