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72 Temp. L. Rev. 673 (1999)
State Police Powers and the Federalization of Local Crime

handle is hein.journals/temple72 and id is 683 raw text is: STATE POLICE POWERS AND THE FEDERALIZATION OF LOCAL CRIME John S. Baker, Jr.* Thus a corporation may not be erected by congress, for superintending the police of the city of Philadelphia because they are not authorized to regulate the police of that city.' INTRODUCTION Even the most nationalist of the founders, Alexander Hamilton, probably would be surprised at the extent to which the federal government has consolidated power at the expense of the states, particularly in matters of police. Moreover, Hamilton would be amazed to learn that police departments, including those in Philadelphia, are voluntarily ceding police powers over their cities to federal law enforcement.2 Unlike city police chiefs,3 state officials generally oppose and local district attorneys oppose in principle, although not always in practice, the expansion of federal criminal law into matters that have * Copyright 1999, John S. Baker, Jr., Dale E. Bennett Professor of Law, Louisiana State University; B.A., University of Dallas; J.D., University of Michigan. I wish to acknowledge the research assistance of Ms. Jennifer Rath and the financial support of the LSU Law Center Research Fund and the Earhart Foundation. 1. ALEXANDER HAMILTON, Opinion on the Constitutionality of an Act to Establish a National Bank, in SELECTED WRITINGS AND SPEECHES OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON 251 (Morton J. Fisch ed., 1985). 2. There are numerous joint city-federal programs that attempt to reduce violent crime by federally prosecuting firearm-related crimes whenever possible. Project Exile, initially implemented in Richmond, Virginia, and being emulated in such cities as Norfolk and Roanoke, VA; Rochester, NY; Oakland, CA; Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA; Birmingham, AL; and Camden, NJ, is typical of such joint programs. Project Exile is a coordinated approach to gun violence in the Richmond metropolitan area led by the Richmond U.S. Attorney's Office in cooperation with the Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney; the Richmond Police Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF); the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the Virginia State Police. The program allows arrests involving illegal guns made by Richmond police to be prosecuted in federal rather than state court. The stated goal is to reduce violent crime by federally prosecuting firearm-related crimes whenever possible. Under Project Exile, local police review each firearm-related offense to determine whether the conduct alleged also constitutes a federal crime. Similar programs, such as Operation Ceasefire in Philadelphia, PA and Baltimore, MD, are also being implemented in high-crime cities throughout the country. Project Exile will be used as the specific example of such programs throughout this Article. For an overview of the program, see generally U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, Project Exile Executive Summary (Feb. 15, 1999) <http://www.vohv.org/Exile/Richmond/ Rchcntnt.html>. 3. The operation of Project Exile in the cities mentioned, supra note 2, is not possible without the cooperation of police departments.

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