WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A law enforcement initiative is prioritizing federal prosecutions of repeat offenders and convicted criminals who carry firearms in Garden City and Wichita.

The Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative is bringing federal prosecutors together with local and state law enforcement agencies in the two cities where the violent crime rate is higher than the state average of 3.7 per 1,000 people. The 2017 report from the Kansas Bureau of Investigations shows that compares to a rate of 5.1 in Garden City and 10.6 in Wichita.

U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister says both cities have reported increased gang activity that fuels violent crime.

McAllister says he recently received authorization from the Justice Department to hire two new federal prosecutors in Kansas to concentrate on violent crime cases, including a surge of them in Topeka.