TAMPA (970 WFLA) -- The Justice Department is announcing more than 300 new prosecutor jobs nationwide, including six in the region that includes the Tampa Bay area.
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions says the new assistants will work on violent crime, illegal immigration, and battling the opioid epidemic.
Six of those new prosecutors will work in the Middle District of Florida, which includes Tampa and Orlando. US Attorney Maria Chapa-Lopez says three of her six new prosecutors will work on violent crime. Two will handle civil enforcement, which would include addressing the opioid crisis. One will focus on illegal immigration.
Sessions says he's able to deploy these prosecutors after eliminating what he calls wasteful spending.