The new head of the FBI's Chicago office says he's looking for ways his agents can do more to help reduce violent crime in the nation's third-largest city.
But speaking in one of his first interviews since he started the job, Robert Holley told The Associated Press Monday it isn't clear yet what more his office can do that it's not already doing.
Holley says about 25 percent of his agents already work violent-crime cases. And he says shifting more resources to that task could weaken other FBI investigations.
His comments come amid calls from Illinois politicians for federal authorities to do more to combat urban crime.
But earlier Monday, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said the city has seen fewer murders so far this year than any since 1965.
The city finished November down 25 percent in shootings, 20 percent in murders and 15 percent in overall crime compared to the same time last year, according to Director of News Affairs Adam Collins.
Holley has held top jobs in counterterrorism. He says he's now studying Chicago violence as he decides if the FBI can do more.
