Federal prosecutors say they're ramping up efforts to address gun violence in New York City, taking on cases that might typically be left to the state court system. 

Prosecutors for the Eastern District of New York, which encompasses Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, are putting more dedicated resources into prosecuting gun cases in federal court. They say they're gathering more intel to identify drivers of violence. These investigations are done in partnership with the NYPD. And there's now a team of senior prosecutors to lead these cases.

Public defenders say bringing more gun charges in federal court could destabilize the very communities that prosecutors say they're trying to help -- by subjecting people to potentially harsher sentencing and imprisonment far from home.