Balfe served four years of public service in the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Western District of Arkansas before stepping down.  He has directed the prosecution of federal crimes including mail and wire fraud, public corruption, child pornography, firearms violations, narcotics trafficking, corporate fraud, and terrorism financing.

During his tenure, Balfe implemented an aggressive initiative against child predators.  Designated “Project Safe Childhood”, this initiative partnered the United States Attorney’s Office with federal, state, and local law enforcement to track down and prosecute child sex predators and child pornographers.  During the past four years, indictments for Project Safe Childhood crimes have increased 800%.

In 2008, Balfe’s office joined with the Internal Revenue Service to initiate a new task force dedicated to identifying and prosecuting those committing financial crimes and, under his direction, also emphasized the prosecution of violent crime, drug trafficking, white collar fraud, and immigration violations.

As United States Attorney, Balfe also served as Chairman of the Controlled Substances and Asset Forfeiture Subcommittee of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, a group of 30 United States Attorneys across the country focusing on the Department of Justice’s efforts against drug trafficking.  Additionally, he served as Chairman of the Methamphetamine Working Group and was a member of the Border and Immigration Subcommittee and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Working Group of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.

Prior to his term, he was the elected prosecuting attorney for Benton County from 2001 to 2004.