[Senate Hearing 106-201]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
59-738 CC
1999
S. Hrg. 106-201
REVIEW OF DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FIREARM PROSECUTIONS
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE OVERSIGHT
and the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON YOUTH VIOLENCE
of the
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
on
REVIEWING THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FIREARM PROSECUTION, FOCUSING ON
VIOLENT CRIME PROSECUTION, FIREARM LEGISLATION, PROJECT ACHILLES, AND
PROJECT TRIGGERLOCK
__________
MARCH 22, 1999
__________
Serial No. J-106-7
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
?
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah, Chairman
STROM THURMOND, South Carolina PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont
CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts
ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania JOSEPH R. BIDEN, Jr., Delaware
JON KYL, Arizona HERBERT KOHL, Wisconsin
MIKE DeWINE, Ohio DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California
JOHN ASHCROFT, Missouri RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin
SPENCER ABRAHAM, Michigan ROBERT G. TORRICELLI, New Jersey
JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York
BOB SMITH, New Hampshire
Manus Cooney, Chief Counsel and Staff Director
Bruce Cohen, Minority Chief Counsel
______
Subcommittee on Criminal Justice Oversight
STROM THURMOND, South Carolina, Chairman
MIKE DeWINE, Ohio CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York
JOHN ASHCROFT, Missouri JOSEPH R. BIDEN, Jr., Delaware
SPENCER ABRAHAM, Michigan ROBERT G. TORRICELLI, New Jersey
JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont
Garry Malphrus, Chief Counsel
Glen Shor, Legislative Assistant
______
Subcommittee on Youth Violence
JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama, Chairman
BOB SMITH, New Hampshire JOSEPH R. BIDEN, Jr., Delaware
JON KYL, Arizona DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California
JOHN ASHCROFT, Missouri HERBERT KOHL, Wisconsin
Kristi Lee, Chief Counsel
Sheryl Walter, Minority Chief Counsel
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
----------
STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Page
Thurmond, Hon. Strom, U.S. Senator from the State of South
Carolina....................................................... 1
Sessions, Hon. Jeff, U.S. Senator from the State of Alabama...... 2
Specter, Hon. Arlen, U.S. Senator from the State of Pennsylvania. 3
CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES
Panel consisting of Thomas W. Corbett, Jr., chairman,
Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, Pittsburgh,
PA, and former U.S. Attorney, Western District of Pennsylvania;
and Andrew L. Vita, assistant director of field operations,
Washington Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms, Washington, DC....................................... 8
Panel consisting of Helen F. Fahey, U.S. attorney, Eastern
District of Virginia, Alexandria, VA; Jerry Oliver, chief of
police, City of Richmond, VA; John F. Timoney, police
commissioner, City of Philadelphia, PA; and Donald K. Stern,
U.S. attorney, District of Massachusetts, Boston, MA........... 22
ALPHABETICAL LIST AND MATERIAL SUBMITTED
Corbett, Thomas W., Jr.:
Testimony.................................................... 8
Prepared statement........................................... 10
Fahey, Helen F.:
Testimony.................................................... 22
Prepared statement of the Department of Justice including
prepared statements of Helen F. Fahey and Donald K. Stern.. 25
Oliver, Jerry A.:
Testimony.................................................... 50
Prepared statement........................................... 52
Sessions Hon. Jeff: Submitted prepared statement of Henry L.
Neal, retired special agent, ATF............................... 68
Stern, Donald K.: Testimony...................................... 59
Timoney, John F.:
Testimony.................................................... 54
Prepared statement........................................... 57
Vita, Andrew L.:
Testimony.................................................... 11
Prepared statement........................................... 13
Appendix
Additional Submission for the Record
Article by David S. Cloud, staff reporter of ``The Wall Street
Journal,'' dated Aug. 31, 1998................................. 71
REVIEW OF DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FIREARM PROSECUTIONS
----------
MONDAY, MARCH 22, 1999
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Criminal Justice Oversight,
and Subcommittee on Youth Violence,
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittees met, pursuant to notice, at 2:24 p.m., in
room SD-226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Strom
Thurmond (chairman of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice
Oversight) presiding.
Also present: Senators Sessions, and Specter (ex officio).
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. STROM THURMOND, A U.S. SENATOR FROM
THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Senator Thurmond. The committee will come to order.
I am pleased to hold this joint hearing of the Subcommittee
on Criminal Justice Oversight and the Subcommittee on Youth
Violence. An important responsibility of the Criminal Justice
Oversight Subcommittee under my leadership in this Congress
will be to take a hard look at our Federal law enforcement,
prosecution, and incarceration activities.
In this hearing today, we will evaluate Justice Department
prosecutions under Federal firearms laws and the success of
Federal-State law enforcement partnerships in this regard. I
wish to commend Senator Sessions, a distinguished former
Federal prosecutor and Alabama Attorney General, for his
personal commitment to this very important issue for the past 2
years.
Violent, repeat offenders are a serious threat to society.
An important way we can fight crime is to get guns out of the
hands of these dangerous criminals. We have long-standing
Federal laws that punish felons and drug offenders for having
or using firearms. These laws are on the books for a reason--to
be enforced. I am deeply concerned about the apparent failure
of the Justice Department to vigorously enforce these firearms
laws during much of the Clinton administration.
About a decade ago, the Bush administration implemented a
Federal law enforcement initiative called Operation
Triggerlock. It targeted defendants who used a firearm in the
commission of a felony with aggressive Federal firearm
prosecutions, and it was very successful.
Unfortunately, between 1992 and 1997, Triggerlock gun
prosecutions dropped nearly by half, from 7,048 cases filed in
the last year of the Bush administration to 3,765 cases filed
in the fifth year of the Clinton administration. Finally, in
1997, the U.S. attorney's office in Richmond, VA, launched a
similar initiative called Project Exile. The program has been a
huge success. When the project was implemented, Richmond's
homicide rate was second in the Nation for a city of its size.
One year later, Richmond's homicide rate dropped by over 40
percent.
Project Exile is not about creating new Federal crimes.
Instead, it is about enforcing the laws we have. It makes up
for deficiencies in State law by making justice swift and
certain. Under Project Exile, criminals are prosecuted six
times faster and serve three to four times longer sentences
than they would in the State system for the same offense. Also,
bail is much less available in the Federal system, and
prosecutors refuse to plea bargain below the mandatory minimum
sentence. All of this is achieved with relatively little
additional expenditures.
Project Exile is a cooperative effort between Federal law
enforcement on one end and State and local law enforcement on
the other. They work together to fight crime. It is vital that
this approach be expanded to many other cities. This type of
initiative is desperately needed by many other cities plagued
by gun-related criminal activity.
I was pleased that the President discussed the success of
Project Exile during his weekly radio address on Saturday. It
is vital that the Clinton administration focus its crime-
control efforts and resources on prosecuting dangerous
criminals with firearms.
Also, it is my hope that cities and States across America
will address the deficiencies of their laws that have made
initiatives such as this necessary. States should enact truth-
in-sentencing laws, tougher mandatory minimum sentences, and
bail and parole reform. They should also hire sufficient
prosecutors and judges to dispose of criminal cases quickly and
effectively.
As a Nation, we must be diligent in enforcing our firearms
laws. We need to expand successful programs like Project Exile.
After all, restricting the rights of law-abiding citizens to
bear arms is not the solution to violent crime. The solution is
to separate dangerous criminals from the deadly tools of their
trade.
I look forward to the testimony of our distinguished
witnesses.
Senator Sessions and I are co-chairing this hearing today,
and I will now turn the Chair over to him. Senator Sessions has
worked tirelessly to encourage the Clinton administration to
address the drop in gun prosecutions. We appreciate his hard
work and dedication to this important matter.
Senator Sessions.
STATEMENT OF HON. JEFF SESSIONS, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE
OF ALABAMA
Senator Sessions. [Presiding.] Thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman. That was indeed an important statement you made, and
I believe it goes to the heart of the most effective thing we
can do to fight violent crime.
I was, in fact, a U.S. attorney--and we will have one
testifying today--when you chaired this committee, and I know
Mr. Corbett was. And during that time, you passed one of the
most significant laws, I guess, in the history of American
jurisprudence, the Sentencing Guidelines law--Senator Specter I
know participated in that--and mandated certain sentences. One
of the sentencing mandates was that for criminals who carry a
firearm during a crime, they would be mandatorily sentenced to
5 years in Federal prison without parole, and they were passed
so that they would be used. And we set about to use those laws
and, I think, made some real progress. We will talk about that
more as we go along.
But we do want to discuss today the decline in prosecutions
that was most notable to me when I came to the Senate just over
2 years ago. This chart shows the Federal prosecution decline
from 7,048 cases in 1992--and that was, I guess, the last year
I was U.S. attorney--down to 3,807 in 1998, a 46 percent
decline. And as I have ask Attorney General Janet Reno and
Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder about those numbers, I have
pointed out each time that this administration has stated
repeatedly that firearms and violent crime are a priority. How
is it that we have this decline?
And I have raised with them the program that was begun,
under President Bush's Presidency, Project Triggerlock, that
focused on that. It was a team effort between local police,
local prosecutors, and Federal prosecutors and Federal
investigative agents, ATF primarily. It worked effectively, and
we increased significantly the convictions of serious violent
criminals, and the word does get out on the street. In fact,
people stopped carrying guns that otherwise would have carried
guns. As a result of that, in my opinion, people are alive
today that otherwise would not be alive today.
When you see the tremendous success of Project Exile, which
is essentially the same project as Project Triggerlock, except
it has an advertising component, which I like and think is very
good, that project has driven down homicides, it is said, in
Richmond by 40 percent.
Now, I am telling you, that is a serious event to say a
single program that costs not much money, that really depends
on leadership and commitment, can reduce homicides by nearly 50
percent. It is a remarkable achievement. We want to highlight
that today and discuss it in more detail. I do think it is good
that the President has become focused, apparently, on it and
indicates he is directing his Attorney General and the
Secretary of Treasury to get back in the game on this issue and
replicate Project Exile-type initiatives throughout the
country.
I really feel strongly about it. I felt like it was one of
the most significant things that I was able to participate in
in my 12 years as a Federal prosecutor. It really hurt me to
see it go into a state of decline, and I can't tell you how
pleased I am to see that we may be on the eve of having it
become revitalized again.
I am pleased to have a former prosecutor from Philadelphia,
Senator Specter, who serves on our committee here today.
Senator Specter is a thorough professional in this area, and I
know he has some comments he would like to make at this time.
STATEMENT OF HON. ARLEN SPECTER, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE
OF PENNSYLVANIA
Senator Specter. Thank you very much, Senator Sessions, Mr.
Chairman.
I congratulate Senator Thurmond and Senator Sessions on
convening this hearing, and I begin by welcoming two
Pennsylvanians: the chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on
Crime and Delinquency, Tom Corbett, a gentleman with a
distinguished career, serving as a former Attorney General of
Pennsylvania, and former U.S. attorney for the Western District
of Pennsylvania. We also have the distinguished police
commissioner from Philadelphia, John Timoney, who will describe
the operations of the special project in Philadelphia.
Today's hearing is very, very important. One under the
caption of review of Department of Justice firearms
prosecutions. The Federal Government has become an active
partner in this area since passage of the armed career criminal
bill in 1984, which provided for a mandatory sentence up to
life in jail for a career criminal, someone with three or more
prior serious felony convictions found in possession of a
firearm.
The program was supplemented by Triggerlock, which began in
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Federal
courts, in 1988, and now has moved to the next line of Project
Exile, which has reinvigorated the Federal presence with the
program in Richmond. We have people here today from Richmond,
and I commend those who have initiated the program there with
the excellent results cited by Senator Sessions, and we have
the U.S. attorney from Boston here today to talk about the
program there.
In last year's appropriations bill, we added $1.5 million
for Philadelphia and an add-on of $800,000 for Camden to work
coordinately across the Delaware River. And the results have
been very good, as the police commissioner of Philadelphia will
testify.
You have about 1,100 to 1,200 of the Philadelphia County
gun arrests eligible. About 200 of those will be tried, and I
can tell you from experience--a good bit of it was a very
bitter experience--how much better it is to try in the Federal
courts. If you try in the Federal courts, you have the
individual judge calendar. The case goes to the judge and stays
there, unlike, say, the Philadelphia County courts where it
moves to another judge on the next listing, which encourages
judge-shopping, waiting for a lenient judge.
Then you have the availability of detention awaiting trial
where the facts are sufficiently serious on the threat of
repetitive offense under some very appropriately strict
constitutional standards. And then you have the sentencing. So
trying in the Federal courts is Philadelphia is night and day.
This is a program which ought to be expanded.
Attorney General Reno was in this room a week ago Friday
and testified about the good results in Richmond and Boston,
noted what we were doing in Philadelphia, and was then asked by
me why only $5 million of an enormous Federal DOJ, Department
of Justice, budget is allocated to this program. And the answer
in my view was insufficient.
Senator Sessions and I and others have been talking about
having an item on the budget resolution to put more money into
this program. Perhaps it will be a little easier after
President Clinton's Saturday speech on this subject. This is a
high-yield program. Our Federal courts have the capability of
trying these cases. These are priority cases.
The Federal backlogs--and they are not easy, but if you
take the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, for example, the
civil backlog is in good shape; the criminal docket is in good
shape; and these cases can be given priority attention. We are
not federalizing any offenses here. Gun cases have always been
Federal jurisdiction. They move in interstate commerce, and
they are a classical case for Federal jurisdiction.
So we really need to emphasize the success of these
programs, which I know this hearing will do, and we need to
expand them.
I would like to take just a moment or two on a personal
note. When Senator Thurmond approached the door and his
presence was noted, I made a comment to some of the staff about
a very famous incident that occurred at that door with Senator
Thurmond many years ago. And I read about it in a history book.
Strom is in a lot of history books. Strom is a legend at the
table here today, and I confirmed the story with Strom.
But it so happened that when the Democrats were in control
and trying to get certain measures through the Judiciary
Committee. They had a hard time getting a quorum. And Senator
Thurmond was very attentive to his Judiciary Committee duties,
as he always has been, but wasn't going to provide a quorum
because the items on the agenda were not in the interest of the
Nation. But, if the Democrats got a quorum and could proceed
with committee business, Strom wanted to be at the scene. So
Strom waited right outside of the door in a position to join
the quorum, should one occur, but not to create the quorum.
Well, Senator Ralph Yarborough of Texas saw Strom standing
out there and urged him to come in, and he got a negative
response and then accelerated his urging, and then tried to use
physical force on Strom--a very, very serious mistake. And
there ensued an occurrence which I will not describe in any
detail. Senator Thurmond will soon have the floor. But it
results in Strom putting a scissors on Senator Yarborough,
pinning him to the floor and perpetuating the absence of a
quorum even by one additional member.
I could not resist that short historical story seeing Strom
stand at the door.
Senator Thurmond. He was big and fat and couldn't handle
himself well. [Laughter.]
Senator Specter. That is not only an addendum, that is a
confirmation.
Thank you, Senator Thurmond. Thank you, Senator Sessions.
Senator Sessions. Thank you. The combat veteran who
volunteered to fly a glider plane on D-Day behind enemy lines
won that battle outside this door.
Well, we will be glad to listen to our panel, and I look
forward to this. I would point out that we have talked a lot
about new laws, and sometimes new laws are important. Sometimes
we need new gun laws. But there are sometimes, I find, as an
experienced prosecutor--I spent my life prosecuting cases
professionally--that we like to do symbolic things and not real
things.
For example, we passed a bill that made it illegal to
possess firearms on school grounds, title 18, 922(g). In 1997,
there were only five prosecutions under it and eight in 1999.
That was a lot of news media coverage about this new crime
bill. But, really, when you talk about the thousands and
hundreds of thousands of violent crimes out there, that is not
a major impact on it.
Look at unlawful transfer of firearms to juveniles. Not a
bad law, 922(x)(1). Five prosecutions in 1997, six in 1998;
whereas, we have had a 3,000 decline in prosecution of
criminals with guns. Possession or transfer of semi-automatic
weapons, that is the assault weapons ban, four in 1997, four in
1998.
Well, all I am saying to you is that a good, aggressive
criminal justice program requires a serious confrontation with
the criminal element. I believe that chart does reflect that
the Federal Government has diminished its effort. I believe
that the President's embracing Saturday--the day before
yesterday--of the Exile Project is a good development and
indicates that they have begun to analyze this and will seek to
reinvigorate those joint Federal-State efforts to target
violent criminals.
[The prepared statement of Senator Sessions follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Jeff Sessions
I would like to welcome our distinguished panel of witnesses that
have joined us today. We are here today to examine the decline in the
Department of Justice firearms prosecutions in the last six years.
Violence involving guns plagues the vast majority of our nation's urban
areas. There are some whose answer to this problem is to pass more laws
restricting gun use. However, I believe our focus should be to
revitalize our efforts in prosecuting violent offenders under our
current federal laws.
In fiscal year 1988, the Reagan Administration, based on the
recommendations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF),
initiated an innovative program know as Project Achilles. The concept
behind the initiative was that the illegal possession of firearms was
the ``Achilles heel'' or the area of greatest vulnerability of
criminals. By prosecuting the cases in federal court, the offenders
were subject to stiffer penalties and expedited prosecutions. In 1990
Congress allocated $4.5 billion for the program. The program functioned
through task forces which targeted neighborhoods with the highest
number of incidents of violent crime. The Achilles program was
particularly effective in removing the most violent criminals from our
communities.
Project Triggerlock was initiated in April 1991 by the Bush
Administration. Triggerlock continued the ideas formulated in the
Achilles program and committed DOJ to the prosecution effort. Under the
program, every United States Attorney was directed to form special
teams of federal, state, and local investigators to look for
traditional gang and drug cases that could be prosecuted under federal
weapons laws. Such prosecutions frequently led to harsher penalties
than they did in state and local courts. The Bush Administration
obtained additional funding for these increased firearms prosecutions
and hired a large number of new law enforcement officers and federal
prosecutors to target these gun and drug offenders.
Unfortunately, despite the success of this program, the Executive
Office of United States Attorneys reports that prosecutions under
Project Triggerlock have declined 46 percent since 1992. (See chart) I
am concerned about such a substantial decline in light of the continued
problems we face with violent crime, especially instances involving
firearms. Some of my colleagues will suggest that more gun control
legislation is needed to address the problem, but I believe we simply
need to prosecute under the proven guns laws we currently have. What
purpose would more restrictions and offenses serve if we are not taking
advantage of the laws we already have.
For example, according to the Executive Office of United States
Attorneys, we are not even using the gun laws that have been passed in
the last few years. We are all concerned about our youth and their
access to guns. Violence in our schools has been the topic of numerous
headlines and a great deal of discussion. Currently, there is a federal
offense for possession of firearms on school grounds that directly
relates to these concerns. (922q) And yet in 1997 there were only five
prosecutions reported nationwide under this section, and only eight in
1998. In the case of the offense for transferring firearms to a minor,
the number of prosecutions reported under this section (922(x)(1)) is
likewise surprisingly low, with five in 1997 and six in 1998. (See
chart) My question remains ``why are these laws not being used?''
Another issue that we need to address is the development of
innovative programs to address crime and particularly those involving
firearms. In 1997, the U.S. attorney's office in Richmond, VA developed
and carried out an aggressive approach to violent crime known as
``Project Exile.'' This program, like the Achilles Program and Project
Triggerlock, takes advantage of expedited prosecutions and stiffer
sentencing guidelines by prosecuting firearms violations in federal
court. The program depends on the cooperation of local, state, and
federal law enforcement officials and prosecutors and numerous other
community leaders. This program appears to revitalize the successful
Project Triggerlock and them takes it one step further by adding a
media-community relations component. This program has been very
successful in getting criminals off the street and in deterring others
from the illegal use of firearms. Project Exile is so well known on the
street in Richmond that David E. Boone, a criminal defense attorney was
quoted in the New York Times as saying, ``The first thing I hear now
when I talk to a client is `Can you keep this from going to Exile?' A
lot of them can't add two and two, but they know a gun plus drugs
equals five.'' (years in prison) I look forward to the testimony of our
guests regarding this program and their suggestions for instituting
this type of program on the national level.
For two and a half years I have been urging Attorney General Reno,
to no avail, to rethink the policy decision not to prosecute ``street''
violations of federal gun laws. I have repeatedly questioned her and
her staff on why the number of prosecutions continue to fall. In
testimony before this Committee, Attorney General Reno stated that one
of the reasons for the decline in Triggerlock prosecutions was that the
Department of Justice was pursuing more complex cases in order to stop
the more serious multiple firearms offenders. In her opinion we should
not be interested in numbers; she believes that we should be interested
in how we impact the community. Well if that is the case shouldn't we
consider the positive impact that Project Exile has had on the
community. The statistics show that the violent crime rate in Richmond
has gone down as a direct result of the program. I want to encourage
the Department of Justice to be serious in their new found interest to
support Project Exile's success.
Project Triggerlock was initiated to combat violent crime, with
millions of dollars and a substantial number of new and existing
personnel dedicated to the program. In my experience with the program,
I found it to be a very effective approach. I am disappointed that the
Department of Justice has allowed Project Triggerlock to languish and I
am hopeful they will see the need to revitalize this useful and
successful program.
Senator Sessions. Mr. Chairman, are we ready to start with
our guests?
Senator Thurmond. Yes.
Senator Sessions. All right. I will introduce our guests.
The first panelist is Mr. Tom Corbett. He currently serves
as chairman of Pennsylvania's Commission on Crime and
Delinquency. He was appointed to the post by Governor Tom Ridge
in March of 1995. Before taking that position, he served as an
Assistant U.S. attorney for western Pennsylvania. In 1989, he
was appointed U.S. attorney for the Western District of
Pennsylvania and served there until 1993 and was elected by his
brother and sister U.S. attorneys as chairman of the U.S.
Attorneys Advisory Committee. I enjoyed working with Tom, and
he was an outstanding champion of effective law enforcement.
Our next witness is Mr. Andrew Vita. He is the Assistant
Director for Field Operations for the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms. That is the ATF. He joined ATF as a
special agent in 1969. He directs ATF's criminal enforcement
regulatory field operations, which includes enforcement of
explosives, firearms, arson, alcohol and tobacco laws, and ATF
is the primary agency that has been charged with the duties of
enforcement of firearm cases. We look forward to hearing from
Mr. Vita.
Mr. Corbett, we are glad to hear from you at this time, and
I believe our time limit is 7 minutes. And it might be like
court. The light will come on if you go too long.
PANEL CONSISTING OF THOMAS W. CORBETT, JR., CHAIRMAN,
PENNSYLVANIA COMMISSION ON CRIME AND DELINQUENCY, PITTSBURGH,
PA, AND FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY, WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA;
AND ANDREW L. VITA, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF FIELD OPERATIONS,
WASHINGTON FIELD DIVISION, BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND
FIREARMS, WASHINGTON, DC
STATEMENT OF THOMAS W. CORBETT, JR.
Mr. Corbett. Thank you, Senator, Chairman, Senator
Thurmond. As the Senator indicated, my name is Tom Corbett, and
from November of 1989 until August of 1993, I served as U.S.
attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
During that period of time, Attorney General Thornburgh
appointed me to the Attorney General's advisory committee of
U.S. attorneys. I was elected by the members of that committee
to serve as chairman-elect in 1992 and chairman for 1993.
I returned to the private practice of law for 2 years and
was then appointed Attorney General of Pennsylvania by Governor
Tom Ridge upon the resignation of the previous Attorney
General. I make mention of these appointments only for the
point that they gave me a perspective of the needs of law
enforcement from both the State and Federal positions, as well
as the needs and the wishes of the public across Pennsylvania.
As you may recall, in 1989 this Nation was in the grip a
sudden increase in crime, especially violent crime. We at the
Department of Justice began to discuss what Federal law
enforcement could do to assist our State and local counterparts
in fighting this wave. At the same time, you in Congress, I
believe in consultation with the Department of Justice and
State and local law enforcement, sought ways to resolve the
problems.
On April 10, 1991, the Department of Justice announced
Project Triggerlock. This was really the culminating point of a
decade of Federal efforts to combat violent crime. It was a
confluence of resources meeting strategy. Tough Federal gun and
drug laws, more prison space, and more investigative resources
were used in coordination with State and local law enforcement.
Three Federal statutes were the core elements of
Triggerlock, as I see it: first, 18 U.S.C. 922, the possession
of a firearm by a felon, which carried a term of 10 years'
imprisonment; second, 18 U.S.C. 924(e), possession of a firearm
by an armed career criminal, which applied to defendants with
three prior felony convictions for violent crimes and carried a
minimum term of 15 years and a maximum term of life
imprisonment; and, third, 18 U.S.C. 924(c), carrying or using a
firearm during a Federal crime of violence or drug trafficking
crime, which carried a mandatory minimum term of 5 years.
In addition to these statutes, the change in Federal law
that eliminated parole after November 1, 1987, and thus created
truth in sentencing, the ability to obtain pretrial detention
of violent criminals under the Bail Reform Act of 1984, the
availability of prison space within the Federal prison system,
and the ability to obtain a speedy trial in the Federal system
were crucial elements in the creation of Triggerlock.
In April 1991, each of the 93 U.S. attorney's offices
established a Triggerlock task force comprised of
representatives from the U.S. attorney's offices, State and
local prosecutors, and Federal, State, and local investigative
agencies. I stress the term ``team'' of agencies. Enforcement
strategies were tailored to the needs of that particular
district and that particular community.
In the first year of operation, Project Triggerlock
accomplished the following: 6,454 defendants charged with
Federal firearms violations; Federal firearms prosecutions more
than doubled from the previous year, and more than one out of
ten of all Federal prosecutions included a firearms charge; 84
percent of the Triggerlock defendants were felons, drug
dealers, or violent criminals in possession of a firearm; the
average sentence received by an armed career criminal under
Project Triggerlock was 18 years without parole.
This project had, I believe, a tremendous impact on the
communities of the United States. Violent recidivists and
career criminals can easily be considered one-person crime
waves. With their incarceration, the victimization that is
spared is really incalculable. Death, serious injury, and loss
of property to many unknown victims were averted as a result of
the emphasis on removing the armed violent criminal from the
community.
I also understand that today there is--or there was soon
thereafter a major criticism that this program had too many
small cases and not enough large--you can read this as sexy
``news at 11'' type cases. In response to that criticism, I
would like to say this: Throughout my career as an assistant
district attorney and Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney,
and Attorney General, I have never had a big case for
prosecution develop without first having a small or, what some
would say, insignificant case as a starting point. Just as when
you look at the completion of a house or a building, you know
it was built on a foundation and that foundation was made of
smaller parts. So, too, any good criminal prosecution has a
foundation of smaller parts. Oftentimes, these cases, these
smaller cases, led to much larger cases either through the
cooperation of the individual charged, in hoping to reduce his
sentence in some way, shape, or form, or through further
investigation by law enforcement.
Further, I believe in March 1992--and I hope I am not
stealing my panel colleague's thunder--ATF released a study of
armed career criminals, and ATF reported this study of the
inmates that had committed an average of 160 crimes per year.
That was three crimes per week. Using the National Institute of
Justice data, it has been estimated that taxpayers actually
saved over $233,000 per year per inmate by incarcerating the
armed career criminal.
Triggerlock, I believe, has served as a model--and I know
it has served as a model--for others as its emphasis has waned
in Federal circles. In Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Ridge
directed the Pennsylvania State Police to create their own
version of Triggerlock to assist local law enforcement in
ridding their communities of violence and drugs. This is aimed
at communities that are much smaller than communities that
normally the Federal Government becomes involved with. The
results to date are encouraging. However, I have to wonder what
these results would be if further supported by Federal
resources to the extent expended in the early 1990's.
I would also tell you that as a result of the Federal
legislation, as a result of Triggerlock, many States have taken
action. For instance, in Pennsylvania, we have changed our
constitution to allow for pretrial detention. We have adopted
Triggerlock. We have adopted a weed-and-seed program which is
very popular. We have changed our juvenile laws considerably,
and we have adopted ``three-strike'' legislation that we
consider to be very well suited to the needs of Pennsylvania.
I understand from my many recent visits to Richmond, VA,
that there is an effort to re-create Triggerlock under the name
Project Exile. I heartily endorse it and would hope that we
could support in whatever way the actions of the U.S. attorney
in Richmond. I hope that the effort is successful and that the
Department of Justice will see fit to support it as it did in
1991, especially in light of the comments of the President
recently.
With that, Senator, I would be happy to answer any
questions that you may have at this time.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Corbett follows:]
Prepared Statement of Thomas W. Corbett, Jr.
Ladies and gentleman of the Senate: My name Tom Corbett and from
November 1989 until August of 1993 I served as the United States
Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
During my tenure Attorney General Thornburgh appointed me to the
Attorney General's advisory committee of U.S. attorneys. I was elected
by the members of that committee to serve as chairman elect for 1992
and chairman for 1993. I returned to the private practice of law for
two years and was then appointed attorney general of Pennsylvania by
Gov. Tom Ridge upon the resignation of the previous attorney general. I
make mention of these appointments as they gave me a perspective of the
needs of law enforcement from both the state and federal positions, as
well as, the needs and wishes of the public across Pennsylvania.
As you may recall, in 1989 this nation was in the grip of a sudden
increase in crime, especially violent crime. We at the Department of
Justice began to discuss what federal law enforcement could do to
assist our state and local counterparts in fighting this wave. At the
same time you in Congress, I believe in consultation with the
Department of Justice and state and local law enforcement, sought ways
to resolve the problems. On April 10, 1991 the Department of Justice
announced Project Triggerlock. This was the culminating point of a
decade of federal efforts to combat violent crime. It was a confluence
of resources meeting strategy. Tough federal gun and drug laws, more
prison space and more investigative resources were used in coordination
with state and local law enforcement.
Three federal statutes were the core elements of Triggerlock.
First, 18 U.S.C. 922(g) Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, which
carried a term of 10 years imprisonment. Second, 18 U.S.C. 924(e)
Possession of a Firearm by an Armed Career Criminal, which applied to
defendants with three prior felony convictions for violent crimes and
carried a minimum term of 15 years and maximum of life imprisonment.
Third, 18 U.S.C. 924(c) Carrying or Using a Firearm during a Federal
Crime of Violence of Drug Trafficking Crime, which carried a mandatory
minimum term of 5 years.
In addition to the statutes mentioned, the change in federal law
that eliminated parole after November 1, 1987 and thus created truth in
sentencing; the ability to obtain pretrial detention of violent
criminals under the Bail Reform Act of 1984; the availability of prison
space within the federal prison system; and, the ability to obtain a
speedy trial in the federal system were crucial elements in the
creation of Triggerlock.
In April of 1991, each of the 93 United States Attorney's Offices
established a Triggerlock Task Force comprised of representatives from
the US Attorney's Office, state and local prosecutors and federal state
and local investigative agencies. Enforcement strategies were tailored
to the needs of the particular community.
In the first year of operation, Project Triggerlock accomplished
the following:
6,454 defendants charged with federal firearm violations;
Federal firearms prosecutions more than doubled from the
previous year. More than one out of ten of all federal
prosecutions included a firearm charge;
84 percent of the Triggerlock defendants were felons, drug
dealers or violent criminals in possession of a firearm;
the average sentence received by an armed career criminal
under Project Triggerlock was 18 years without parole.
This project had, I believe, a tremendous impact on the communities
of the United States. Violent recidivists and career criminals can
easily be considered one person crime waves. With their incarceration
the victimization that is spared is incalculable. Death, serious injury
and loss of property to many unknown victims were averted as a result
of the emphasis on removing the armed violent criminal.
I understand that a major criticism of this program was that it had
too many small cases and not enough large or big, read this as, sexy
``news at 11'' cases. In response to that criticism let me say this.
Throughout my career in law enforcement I have never had a ``big'' case
or prosecution develop without first having a small or, what some would
say, insignificant case as a starting point. Just as when you look at
the completion of a house or building, you know that it was built on
the foundation which often contains small building blocks. Without
those blocks you never would have the final construction. It is the
same with these prosecutions. Often times, these cases led to much
larger cases either through the cooperation of the individual charged,
or through further investigation by law enforcement.
Triggerlock has served as a model for others as its emphasis has
waned in federal circles. In Pennsylvania Governor Ridge directed the
PA State Police to create their own version of Triggerlock to assist
local law enforcement in ridding their communities of violence and
drugs. The results to date are encouraging. However, I wonder what
those results would be if further supported by federal resources to the
extent expended in the early 90's.
I understand from my many recent visits to Richmond VA that there
is an effort to recreate Triggerlock under the name Project Exile. I
hope that the effort is successful and that the Department of Justice
will see fit to support it now as it did in 1991.
I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have at this
time.
Senator Sessions. Thank you.
STATEMENT OF ANDREW L. VITA
Mr. Vita. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and distinguished
members of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittees on Youth Violence
and Criminal Justice Oversight. My name is Andrew Vita. I am
the Assistant Director of Field Operations for the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Mr. Chairman, for all too many communities in the United
States, firearms violence is a daily fact of life. We send the
men and women of law enforcement in harm's way to protect and
to serve. Believe me, we are all seeking practical solutions to
gun violence.
Police departments across the land are engaged in the fight
to the extent where resources are often strained. Firearms
violence is a grave national concern that must be addressed by
the collaborative efforts of all levels of law enforcement. It
is vital to take into consideration the different State laws
and crime factors that can affect what the best strategy is for
each community. ATF works closely with the offices of U.S.
attorneys and State prosecutors to devise the best approach in
each locality.
ATF has a vital role to play in the fight against firearms-
related violent crime. Unlike any other law enforcement agency,
we have the combined jurisdiction, expertise, and experience
necessary to most successfully investigate gun trafficking and
gun violence. ATF's unique assets, together with our renowned
partnerships and cooperation with law enforcement at every
level, make this true. With ongoing cooperation and the
adequate resources, we can continue to build on our successes.
A primary strategy that ATF is pursuing in conjunction with
the U.S. attorneys is to reduce violent crime and deny
criminals access to firearms. To do so, we believe in working
smart. Working smart entails recognizing the reality that we
are taking criminals off the street, and as we take those
criminals off the street, more arise, necessitating the need to
also reduce the illegal supply of crime guns.
The criminal behind the criminal is the gun trafficker. We
believe in attacking the problem from both ends and closing in
the middle. Project Exile is one part of the full complement of
ATF's integrated violent crime reduction strategy. That
strategy includes ensuring that licensed gun dealers are in
compliance with Federal, State, and local laws, and supporting
police departments in the processing of gun crime and crime gun
tracing and continuing programs such as the Youth Crime Gun
Interdiction Initiative to identify and arrest illegal
traffickers.
As an example, in Richmond, VA, a trafficker who was a gang
member used a straw purchaser to buy firearms at gun shows for
other gang members. This case involved a street gang linked to
gang warfare involving numerous homicides over the previous 3
years. ATF, working with the Richmond Street Crimes Unit, has
been able to document 11 such weapons purchased over a 5-month
period, of which 8 were recovered in crimes. Almost all the
guns were bought from federally licensed firearms dealers at
gun shows.
The trafficker acted as a straw purchaser for fellow gang
members. The trafficker has been convicted and sentenced to 6
years and 6 months in Federal prison. The trafficker's two co-
defendants were also successfully prosecuted for their
possession of the firearms provided by the trafficker. Each co-
defendant received 5 years and 10 months for their
participation with the guns provided by the trafficker.
The gang leader was also successfully prosecuted separately
and received 16 years and 3 months. These cases were made
through vigorously enforcing the firearms statutes in
conjunction with Project Exile and Youth Crime Gun Interdiction
Initiative in Richmond.
Typical of the success ATF can potentially have in a
community where a local enforcement program has been designed
for particular local circumstances was begun in Richmond in
March of 1997. Beset with an escalating siege of violence,
Richmond had ranked in the top five cities in the per capita
murder rate for several years. ATF, in conjunction with the
U.S. attorney's office and the Richmond Police Department,
developed Project Exile to break the cycle of violence.
It was a simple premise: Anyone caught with an illegal gun
in Richmond will go to Federal prison for the minimum mandatory
sentence of at least 5 years. Period. This criminal forfeits
the right to remain in the community and exiled for 5 years.
Using existing Federal law, prosecute all felons with guns,
guns used in drug trafficking, and gun and domestic violence
cases in Federal court.
Because of the particular State laws and sentencing
practices in Virginia, Project Exile provides stiffer penalties
and quicker justice to its offenders. In a Virginia State
court, for example, a convicted felon caught with a gun could
be sentenced to between 1 and 5 years, with the possibility of
early release. In Federal court, this same conviction carries a
minimum of 5 years and a $250,000 fine. Project Exile puts
potential offenders on notice. If they don't learn by word of
mouth, perhaps they are warned by one of the Project Exile
billboards or public service announcements that were donated by
local businesses to publicize the program.
The daunting prospect of serving time in a Federal facility
is a deterrent to many offenders. In Richmond, officers have
noticed a marked increase in the number of firearms being
thrown to the ground by fleeing potential defendants. This
demonstrates that the message of Project Exile is reaching the
streets. It also results in more seizures of illegal guns.
As an example of the deterrent effect, one Richmond case is
worthy of mention. A defendant was caught with a substantial
quantity of drugs during the execution of a search warrant.
Surprisingly, no guns were recovered during the search. It was
the first time officers could remember a defendant with such a
large quantity of drugs not being armed in any way. Later, when
the prosecutor questioned the defendant extensively about where
the guns were, the defendant continued to vehemently deny
having any firearms. He finally stated, ``Haven't you heard,
man? Five years!''
Now some hard statistics about Exile. Approximately 75
percent of Exile defendants are denied bond and held in jail
while awaiting trial. Three-fourths of all Exile defendants
plead guilty, with no deal.
Violent crime task forces staffed with ATF personnel are
successful because they combined Federal agents and Federal
experience and resources with State and local officers all with
their own many assets. This is a powerful and effective
alliance in confronting firearms violence.
Such locally focused approaches as Project Exile, the
Boston Gun Project, the Minneapolis Anti-Violence Reduction
Initiative, Project CAGE in Chicago, and the Baltimore Youth
Strike Force--all of which ATF works closely on with the U.S.
attorney--are all tailored responses to particular local
conditions. Each of them is a component of ATF's unique but
collaborative comprehensive and fully integrated approach to
combating firearms violence.
Thank you, Senator, and we welcome any questions that you
have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Vita follows:]
Prepared Statement of Andrew L. Vita
Distinguished members of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittees on
Youth Violence and Criminal Justice Oversight. Good afternoon. My name
is Andrew L. Vita, Assistant Director of Field Operations for the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
For all too many communities in the United States, firearms
violence is a daily fact of life. We send the men and women of law
enforcement in harm's way to protect and serve. Believe me, we are all
seeking practical solutions to gun violence. Police departments across
the land are engaged in the fight to the extent where resources are
often strained. Firearms violence is a grave national concern that must
be addressed by the collaborative efforts of all levels of law
enforcement. It is vital to take into consideration the different State
laws and crime factors that can affect what the best strategy is for
each community. ATF works closely with the offices of the U.S.
attorneys to devise the best approach in each locality.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has a vital role to
play in the fight against firearms-related violent crime. Unlike any
other law enforcement agency, we have the combined jurisdiction,
expertise, and experience necessary to most successfully investigate
gun trafficking and gun violence. ATF's unique assets, together with
our renowned partnerships and cooperation with law enforcement at every
level make this true. With ongoing cooperation and the adequate
resources, we can continue to build on our success.
A primary strategy that ATF is pursuing in conjunction with the
U.S. attorneys is to reduce violent crime and deny criminals access to
firearms. To do so, we believe in working smart. Working smart entails
recognizing the reality that as we take criminals off the street, more
arise--necessitating the need to also reduce the illegal supply of
crime guns. The criminal behind the criminal is the gun trafficker. We
believe in attacking the problem from both ends and closing in the
middle. Project Exile is one part of the full complement of ATF's
Integrated Violent Crime Reduction Strategy. That strategy includes
ensuring that licensed gun dealers are in compliance with Federal,
State, and local laws, and supporting police departments in the process
of crime gun tracing and continuing programs such as the Youth Crime
Gun Interdiction initiative to identify and arrest illegal traffickers.
For example, Richmond, Virginia: Straw purchaser for gang at gun
shows. A trafficker who was a gang member used a straw purchaser to buy
firearms at gun shows for other gang members. This case involved the
Charlie Boys street gang, linked to gang warfare involving numerous
homicides over the previous three years. ATF, working with the Richmond
Street Crimes Unit, has been able to document 11 such weapons,
purchased over a five-month period, of which eight were recovered in
crimes. Almost all the guns were bought from Federally licensed firearm
dealers at gun shows. The trafficker acted as a straw purchaser for
fellow gang members. In return for his plea to aiding and abetting the
illegal possession, trafficking charges were dropped. The trafficker
has been convicted and sentenced to 6 years and 6 months in Federal
Prison. The trafficker's two co-defendants were also successfully
prosecuted for their possession of the firearms provided by the
trafficker. Each co-defendant received 5 years and 10 months for their
participation with the guns provided by the trafficker. The gang leader
was also successfully prosecuted separately and received 16 years and 3
months. These cases were made through vigorously enforcing the firearm
statutes in conjunction with Project Exile and Youth Crime Gun
Interdiction Initiative (YCGII).
Typical of the success ATF can potentially have in a community
where a local enforcement program has been designed for particular
local circumstances is a project begun in Richmond, Virginia, in March
1997. Beset with an escalating siege of violence, Richmond had ranked
in the top five cities in the per capita murder rate for several years.
ATF, in cooperation with the U.S. attorney's office and the Richmond
Police Department, developed Project Exile to break the cycle of
violence.
It was a simple premise: ``Anyone caught with an illegal gun in
Richmond will go to Federal prison for the minimum mandatory sentence
of 5 years. Period.
This criminal forfeits the right to remain in the community and is
`exiled' for 5 years. Using existing Federal law, prosecute all felons-
with-guns, guns-used-in-drug-trafficking, and gun/domestic violence
cases in Federal court.''
Because of the particular State laws and sentencing practices in
Virginia, Project Exile provides stiffer penalties and quicker justice
to its offenders. In a Virginia State court, for example, a convicted
felon caught with a gun could be sentenced to between one and five
years, with the possibility of early release. In Federal court, this
same conviction carries a minimum of 5 years and a $250,000 fine.
Project Exile puts potential offenders on notice. If they don't learn
by word of mouth, perhaps they are warned by one of the Project Exile
billboards or public service announcements that were donated by local
businesses to publicize the program.
The daunting prospect of serving time in a Federal facility is a
deterrent to many offenders. In Richmond, officers have noticed a
marked increase in the number of firearms being thrown on the ground by
fleeing potential defendants. This demonstrates that the message of
Project Exile is reaching the streets. It also results in more seizures
of illegal guns.
As an example of the deterrent effect, one Richmond case is worthy
of mention. A defendant was caught with a substantial quantity of drugs
during the execution of a search warrant. Surprisingly, no guns were
recovered during the search. It was the first time officers could
remember a defendant with such a large quantity of drugs not being
armed in any way. Later, when the prosecutor questioned the defendant
extensively about where the guns were, the defendant continued to
vehemently deny having any guns. He finally stated, ``Haven't you
heard, man? Five years!''
Now some hard statistics about Exile: Approximately 75 percent of
Exile defendants are denied bond and held in jail while awaiting trial.
Three-fourths of all Exile defendants plead guilty, with no deal.
Violent crime task forces staffed with ATF personnel are successful
because they combine Federal agents, and Federal experience and
resources with State or local officers and all their many assets. This
is a powerful and effective alliance in confronting firearms violence.
Such locally focused approaches as Project Exile, the Boston Gun
Project, the Minneapolis Anti-Violence Reduction Initiative, Project
CAGE in Chicago, and the Baltimore Youth Strike Force--all of which ATF
works closely on with the U.S. attorneys--are all tailored responses to
particular local conditions. Each of them is a component of ATF's
unique but collaborative comprehensive and fully integrated approach to
combating firearms violence. Thank you.
Senator Thurmond. [presiding.] Thank you, gentlemen, for
your statements. We will now go to questions.
Mr. Corbett, you note in your testimony that Project
Triggerlock focused on small cases rather than just high-
profile, large gun cases. If the goal is to reduce crime,
please explain why it is important to stay focused on small
cases.
Mr. Corbett. Senator, I think that the best way to put that
is to go back to the testimony I gave you of the average armed
career criminal committing three crimes a week and 160 crimes a
year. If you just take his one arrest as one gun case, you lose
all the rest of those other cases, all those other arrests that
have been prevented. That individual, before he was arrested,
was committing crimes at a pace of that magnitude. You are
reducing, I think significantly, with each individual who is an
armed career criminal, a significant number of cases within the
criminal justice system just by the incarceration of that
individual.
Additionally, as you have heard from Mr. Vita, as they are
doing now down in Richmond, by taking cases at an almost zero
tolerance level, the word gets out that carrying a firearm is
going to require Federal prison time. You are not going to go
through the State system, and if you happen to be in a State
that you can get in and out and go through what we used to call
the revolving door of the criminal justice system, and
sometimes beat the police officer back to the street before he
could get back to the street by the bond situation, you now
have individuals aware that that doesn't happen in the Federal
system, that possession of the firearm in many cases is deemed
to be an individual who is dangerous to the public and,
therefore, not entitled to bond.
So the combination of using those small cases I believe is
a preventive method as well as an apprehensive method of
enforcing the law enforcement.
Senator Thurmond. Mr. Vita, I understand that the Clinton
administration has defended the drop in Federal firearms
prosecutions by saying that less low-level offenders who
receive a short jail term are being prosecuted while more high-
level offenders are being prosecuted.
In the effort to reduce crime, do you think it is important
to diligently prosecute all Federal firearms offenders,
including low-level offenders?
Mr. Vita. Absolutely, Mr. Chairman. We certainly support a
balanced program in every one of our offices. We try to tailor
an integrated violence reduction strategy in every office that
is particularly suited to the circumstances of that community.
In some cases, the crime problem may be driven by certain
narcotics activity or criminal organizations. In other
communities, it may be an arson program or an arson problem or
an explosives-related problem.
We were extremely successful in Richmond because I think it
was an excellent collaborative effort between all levels of law
enforcement, both Federal, State, and local, in targeting a
particular problem that was facing the city of Richmond, and
that was the very high homicide rate. It was the exceptional
efforts of the local police, the Federal agents, as well as
other Federal agencies that also contributed to that, to
identify the particular problem and focus their available
assets to going after that problem and trying to solve it. I
think there are excellent results there.
Senator Thurmond. Mr. Corbett, I understand that during the
Bush administration, Attorney General Thornburgh issued a
memorandum ordering U.S. attorneys to pursue gun charges and
not drop them as part of plea bargains. I also understand that
Attorney General Reno rescinded or modified this memo to give
U.S. attorneys more discretion in whether to prosecute gun
offenses.
Do you think that the change in the Thornburgh memo had the
effect of reducing firearms prosecutions in the Clinton
administration?
Mr. Corbett. Senator, I would have to say yes to that. That
is one element. I think if you look at the chart over to my
left, following that period of time you see a tremendous
decrease in the number of Federal firearms prosecutions
conducted by the Department of Justice. And I think what it
reflects is a lack of emphasis on removing the armed career
criminal or the armed felon from the streets, whether it be
through a--or through the Federal system. So I would have to
agree with that statement.
Senator Thurmond. Mr. Vita, in the budget that President
Clinton recently submitted to Congress for fiscal year 2000, he
proposed to spend only $5 million for intensive firearms
prosecution projects such as Project Exile. Given the success
of Project Exile, do you believe it would be worthwhile to
spend more on firearms prosecution projects like this?
Mr. Vita. Senator, although Exile was extremely successful
in Richmond, I would be concerned about using it as a cookie-
cutter response to crime and violent crime problems in other
cities. Each city has its own unique problem, and it is
important that you tailor whatever enforcement action that you
would devote to that city's problem, as well as to the assets
that are available from both the Federal, State, and local
levels.
We certainly support as much resources as can be made
available to the Federal elements. We look to make an impact on
the crime problem. We don't always measure our impact on cases
and defendants. Oftentimes, that impact is a reduction in
violent crime, which is extremely important and always one of
our prime objectives.
Senator Thurmond. Mr. Corbett, would you care to respond to
my last question that I asked Mr. Vita?
Mr. Corbett. Senator, many times we look at the issue of
funds expended, and obviously additional funds are always
beneficial. It allows you to hire more agents and more police
officers and more prosecutors.
But I would also say that, in addition to more funds, if
somebody is told it is a priority, if the Attorney General--or
now it seems to be the President has indicated on Saturday that
this is a priority, then you, when you were running the U.S.
attorney's office and working with law enforcement in your
district, can make that your priority. You can move your assets
around so that you can address the issue, and in this case I
think that could help in many instances across the country
where the U.S. attorneys know how their resources are being
used and refocus the use of those resources.
Senator Thurmond. Those are all the questions I have. I
will now turn the matter over to Senator Sessions.
Senator Sessions. Tom, I guess you would say on that
question more money could help, but if it is your priority, gun
prosecutions don't take up a major part of the Assistant U.S.
attorney's work in a U.S. attorney's office, do they?
Mr. Corbett. Well, as you know, Senator Sessions, that is
correct. In fact, in many instances, U.S. attorneys will swear
in an assistant district attorney from the county in which the
crime arose or make that assistant district attorney a special
U.S. Attorney, a special Assistant U.S. Attorney, and they
become part of the team. And so that prosecutor is actually
part of the district attorney's budget.
Those police officers are actually part--they are usually
sworn as deputy U.S. marshals. They usually become a part--they
are still paid by the local community. So what it is, it is a
focusing of the resources that already exist, but--throwing
more money is great, but if you don't have that focus, if you
don't have that priority, the additional money probably isn't
going to help that much other than somebody saying, well, we
have to spend this money because we got it.
Senator Sessions. Mr. Vita, you mentioned you don't want to
have a cookie-cutter approach. But if we have a 40 percent
reduction in homicide in Richmond largely attributable to this
project, are you telling us that a similar, intensively focused
campaign in every city in America wouldn't reduce crime to a
substantial degree in those cities?
Mr. Vita. I would expect that reduction if the program was
properly tailored to the circumstances for that city. You will
have different attitudes by the community. You will have
different prevalent crime problems in different parts of the
country that all have to be addressed as well. But a
concentrated effort, a collaborative effort between Federal,
State, and local law enforcement will reduce violent crime in
any community, yes.
Senator Sessions. I think that is correct. I just don't
want to suggest that an intensive effort, cooperative effort is
not the key to it, and that is a question of leadership and
priorities, both in the ATF and in the Department of Justice.
Wouldn't you agree?
Mr. Vita. I would agree, sir, yes.
Senator Sessions. What was the event, if you will tell us,
that caused the alteration in Triggerlock or something like
Triggerlock initiatives? Weren't these initiatives joint
Federal-State cooperative efforts with ATF and the U.S.
attorney's office when they began?
Mr. Vita. Yes, they were. Prior to Triggerlock being
identified and developed, we had a program that began in the
mid-1980's--I would say about 1985 or 1986--called Project
Achilles, which was a result of the legislation that Senator
Specter referred to that was passed in 1984, where we realized
the value of concentrating all of our resources at the highest
impact crime problems that were affecting a particular
community.
Senator Sessions. And, generally, that is people getting
shot and killed.
Mr. Vita. Most often, sir, yes, that is.
Senator Sessions. And let me just correct something I said
that wasn't fair to ATF. Really, Triggerlock began as Project
Achilles with ATF, and it was sort of expanded and supported by
the Department of Justice. Wasn't that correct?
Mr. Vita. Well, we began a program in, I think, 1986 called
Project Achilles that I know was, I am sure, part of the
evolution of Triggerlock. Triggerlock was a Justice Department
prosecution initiative. Ours was more of an investigative
initiative the way that we kind of focused our resources into
the areas that we would be able to have the greatest impact on
reducing violent crime in those communities.
Senator Sessions. It has been reported to me that there was
an OMB letter of some kind that was issued, maybe as early as
1994, that questioned the Triggerlock initiative and resulted
in a pull-back to some degree of local prosecution type of gun
cases. Is that true?
Mr. Vita. I believe it was 1994, and probably affecting the
fiscal year 1995 budget, in which--up until that point our
Achilles program had been fully funded and had been expanded
every year. Each year we got increases. At that point, I
believe OMB's position was that there were certain examiners
that considered the possibility that Achilles was a duplication
of what State and local law enforcement should be doing, and
that the Federal program should be directed more at curtailing
the flow of firearms, crime guns, into those communities. And
it kind of caused us to make some adjustments in our
strategies, in our enforcement strategies, focusing more on
where the Federal presence would be, the interstate movement of
firearms that were fueling the violent crime problems in
communities, sometimes placing resources in the source States
as opposed to more of the receiver States.
An example could be like New York City was having a high
violent crime problem, but a good number of the guns ending up
in New York City were coming from other States. And the Federal
role in situations like that was to develop programs down in
those source States to cut that flow of firearms off from going
into New York as well as working on going after the violent
offenders there in that city.
Senator Sessions. So there was this memorandum in 1994 that
was--could you get a copy of that for the committee?
Mr. Vita. I believe--I will try and find the memorandum. I
remember the issue more so through a response back from OMB,
but we will try and find what the documentation is for this,
yes.
Senator Sessions. While I certainly have no objection and
think it is a good initiative to trace guns and see if you can
identify the source of that gun, isn't it also true that a
large percentage of guns are just guns that were taken in
burglaries or maybe stolen from a family member or borrowed
from a family member?
Mr. Vita. Oftentimes that happens, Senator. Different
cities have different problems. Again, that is why I talk about
tailoring the appropriate program for that city. There are some
cities where the violent firearms problem and the source of
guns comes from within the general community, such as Chicago.
Chicago, the city itself, has very restrictive gun laws, but
the suburbs surrounding Chicago have much laxer laws, and as a
result, citizens and residents of Chicago just have to go to
the suburbs to get the firearms that end up in crime in the
city.
Some places there is that short distance. In other places,
there is an interstate issue where the guns are being brought
from other States into that particular community.
Senator Sessions. Well, I know people seem to be really
interested in identifying the sources, and many times that is a
very helpful strategy, particularly if you can identify a
repeat supplier of illegal firearms. I salute that, and I think
they deserve very serious punishment.
But, fundamentally, the low-level drug dealer, the low-
level burglar who is packing a pistol in his pocket is likely
to be the one that kills somebody, wouldn't you say, Mr.
Corbett?
Mr. Corbett. I would have to agree with that. I was
encouraged by the story Mr. Vita related in Richmond where the
individual was carrying a lot of drugs and didn't have a
firearm on him. And I would point to--if you want to spend some
money, I have always thought that we should be advertising what
the penalties are a lot more than we do.
Oftentimes, we would find individuals, especially
individuals facing the mandatory minimums, whether they were in
drug crimes or gun cases, when they were arrested did not know
that they were facing in Federal court such a stiff penalty.
Oftentimes, that was very helpful down the road in negotiations
with them. But I always wondered if we should be spending--in
addition to spending money for crime prevention, we ought to be
spending money in sentence awareness in our communities to let
them know that, you know, if they are arrested, they will face
serious imprisonment in Federal courts.
Senator Sessions. That is a good point, and I know Exile is
doing that, and I salute them for it.
Actually, I can remember discussing in my office, when
Triggerlock started, putting up signs to say 5 years without
parole if you are caught with a firearm in the commission of a
crime.
Mr. Corbett. We actually in Pittsburgh worked with one of
the billboard companies, and they gave us four or five
billboards in different communities that we were, in
combination with our weed-and-seed program and with Project
Triggerlock, were able to put up some--basically warning signs.
Senator Sessions. Mr. Vita, I am looking at a Wall Street
Journal article from August of last year quoting Mr. Kent
Marcus, Attorney General Janet Reno's top aide on gun violence,
before he had left to go back and teach law, and the Wall
Street Journal quotes him as dismissing Project Exile as
assembly line prosecutions that bleed resources from other law
enforcement priorities, such as organized crime and high-level
drug trafficking. `` `I don't think there is an empirical
evidence' that Richmond's falling murder rate is related to
Project Exile, said Mr. Marcus.''
I take it that the Department of Justice and the President
and you have a different opinion of that than the previous head
of this department within the Department of Justice.
Mr. Vita. Well, I don't know what Mr. Marcus was referring
to as far as the data that he may have had, but from a general
perspective, I don't necessarily agree with his comments.
Senator Sessions. Well, you know, we talk and we try to
make points here, but there is no doubt in my view--and I think
Mr. Corbett has personally shared it with me, from his
observation and talking to people around the country--that the
administration did decide there are other ways to deal with
violence than the Triggerlock-type initiatives, and they are
responsible, deliberately and consciously, as Mr. Marcus who
headed that, his statements would indicate, to reduce those
prosecutions. I think and have thought since I got here that
was one of the biggest errors the Department of Justice has
made, and I am glad to see they are re-evaluating that at this
time.
What can you say about ATF's commitment to prosecute some
of these new laws? Is the decline or are the low numbers of
actual convictions reflecting fewer offenses or failure to
coordinate with local law enforcement or making the cases? What
idea would you have, Mr. Vita, about why there are so few
prosecutions under those statutes?
Mr. Vita. Well, when I first saw the numbers, I questioned
myself if they were accurate. I asked to have some research
done to see if our statistics for the cases that we have
recommended match up with those that are reflected on your
chart. And the information that I was given is that they are
quite different, so I would like to research that further, and
I will certainly provide that information to the committee and
yourself for the record.
But from an overall perspective, I would think that that--
is the source for those the Department of Justice?
Senator Sessions. Department of Justice, actual
convictions. Now, you may have recommended others. They may not
have prosecuted them or whatever.
Mr. Vita. But I will research that and come up with----
Senator Sessions. They represent indictments, I understand.
Mr. Vita. Indictments? OK. Now, I assume those are
indictments that occurred during those years.
Senator Sessions. That is correct.
Mr. Vita. We will check our files and records to see what
our statistics reflect.
Senator Sessions. You know, those are not necessarily
unusable statutes, but they are pretty specific. It is the
powerful, normal, bread-and-butter cases, people carrying
firearms during the commission of a felony, felons in
possession. Those are the cases that you normally see.
Well, I have enjoyed this very much. Thank you for your
testimony, and, Senator Thurmond, do you have anything else of
this panel?
Senator Thurmond. I thank you both for your testimony, and,
Senator Sessions, I have another engagement. For panel two,
would you take over?
Senator Sessions. [presiding.] Thank you, sir. We would.
Mr. Corbett. Thank you, Senators.
Mr. Vita. Thank you, sir.
Senator Sessions. We will now have the next panel. I will
commence the introductions while you are finding your seats.
Our first panelist is Helen Fahey. She has been appointed
to serve as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia
in 1993, a job which is perhaps the greatest job in the world,
except maybe being an assistant U.S. attorney. She previously
served as the Commonwealth of Virginia's attorney for Arlington
County. She has extensive experience with firearms prosecutions
and brings with her some distinguished credentials. She
currently sits on numerous U.S. attorney's subcommittees,
including the Violent Crimes Subcommittee, and, of course, it
is her district within which Project Exile that we have been
complimenting is carried out.
Chief Jerry Oliver became Richmond's 13th police chief in
1995. Prior to joining the department, he served with
distinction in a number of metropolitan police forces,
including Phoenix, Memphis, and Pasadena. He was recently named
Richmond's Administrator of the Year and was awarded the
prestigious Medal of Meritorious Service from the Richmond city
manager for his innovative leadership of the Richmond Police
Department. We thank the chief for being with us today.
John Timoney accepted Mayor Ed Rendell's invitation to lead
Philadelphia's Police Department last March. He began his law
enforcement career--in New York, it says here. But Senator
Specter said you began when he hired you. Is that correct?
Mr. Timoney. No, no. He was talking about Mayor Rendell he
hired.
Senator Sessions. All right. Very good. He began his law
enforcement career in New York in 1967. By 1994, he had become
the youngest ever chief of a department in New York Police
Department history, and we look forward to your testimony.
Donald Stern was appointed by President Clinton to be U.S.
attorney for the District of Massachusetts in November of 1993.
Before coming to the U.S. attorney's office, he was a senior
partner with a Boston law firm. He served for a time as former
Governor Dukakis' chief legal counsel, and Boston is doing a
number of innovative things in crime. We look forward to
hearing from you, Mr. Stern.
Ms. Fahey, I would recognize you first.
PANEL CONSISTING OF HELEN F. FAHEY, U.S. ATTORNEY, EASTERN
DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, ALEXANDRIA, VA; JERRY A. OLIVER, CHIEF OF
POLICE, CITY OF RICHMOND, VA; JOHN F. TIMONEY, POLICE
COMMISSIONER, CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, PA; AND DONALD K. STERN,
U.S. ATTORNEY, DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, BOSTON, MA
STATEMENT OF HELEN F. FAHEY
Ms. Fahey. Thank you, Senator Sessions. It is a pleasure to
be here. I hope that I don't repeat too much of what was
already said by both you and Senator Specter and Senator
Thurmond and also Mr. Vita from ATF.
One of the most important priorities of the Attorney
General has been the reduction in violent crime. I think the
results have been nothing less than amazing. The Attorney
General charges each U.S. attorney with developing a violent
crime initiative for their district. Project Exile is just one
part of the Eastern District of Virginia's violent crime
initiative.
As my criminal supervisor in Richmond, Mr. Comey, who is
sitting behind me, has described it, Project Exile is
essentially ``Triggerlock with steroids, plus community
involvement and advertising.''
For more than a decade, the newspaper headlines have read
the same: Another murder in the city of Richmond, murder rate
rises, gun violence continues. It was stark reality that the
capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia was routinely among the
five cities with the worst per capita murder rates in the
country.
In 1997 alone, 140 people were murdered, 122 of them with
firearms. Even while homicide rates were dropping in many areas
of the country, they were actually increasing in Richmond. The
use of guns by drug dealers, the willingness of many to flaunt
the law and carry weapons, and the high incidence of domestic
violence fueled this high and ever increasing murder rate.
In 1997, the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern
District of Virginia developed and initiated Project Exile in
Richmond aimed at reducing the senseless and unbridled violence
which was plaguing the city. Project Exile is an aggressive,
innovative, and creative approach to reducing the murder rate
by changing the culture of violence in Richmond through a
comprehensive, multi-dimensional strategy. This strategy
includes both law enforcement and prosecution components aimed
at deterrence, as well as community outreach and education
programs focusing on prevention.
Project Exile is simple and straightforward in its
execution and requires relatively limited prosecution and law
enforcement resources. The program's focus and message is
clear, concise, easily understood, and, most importantly,
unequivocal. The message: An illegal gun gets you 5 years in
Federal prison.
For criminals carrying guns, the consequences have been
swift, certain, and severe. For the citizens of Richmond, the
results have been dramatic. They have taken back their
neighborhoods and now live in safer communities where houses
can become homes and neighbors can truly become friends.
Project Exile has fully integrated and coordinated local,
State, and Federal law enforcement agencies and local and
Federal prosecutors. This widely based task force accomplished
prompt identification of a potential Project Exile defendant
through the use of an expedited reporting system, which has
decreased processing time from several months to several days.
In court, bond is routinely and successfully opposed.
Defendants receive speedy trials, and mandatory minimum
sentences are imposed. The average sentence for a Project Exile
defendant is 53.6 months.
With swift and certain justice, the project has deterred
violent crime in the city of Richmond by changing the culture
of violence and criminal behavior. As of March of this year in
Richmond, 438 individuals have been indicted, 512 guns have
been seized, 331 persons have been arrested or are in State
custody, 236 arrestees, approximately 74 percent, have been
held without bond.
Senator Sessions. Ms. Fahey, are those this year or just
since the beginning of the program?
Ms. Fahey. They are for approximately 2 years, since the
beginning--approximately March of 1997. Three hundred and two
have been convicted, 215 have been sentenced, and the average
sentence, as I said, is 53.6 months.
The other major and essential component of the project
addresses prevention. Project Exile has been an innovative
community outreach and education initiative using various media
to get the message to the criminals that illegal guns are
unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
More importantly, it has built a community alliance
directed at the problem. A coalition of business, community,
and church leaders, and organizations such as the Retail
Merchants Association and the Chamber of Commerce, has been
assembled to promote the project. The coalition, operating as
the Project Exile Citizen Support Foundation, has funded a
creative advertising campaign including T.V. and radio
commercials, billboards, a city bus completely painted black
bearing the logo, ``An illegal gun gets you 5 years in Federal
prison,'' more than 15,000 business cards with the same message
distributed on the streets by local police, and a print
advertising campaign.
This outreach program has been extremely successful
increasing citizen reports about guns and energizing the
community to support police efforts. Through these efforts,
hundreds of armed criminals have been removed from Richmond's
streets. One violent gang responsible for many murders has been
dismantled, its members now in prison. The rate of gun-carrying
has been reduced, protecting not only the public but police
officers as well. Officers now report seeing drug dealers
throwing down weapons rather than taking the risk of being
caught with them.
Because of the demonstrated results in Richmond, the U.S.
attorney's office in the Eastern District of Virginia has
expanded Project Exile to the tidewater area of Virginia and is
committed to continuing Project Exile as long as it is needed.
Other cities have taken note of Project Exile's impact on
Richmond, and Project Exile has now been fully implemented in
Rochester, NY, which is already seeing success similar to that
in Richmond. Other cities such as Philadelphia, Oakland,
Birmingham, Baton Rouge, and Camden, NJ, are in the process of
implementing the Project.
Project Exile has proven that a comprehensive, multi-
dimensional strategy can and will work. It can be a vital tool
in accomplishing one of President Clinton's top priorities:
reducing the gun violence on the streets.
While it is generally believed that Project Exile has been
a major factor in contributing to the decline of homicides in
Richmond, I am not suggesting it has been the only factor. In
addition to Project Exile, there have been numerous city and
police initiatives as well as FBI and DEA task forces which
have been responsible for removing many violent drug
organizations from the city. The Marshals service also
conducted a major fugitive operation in Richmond which resulted
in the arrest of hundreds of criminals.
I would like to take just a moment to recognize the
contribution of so many individuals and organizations that I
have described in some detail in our submission to the
committee. I would also like to recognize the contribution of
the Department of Justice and, in particular, Deputy Attorney
General Eric Holder, who personally coordinated an increase in
Federal resources for the city of Richmond.
Thank you.
I would also like at this time, if I may--the Department of
Justice submitted a written statement which includes, I
believe, all our statements. I would ask that that be included
as part of the record.
Senator Sessions. We will make it a part of the record.
[The prepared statements of the Department of Justice, Ms.
Fahey, and Mr. Stern follow:]
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
STATEMENT
OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
INCLUDING THE STATEMENTS OF
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY HELEN F. FAHEY
(Eastern District of Virginia)
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY DONALD K. STERN
(District of Massachusetts)
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEES ON
CRIMINAL JUSTICE OVERSIGHT
AND
YOUTH VIOLENCE
CONCERNING
FIREARMS PROSECUTIONS
PRESENTED ON
MARCH 22, 1999
Prepared Statement of the Department of Justice
The Department of Justice (DOJ) appreciates this opportunity to
present testimony on firearms prosecutions for consideration by the
Judiciary Committee's Youth Violence and Criminal Justice Oversight
Subcommittees. We are pleased to report on the Department's work in the
area of firearms violence; our strategic approach to violent crime and
our emphasis on strong partnerships among federal, state and local law
enforcement are paying sizable dividends for public safety.
the historic reduction in violent crime
Over the past six years, we have developed and implemented several
effective national strategies to reduce crime. These have included
helping fund more new local law enforcement officers, preventing
illegal gun sales through Brady background checks, and targeting
violent crime through strategic initiatives.
Since 1992, the nation's crime rate has dropped by more than 20
percent. In certain communities, the integrated efforts of federal,
state, and local law enforcement and other community leaders have
produced even more dramatic drops in the violent crime rate. In Boston,
Massachusetts, for example, collaboration among law enforcement and
community leaders through Operation Ceasefire reduced violence by youth
gangs and brought down the number of homicides 64 percent in three
years. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, effective law enforcement and
prevention efforts conducted by public-private partnerships have
reduced homicides by 30 percent and summertime homicides by 75 percent.
And in Richmond, Virginia, effective and coordinated law enforcement,
including stepped-up enforcement of gun crimes through the program
known as ``Project Exile,'' has reduced the homicide rate by more than
30 percent in the last year. Nationally, homicide rates have declined
to levels last seen in the 1960's.
the reduction in violent crimes committed with firearms
There has also been a sharp decline in the number of violent crimes
committed with firearms nationwide. Between 1992 and 1997, there was an
overall decrease of 27 percent in the estimated total violent crimes
committed with firearms reported by state and local law enforcement
agencies to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This decrease is
depicted in Graph 1. See Attachment A. During this period, homicide
with firearms dropped 24 percent; robbery with firearms, 27 percent;
and aggravated assault with firearms, 26 percent. The decline in the
rate of aggravated assaults committed with firearms is depicted in
Graph 2. See Attachment B.
Despite what we regard as very good news with respect to firearms
violence, the Justice Department views the continued reduction of
violent crime--including violent crime committed with firearms--as a
top priority. The number of people killed with firearms remains
unacceptably high, as more than 14,000 people were murdered with guns
in our nation in 1997.
We will continue to work with the Department of the Treasury and
other federal, state and local agencies to reduce gun violence, and
will be developing a coordinated firearms violence reduction strategy
as outlined in the President's directive signed this past Saturday. Our
strategy will draw on the proven measures and other innovative
approaches being demonstrated by communities throughout the country.
Through the continued leadership of the United States Attorneys and the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), we will assure that
federally licensed firearms dealers comply with all applicable laws;
that crime gun information developed through comprehensive tracing,
mapping and analysis is used strategically to identify illegal gun
markets, gun hot spots and illegal gun traffickers; and that illegal
possessors, users and traffickers of guns receive appropriate
sanctions. Many of the tough and effective crime-fighting strategies
focusing on gun violence that have been put in place are highlighted in
a new DOJ Report, entitled ``Promising Strategies to Reduce Gun
Violence,'' which was released by the President on March 20. The
report, which is described in the attached fact sheet, see Attachment
C, summarizes and analyses 60 such local strategies, including those to
which we refer in this statement.
We believe that the most effective strategies will be coordinated
efforts in which federal prosecutors and investigators team up with
state and local prosecutors and investigators, as well as other
community leaders, to determine what prevention and intervention
methods will work best, and which available sanctions are most
appropriate. Among the programs that we are asking communities to
consider as they develop their own strategies are the programs
featuring coordinated aggressive prosecution of gun cases that is
called ``Project Exile'' in Richmond, Virginia, and ``Operation
Ceasefire'' in Boston, Massachusetts. We are pleased that you will be
hearing directly from the two United States Attorneys who are leading
these programs. The statements of Donald K. Stern, United States
Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, and Helen F. Fahey, United
States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, are attached
hereto. See Attachments D & E.
increased collaboration on firearms and violent crime
Given the uniquely federal system of government in the United
States, no crime reduction strategy can ignore the fact that the vast
majority of the violent crime in our country falls within the
jurisdiction of state and local agencies or that the vast majority of
resources to fight crime are provided by state and local governments.
In some areas, of course, such as multi-district trafficking in
drugs, weapons, or aliens, crime must be attacked primarily at the
federal level. In most other areas, including where state and local
governments have primary responsibility, the federal government is most
helpful to the extent it provides support, leadership, statutory tools,
and coordination.
In the past few years, federal, state and local law enforcement
have collaborated in numerous violent crime task forces and specially
targeted initiatives. These collaborative efforts, as exemplified by
the Department's Anti-Violent Crime Initiative (AVCI), provide for
greater flexibility at the district level to develop firearms and
violent crime prosecution strategies in coordination with state and
local prosecutors.
DOJ introduced the AVCI in 1994, broadening the national violent
crime focus from one emphasizing firearms violations alone
(``Triggerlock'') to one that strategically targets violent crime as
manifested in local communities. AVCI relies on collaboration among law
enforcement, which has resulted in more prosecutions being handled in
the jurisdiction best suited to a particular case.\1\ AVCI has
generated an increased focus on gangs and other violent crime
enterprises that frequently involve firearms violations. This expanded
focus had yielded cases that are more difficult to develop but which
can have a greater impact on community safety than individual firearms
prosecutions. For example, successful prosecutions have been brought
against major gangs such as the Latin Kings in the East and the
Gangster Disciples in the Midwest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Under the AVCI, the Attorney General asked each United States
Attorney to meet with all pertinent federal, state and local law
enforcement agencies in the district form a new, or strengthen an
existing, violent crime working group. Each office was asked to
identify the district's most critical violent crime problems
susceptible to a coordinated federal/state/local attack, the relative
priority of these problems, the law enforcement programs and resources
currently dedicated to the investigation and prosecution of these
problems, the results achieved to date from these efforts, and any
multi-district or multi-jurisdictional aspects of these problems. After
they had collected the appropriate information, each office was asked
to develop a single district plan to implement an appropriate
prosecutive strategy for the district. The goal of that initiative was
to complement, not supplant, the efforts of state and local
prosecutors. The key was to develop a strong partnership in the effort
against violent crime with state and local officials in the way that
would be most productive.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Justice Department expects to build on these successes by
helping more communities develop strategies and solutions that take
into account the specific elements of the gun violence problem as
experienced by those communities. Our United States Attorneys should be
permitted to rigorously analyze their local crime problems and then to
determine the most sensible and efficient allocation of their resources
based on those problems. Because no single formula for combating gun
violence works in all, or even most, settings, it would be a mistake
for DOJ to mandate the use of any particular formula across the
country, and such an attempt might significantly hamper the ability of
the United States Attorneys to combat all types of federal crime.
the increase in overall firearms prosecutions
As you know, the number of federal firearms prosecutions has
decreased between 1992 1998.\2\ The decrease in federal cases does not,
however, mean that criminals are avoiding prosecution or receiving
substantially shorter sentences. The federal, state and local law
enforcement systems are coordinating more closely, and federal
prosecutors appear to be focusing greater attention on higher-level
firearms offenders. At the same time, many states have increased
enforcement efforts and/or penalties for firearms offenders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ We understand that the chart prepared by the Subcommittee
entitled ``Project Triggerlock Prosecutions fiscal year 1992-1998'' is
based on data from the United States Attorneys Annual Statistical
Report. As you know, we also maintain a separate hand count on
Triggerlock cases which we believe is more inclusive than the count
derived from the Annual Statistical Report. (We are in the process of
merging the two systems.) Accordingly, we have prepared a chart to
reflect the same data that the Subcommittee apparently wanted
reflected, but using the Triggerlock data which also accounts for these
cases. See Graph 3, Attachment F. You will note that the total
Triggerlock prosecution numbers for 1996, 1997, and 1998 reflected on
this graph are identical to those we sent in our letter of March 10,
1999 in response to a request for data from Senator Sessions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts suggests
that much of the decline in federal firearms prosecutions between 1992
and 1997 occurred among lower-level offenders who received sentences of
probation up to imprisonment for less than 3 years, while the number of
higher-level federal firearms offenders--those who received prison
sentences of 5 years or more--has increased more than 25 percent. See
Graph 4, Attachment G.
Between 1992 and 1996--when most of the decline in federal firearms
prosecutions occurred--state prosecutions of weapons offenders
increased sharply, more than offsetting the federal decline. See Graph
5, Attachment H. Moreover, most of the additional state weapons
offenders received prison or jail sentences. See Graph 6, Attachment I.
Some of the decrease in federal firearms charges is the result of
decisions by federal prosecutors to use federal sentencing guideline
enhancements for gun use (for example, seeking a stiffer sentence when
a drug trafficker uses a gun), instead of bringing separate gun charges
in the case. This was particularly the case after the United States
Supreme Court's Bailey decision in 1995 that affected the government's
ability to obtain convictions under 18 U.S.C. 924(c), also causing a
decrease in the number of federal firearms charges.
conclusion
Working together, we have made significant progress in the fight
against violent crime--especially that involving firearms. It would be
a profound mistake to rest on our laurels, however. We have an historic
opportunity and responsibility to press our advantage. America remains
one of the most violent of the industrialized countries, and we can--
and must--redouble our efforts to uproot the culture of violence in our
nation. Our efforts in the last six years are clearly a prescription
for success, and we look forward to furthering that success to make
America even more secure against violent crime.
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Attachment D
Prepared Statement of Donald K. Stern
Chairman Thurmond, Chairman Sessions, Senator Biden, Senator
Schumer, and other Members of the Subcommittees. Thank you for inviting
me to testify this afternoon on gun prosecutions. I have spent a good
deal of the last 5\1/2\ years as the United States Attorney for the
District of Massachusetts, focusing on this issue, as part of the
effort to reduce youth violence. I have also served as the Chair of the
Attorney General's Advisory Committee of United States Attorneys. And,
I am pleased to report that Federal prosecutors' partnerships with
federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as with
others in Boston, have achieved considered success. Indeed, over 200
different jurisdictions have come to Boston to learn about what some
have referred to as the ``Boston model.''
First, please let me briefly set the scene--describing what things
were like in the early 90's in Boston and what they are like now. Then,
I will identify three basic reasons for this success. After that, I
would be pleased to respond to whatever questions members of the
Committees might have.
In 1990, homicides were at an all time high in Boston. Drive-by
shootings were commonplace. Parents were afraid to let their children
play outside. There was a real question about the viability of the
City.
These problems were symbolized by two events, now etched in the
memory of Boston. The first occurred in December, 1992, when fourteen
gang members invaded the Morning Star Baptist Church during the funeral
of a young murder victim, who had been shot in a drive-by killing. A
21-year old man was beaten and stabbed in the Church. Then, in December
of 1993, Louis Brown was murdered. Louis was a 15 year old honor
student, who attended West Roxbury High School. His dream was to be
this Nation's first African-American President. While on his way to an
afternoon anti-gang meeting, Louis was murdered in the cross-fire
between two gangs.
Things have dramatically changed. Between 1995 and 1998, homicides
dropped by 64 percent. In 1998, there were 35 homicides in Boston, as
compared with 152 in 1990. This year, thus far, there have been four
murders in Boston, down another 56 percent from this time last year.
Indeed, serious crime across the board is at its lowest level in 30
years.
And then there was that period from July 1995 through December,
1997, when not one juvenile in Boston was murdered by a gun. I repeat,
not one juvenile in Boston was murdered by a gun. While we knew that
this could not last forever, this time of peace underscored that we
were on to something successful.
In 1990, 51 Boston young people, ages 24 and under, were murdered
by a firearm. Last year, there were 16 such murders and this year, thus
far, zero.
I attribute this remarkable success to three things:
1. The creation of true partnerships between local, county,
state and federal officials as well as community leaders, the
faith community and business leaders.
2. A willingness for those people to step out of traditional
roles; and
3. A focused and targeted law enforcement strategy.
1. build partnerships
There is no question that the law enforcement community in Boston
has its act together--we are co-operating in ways unthinkable in years
past. While we shouldn't get medals for this--taxpayers should expect
it--you are probably not surprised to hear that turf battles among law
enforcement agencies can be fierce, even if counterproductive. For the
past several years, the relationships among local, state and federal
law enforcement has been a model for the country.
But this co-operative law enforcement effort would have fallen
short unless there was an equally important component of developing a
community-based justice system. Some of this is what's known as
community policing. Helped by the additional COPS provided under
President Clinton's Crime Bill, Boston, and many other communities in
Massachusetts, have reoriented policing to solve problems, rather then
simply react to 911 calls.
But, in Boston, the concept of community policing has been expanded
to include other parts of the criminal justice system, in particular
the prosecutors. Prosecutors, even federal prosecutors, now see their
role as pro-actively solving problems and making things safer in the
community, not just handling a conveyor belt of cases. As you know,
President Clinton has asked for $200 million in his fiscal year 2000
budget to fund the hiring of tough-on-crime prosecutors who can work on
key community crime problems such as guns, gangs and drugs. Deputy
Attorney General Eric Holder--who pioneered such a project in
Washington, DC when he was U.S. attorney--is spearheading that effort
for the Department.
The final part of building partnerships, and perhaps the most
important, is creating working-relationships with the community--
whether it be the religious community, street workers, crime watch
groups, or public housing tenant organizations. The success of Boston
is due as much to these community based efforts as it is to anything
law enforcement has done or can do.
2. rethink roles
The second reason for Boston's success is that people have been
willing to step outside of their traditional roles and in some cases
blur what were often thought to be bright line distinctions. Police
have gotten out of patrol cars and are listening at community meetings.
Prosecutors are in the neighborhoods and the schools. Probation
officers have come out from behind their desks and are making home
visits. They ride along in police cars so that the people they
supervise know that they are out there--watching.
Community groups are actively cooperating with the police.
Ministers have descended from the pulpit and are walking the streets.
And the list goes on.
3. focus and targeted law enforcement strategy
If some of this talk of co-operation and community based justice
sounds vague and soft, let me clear that up right now. The third and
essential leg of the Boston strategy is aggressive, focused and
targeted prosecution and law enforcement. This means determining who
are the relatively small number of violent criminals in Boston and
going after them with the combined fire power of local, state and
federal law enforcement.
While in many cases, this will mean state prosecution, critical
part of the strategy is federal prosecution--with long sentences and no
parole. In Boston, the federal priorities in this area are three-fold.
First, we are targeting gun traffickers, those who illegally sell
guns, seemingly oblivious to the deadly consequences.
Secondly, we are going after repeat violent offenders--criminals
who have racked up many convictions and seem to recycle through the
state system.
Third, we are picking off organized violent gangs, usually for drug
and fire arms offenses, but sometimes for murder.
This approach is premised on a few simple facts. Youth homicides
are concentrated in neighborhoods that have probably less than 75
gangs, involving approximately 1,300 youth. Although gang turfs
constitute less than four percent of the city, they account for 25
percent of Boston's serious crime.
Most youth living in these ``hot spots'' are well known to the
criminal justice system. Indeed, 75 percent of known homicide offenders
and victims had been arraigned for at least one offense.
We have made no secret of this strategy--dubbed Operation
Ceasefire. In fact, a key component is that the entire law enforcement
community--local, state and federal--deliver a unified, clear message
that unless the violence stops, gang members will be subject to an
intense level of scrutiny. Gang members are explicitly told, often in
face-to-face meetings, that they have a basic choice--stop the flow of
guns and stop the violence or face rapid, focused and comprehensive
enforcement.
In certain instances, it means long federal sentences. One such
case involved a 24 year old man who, as an adult, had 15 prior state
felony convictions, almost half of which were for crimes of violence or
drugs. He was stopped by a Boston officer, after handing off a gun to a
juvenile. He still had a single bullet which he was brazenly tossing in
his hand.
What he didn't realize is that, as a felon, the possession of
ammunition violates federal law. After conviction, he was sentenced to
20 years in federal prison. At sentencing, the judge made clear that
this long sentence was imposed because he was a career violent
criminal. The result was widely publicized by Boston Police Department,
through word of mouth and handbills. This informal but direct publicity
is important.
As David Kennedy, a researcher at Harvard's Kennedy School who
helped craft Operation Ceasefire, wrote, ``gang members do not read
about three strike laws or armed career criminal statutes in the New
York Times; if they are to be reached, enforcement agencies must be
forthcoming about the sanctions and consequences that result from
criminal behavior and be ready to back these words with action.''
So, what has worked for Boston is a balanced and comprehensive
approach--one that uses data collection, information sharing and
strategic allocation of law enforcement resources. It relies on very
aggressive law enforcement. Yet, at the same time, we have emphasized
prevention.
Indeed, this same collaboration is now working to find jobs for
those who want an alternative to gangs.
This effort, known as the Boston Jobs Project, is attempting to
make youth job ready and then help them actually get a job. It is
critical to the continued success and momentum we have achieved in
Boston. If we trust our judgment and believe that we can identify the
hard core, violent youth and prosecute them to the fullest--then we
should also be able to identify those who have shown that they are
willing to pursue an alternative course. This is one way in which we
can insure that the reduction in violence in Boston is not a temporary
phenomenon.
Thank you and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have at
this time.
Attachment E
Prepared Statement of Helen F. Fahey
Project Exile Executive Summary
For more than a decade the newspaper headlines have read the same:
Another Murder in the City of Richmond; Murder Rate Rises; Gun Violence
Continues. It was stark reality that the capital of the Commonwealth of
Virginia was routinely among the five cities with the worst per capita
murder rates in the country. In 1997 alone, 140 people were murdered,
122 of them with firearms. Even while homicide rates were dropping in
many areas of the country, they were actually increasing in Richmond.
The use of guns by drug dealers, the willingness of many to flaunt the
law and carry weapons, and a high incidence of domestic violence,
fueled this high and ever increasing murder rate.
In 1997, the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of
Virginia developed and initiated Project Exile in Richmond, aimed at
reducing the senseless and unbridled violence which was plaguing the
city. Project Exile is an aggressive, innovative, and creative approach
to reducing the murder rate, by changing the culture of violence in
Richmond through a comprehensive, multi-dimensional strategy. This
strategy includes both law enforcement and prosecution components aimed
at deterrence, as well as community outreach and education programs
focusing on prevention.
Project Exile is simple and straightforward in its execution, and
requires relatively limited prosecution and law enforcement resources.
The program's focus and message is clear, concise, easily understood,
and most importantly, unequivocal: ``AN ILLEGAL GUN GETS YOU FIVE YEARS
IN FEDERAL PRISON.'' For criminals carrying guns, the consequences have
been swift, certain, and severe. For the citizens of Richmond, the
results have been dramatic. They have taken back their neighborhoods,
and now live in safer communities where houses can become homes, and
neighbors can truly become friends.
The law enforcement and prosecution components of our strategy take
full advantage of stiffer bond rules and sentencing guidelines
available in federal court. In every case in Richmond where it is
appropriate, felons with guns, drug dealers who use or possess
firearms, and those using guns during domestic violence, are prosecuted
federally. The project has fully integrated and coordinated local,
state and federal (BATF/FBI) law enforcement agencies, and local and
federal prosecutors. This widely-based task force accomplishes prompt
identification of a potential Project Exile defendant through the use
of an expedited reporting system, which has decreased processing time
from several months to several days. In court, bond is routinely and
successfully opposed, defendants receive speedy trials and mandatory
minimum sentences are imposed. The average sentence for a Project Exile
defendant is an impressive 53.6 months. With swift and certain justice,
the project has deterred violent crime in the City of Richmond by
changing the culture of violence and criminal behavior.
As of March 14, 1999, in Richmond;
1. 438 individuals have been indicted for federal gun
violations;
2. 512 guns have been seized;
3. 331 persons have been arrested or are in state custody;
4. 236 arrestees (approx. 74 percent) have been held without
bond;
5. 302 have been convicted;
6. 215 have been sentenced and the average sentence is 53.6
months.
The other major and essential component of the project addresses
prevention. Project Exile has been an innovative community outreach and
education initiative, using various media to get the message to the
criminals that illegal guns are unacceptable, and will not be
tolerated. More importantly, it has built a community alliance directed
at the problem. A coalition of business, community and church leaders,
and organizations such as the Retail Merchant's Association and the
Chamber of Commerce, has been assembled to promote the project. The
coalition, operating as the Project Exile Citizen Support Foundation,
has funded a creative advertising campaign, including TV and radio
commercials, billboards, a city bus completely painted black bearing
the logo ``An Illegal Gun Gets You 5 Years in Federal Prison,'' 15,000+
business cards with the same message distributed on the street by local
police, and a print advertising campaign. This outreach program has
been extremely successful, increasing citizen reports about guns, and
energizing the community to support police efforts.
Through these efforts, hundreds of armed criminals have been
removed from Richmond's streets. One violent gang, responsible for many
murders, has been dismantled, its members now in prison. The rate of
gun carrying by criminals has been significantly reduced, protecting
not only the public but our police officers as well. Officers now
report seeing drug dealers throwing down weapons before running from
police, instead of taking the risk of being caught with a weapon.
Information obtained from Project Exile defendants has been crucial to
solving a large number of homicides. Most importantly, these efforts
appear to be stemming the tide of violence. Homicides in 1998 were
approximately 33 percent below 1997, for the lowest number since 1987.
In the same period, armed robberies declined 30 percent. So far in
1999, homicides are down an additional 9 percent from 1998. As a
result, the citizens not only feel safer, they are safer.
Because of the demonstrated results in Richmond, the U.S.
attorney's office in the Eastern District of Virginia has expanded
Project Exile to the Tidewater area of Virginia, and is committed to
continuing Project Exile as long as the need exists. Other cities have
taken note of Project Exile's impact on the City of Richmond. Project
Exile's concepts have been fully implemented in Rochester, New York,
which is already seeing success similar to that in Richmond. Other
cities, such as Philadelphia, PA, Oakland, CA, Birmingham, AL, Baton
Rouge LA, and Camden, NJ, are in the process of implementing projects
based on the Richmond model.
Project Exile has proven that a comprehensive, multi-dimensional
strategy can and will work. It can be a vital tool in accomplishing one
of President Clinton's top priorities--reducing the gun violence on our
streets.
Project Exile
Project Exile is a comprehensive, multi-dimensional program by the
United States Attorney's Office, B.A.T.F., U.S. Marshal, and F.B.I., in
coordination with the Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney's Office,
Richmond Police Department, the Virginia Attorney General, the Virginia
State Police, and the business community and citizens of Richmond to
reduce gun violence and remove armed criminals from Richmond streets.
The project has made significant strides since it was announced on
February 28, 1997, but reducing gun violence requires a coordinated
community response to ensure continued success.
1. the problem
Gun violence has plagued Richmond for the last ten years, with
Richmond consistently ranking in the top five murder per capita rates
for the country. Thus, while homicide rates were dropping across the
country, in Richmond they were actually increasing. In 1997, 140 people
were murdered, 122 of them with firearms. Ordinary citizens live in
fear, held hostage in their own homes by the gun violence on the
streets. The drain on the business community is real and economic
development opportunities are lost. Business employees are in danger of
being murdered in robberies. Brave police officers face this danger
every day. The toll this places on us all is simply incalculable.
Different causes play a role in the grim statistics. It is a fact
that criminals in this city are regularly armed and willing to use
weapons. By 1997, the link between drug dealing and guns had escalated
to the point that almost every drug dealer was fully armed with high
powered, readily accessible firearms, and they frequently used guns to
steal from competitors, deter stealing, and carry out revenge. Even
without the drug connection, for a variety of reasons, the police
report a greater willingness of many on the street to carry weapons.
This obviously contributes to the violence.
Behind the total statistics is also an important picture. Those
being killed are not just criminals. In fact, while a large percentage
of the homicide toll is connected to drugs, there is more to that
story. In 1998, 80 percent of all homicide victims were African-
American, which places a grievous toll on one particular segment of the
community. Half of the victims had no prior criminal record, which
demonstrates that many persons killed were unlikely to have been
involved in criminal activity leading to the homicide. Finally, the
average age of homicide victims in 1998 was 28.2 years.
The city also suffers direct, quantifiable economic losses from
armed criminal violence. The drain on business development is real.
Every survey done in the last ten years listed violent crime as a major
factor slowing Richmond's economic growth. This is all the more serious
because any long term solution to crime and drugs must be based on
having sufficient numbers of decent paying jobs. The success of Project
Exile has helped counteract the negative impact violent crime has had
on Richmond's public image.
2. the response--project exile
(a) Law enforcement
Project Exile is named for the idea that if the police catch a
criminal in Richmond with a gun, the criminal has forfeited his right
to remain in the community. The criminal will face immediate federal
prosecution and stiff mandatory federal prison sentences (often five to
ten years), and will be ``exiled'' to federal prison.
The innovative organizational aspects for the investigation/
apprehension/prosecution parts of the project include:
1. full coordination from the officer on the beat to the
federal prosecutor;
2. full coordination with the local Commonwealth Attorney's
Office and the Virginia Attorney General's Office, with each
office detailing a staff prosecutor to the U.S. attorney's
office to assist in prosecutions;
3. active coordination of all police agencies (Richmond
Police Department, Virginia State Police, Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation),
a simplified reporting system; and,
4. coordinated use of innovative and aggressive policing
methods such as traffic checkpoints to locate drugs and guns.
When a police officer finds a gun during the officer's duties, the
officer pages an A.T.F. agent (24 hours a day). They review the
circumstances and determine whether a federal statue applies. If so,
federal criminal prosecution is initiated.
To enhance the investigate process, Project Exile has obtained
increased manpower from two Richmond Police Department officers, and
two Virginia State Troopers detailed to the FBI and A.T.F. offices.
(b) Prosecutions
The United States Code contains a series of statutes that can be
used against the armed criminal. In summary, felons, drug users,
fugitives, illegal aliens, and those convicted of domestic violence are
prohibited from possessing firearms. Similarly, carrying a firearm in
connection with drug dealing in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(c)
carries a mandatory five year jail term.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ In addition, this provision was amended in October 1998 to
broaden its applicability to mere possession of a firearm in
furtherance of a drug trafficking crime or crime of violence. The
amendments signed into law also increase the mandatory prison term
where the weapon is either brandished (7 years), or discharged (10
years). These amendments will substantially increase the effectiveness
of the statutory tools available to prosecutors of armed criminals.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal prosecution is particularly effective for a number of
reasons. First, the project entails taking an aggressive position
against bond, and this approach has been successful in taking
defendants off the street. The federal bond statutes provide for
holding a defendant without bond when the defendant poses a danger to
the community. In this regard, for example, armed drug dealers are
presumed to be dangerous and bear the burden of justifying release on
some form of bond. Shifting this burden concerning bond has resulted in
the vast majority of Exile defendants being held without bond.
Second, the federal system applies a mandatory sentencing guideline
system in which a court's sentencing discretion is limited. Therefore,
for a given type of firearm violation, the penalty is clear,
substantial, and served in full without parole. Thus, an armed criminal
is truly ``exiled'' from the community. In plea discussions, the
federal prosecutor insists in the mandatory minimum sentences for armed
criminals. If a plea agreement is not reached, the case is tried in
federal court. In both jury and bench trials, the prosecution has
prevailed and lengthy prison sentences have been imposed.
Finally, defendants know that a federal jail term will likely be
served elsewhere in the country. This has a major impact because
serving a jail sentence among friends and acquaintances is seen by the
defendants as much less onerous than serving time in a prison out of
state. Anecdotally, defendants have expressed more concern about where
they serve their time than whether they will be going to prison.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ The media outreach effort has been using this concern to
increase the effectiveness of the project. For example, the July 1998
copy for the radio traffic report sponsorships addresses the prospect
of serving a prison term ``way out in the country'' in California,
Minnesota or Texas. On the street, this is a very effective advertising
line.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Experience since Project Exile was announced demonstrates that
federal prosecutors can undertake a large scale prosecution effort of
gun crimes with relatively limited personnel resources, and with a
quick disposition of cases. It is estimated that an average of
approximately three Assistant United States Attorneys and Special
Assistant United States Attorneys have been utilized on Project Exile,
including prosecutors detailed at various times from the Richmond
Commonwealth Attorney's Office, Virginia Attorney General's Office and
the Department of Justice. As of March 14, 1999,
a. 438 individuals have been indicted for firearm violations;
b. 512 guns have been seized in these cases;
c. 331 have been arrested on the federal charges;
d. 236 (approx. 74 percent) have been held without bond;
e. 302 have been convicted;
f. 215 have been sentenced with an average sentence of 53.6
months.
(c) Law enforcement training
To enhance the investigative effort, the U.S. attorney's office has
conducted several training programs. Specifically, all Richmond police
officers have twice attended hour long lectures on federal firearm
statutes and the procedures followed in Project Exile. Beginning in
March 1998, a more extensive lecture program was conducted with every
police officer. Training also covered related search and seizure
issues.
From June-August, 1998, in connection with the Department of
Justice, a new Gun Recovery Initiative which included training,
enforcement, and organizational measures was completed at the Richmond
Police Department's Police Academy for over 100 selected officers. The
Gun Recovery Initiative is aimed at improving the ability of the police
to detect firearm violations and apprehend the perpetrators.
3. public outreach/education
The community must understand that armed criminals are not a
``police problem''; they are the community's problem. Armed drug
dealers in particular terrorize parts of our city. Only if the
community gets involved, and assists, will the homicide and violent
crime rates be reduced.
But we cannot stop here. What is needed is greater citizen
involvement and support. If only one citizen on each block called to
report an illegal gun, that would double the effect of the police force
at no cost to the taxpayers, and would go a long way toward making
their own streets safe. The leaders and organizations which have begun
this effort have done great work. But continued success will require
much more outreach and education. Substantial support from the business
community it necessary to achieve the results we know are possible.
(a) Project Exile Citizen Support Foundation
To this end, it was announced in July 1997 that several civic
leaders and community groups had formed the ``Project Exile Citizen
Support Foundation'' to support Project Exile with a variety of public
outreach and education efforts through various media. The Foundation
was created by Stanley Joynes, Esq., a prominent Richmond attorney who
has embraced the purposes and goals of Project Exile. Mr. Joynes and
his law firm, LeClair Ryan, provided free legal work to create the
support Foundation, registered it as a tax exempt organization, and
handled the contracting issues for the various media contracts.
Primarily through Mr. Joynes' contacts, tens of thousands of dollars
have been raised for the media effort, and thousands more were raised
in the form of donated media time and support.
(i) Media efforts
The Foundation has been instrumental in the affirmative use of the
media carrying the message ``An Illegal Gun Gets You Five Years in
Federal Prison,'' and asking citizens to anonymously report guns on the
street to the Metro Richmond Crime Stoppers telephone number. The
Martin Agency, a prominent national advertising agency located in
Richmond, provided substantial creative and production assistance at no
cost to develop ways to get the message out to the community. The
message has been distributed through 15 billboards, a fully painted
city bus which covers the entire city by changing routes each day, TV
commercials, Metro Richmond traffic reports, over a million supermarket
bags urging support of Project Exile, and 15,000+ business cards with
the message distributed on the street by local police, and print
advertising.
The media outreach effort has substantially reduced street carrying
rates. In addition, primarily as a result of the citizen outreach
through the media/advertising effort, more citizens are reporting guns
on the street, and a large number of gun cases result from citizen
calls. In the beginning of 1997, that was the exception. There is no
doubt that the use of aggressive media/advertising has significantly
increased the deterrent effect of the firearms prosecutions.
For 1998-1999, because of its demonstrated success, we developed a
much larger media effort with a six figure budget with different
creative methods/means and a spot public relations campaign, including
op/ed pieces and media appearances by law enforcement officials.
Funding has been provided by corporations, associations, law firms and
individuals.
4. richmond public schools/firearm safety programs
Recognizing the need for a broader program to teach children about
gun safety, the U.S. attorney's office also attempted to address the
problem of firearm violence through education in the public schools. As
part of Project Exile, the U.S. attorney's office, in cooperation with
the Richmond Public Schools, arranged for a gun safety program, built
around the cartoon character ``Eddie Eagle,'' be provided to all
elementary school students (K-5) at no cost.
The Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program is an accident prevention
program for children in pre-school through grade six that teaches
children what to do if they see a gun in an unsupervised situation.
Recognized by the National Safety Council, and the American Legion in
granting its National Education Award, the program has been presented
to approximately 10 million children nationwide since its inception in
1988. Beginning March 2, 1998, the 15,600 elementary students in
Richmond's schools were given instructions that if they discovered or
confronted a firearm that they were to ``Stop. Don't touch. Leave the
area. Tell an adult.''. The message, the equivalent of ``don't play
with matches,'' and similar safety programs, enables children to avoid
becoming victims. This professional program, developed with teaching
and law enforcement professionals, includes a fast paced video, fun-
filled activity books, brochures, stickers, posters, and a parent's
guide to teach a plain, simple safety message. The materials, plus
training assistance, were provided free of charge by the National Rifle
Association. The program is scheduled to be repeated for several years.
In April 1998, the Richmond City Public School Board issued a
Certificate of Appreciation to the U.S. attorney's office for helping
to bring this program to the school system. In addition, A.T.F. agents
are also conducting firearm safety and awareness programs in Richmond
Public Schools.
5. metro richmond crime stoppers
In many Richmond communities, the armed criminal element has so
terrorized the citizens that crimes and suspicious activity go
unreported. The Metro Richmond Crime Stoppers program providers a
telephone number for citizens to anonymously report criminal activity
with the possibility of a reward up to $1,000. Project Exile has
utilized the number, and extensively publicized it, as the most
efficient method to allow citizens to report armed criminals without
fear of identification. The staff of the Metro Richmond Crime Stoppers
will then send the report to the police department for prompt police
response. In addition, the U.S. attorney's office participates in the
monthly board meetings and has requested certain drug forfeiture
proceeds to be used through the police department to enhance its
operations. The U.S. attorney's office also made a presentation at the
Virginia Crime Stoppers Association 29th Semi-Annual Training
Conference on October 16, 1998 at Staunton, Virginia. This is just one
illustration of how Project Exile is coordinating existing programs to
maximize the deterrent effect of the prosecutions.
6. city of richmond's commitment to project exile
The goal of Project Exile is simply to make Richmond's streets safe
for all of its citizens. Any Richmonder knows what a great city
Richmond is to live, work, own and operate a business, raise a family,
and enjoy all the community has to offer. Unfortunately, the city's
image has been tarnished with regular stories in the national media
about the city's high per capita murder rate. Recognizing the potential
of Project Exile, the City of Richmond government has strongly
supported the effort in several ways.
(a) Richmond Police Department
Any law enforcement effort directed at homicides on the street
relies first on the full commitment of the local police force. From its
inception, Project Exile has been fully supported by Police Chief Jerry
Oliver, and Deputy Chiefs Theresa Gooch and Fred Russell. The project
was conceived and developed with their direct input and ideas. Without
their full support in several aspects, the project could not have been
successful. First, the Richmond Police Department assigned three
officers full-time to the Exile task force. This led to quick
preparation of investigative reports and facilitated information
exchange.
Second the Richmond Police Department has organized several
training programs for all of its officers to educate the officers
regarding federal laws and involve the officers in the project. August
1998, the Richmond Police Department completed a week long gun
interdiction training program for over 100 selected officers to improve
gun detection on the streets. Each Richmond Police Officer also carries
a laminated card which summarizes the federal firearm statutes and
provides a 24 hour pager number if questions on firearms violations
arise in the field. Finally, every officer in the department has
received training regarding firearms law three times at roll call
meetings. A new round of roll call training began in December 1998.
Third, the department had improved its procedures for the handling
and tracing of firearms. Through its Firearms Administrator, Mr. John
Brooks, the Richmond Police Department insures that all firearms are
traced in coordination with ATF. Mr. Brooks also insures that all
firearms seizures are considered for inclusion in Project Exile.
Fourth, the Richmond Police Department has actively participated in
the public outreach effort. For example, on October 27, 1997, the
Police Department conducted a ``Crime Prevention Expo'' at which home
security and safety companies, neighborhood watch organizations, and
police officials presented information concerning crime prevention and
protection. Project Exile provided information and the keynote speaker,
as another means to distribute the anti-armed criminal message of the
project. The department has actively assisted in Project Exile's
participation in various community events in order to provide
additional opportunities to ensure the project's message gets out to
the community.
Project Exile is not just a ``federal initiative.'' Rather, Project
Exile is a true team effort in which the Richmond Police Department
plays a large and key role. Project Exile could not be successful
without the full commitment of the Richmond Police Department.
7. commonwealth of virginia's commitment to project exile
The Commonwealth of Virginia has supported Project Exile in a
number of important respects. This support is indicative of the team
approach taken throughout the project.
(i) Richmond Commonwealth Attorney's Office
Project Exile has been a cooperative program with the Richmond
Commonwealth Attorney's Office since the beginning. David Hicks, the
Commonwealth Attorney, has provided a prosecutor from his office to
assist in the prosecution of Exile cases.
(ii) Virginia State Police
Since the beginning of the project, the Virginia State Police have
been a partner in the effort. The Virginia State Police have assigned
state troopers to the task force of agents to expedite the preparation
of investigation reports, and assist in the apprehension of armed
criminals. The importance of this contribution cannot be overstated.
(iii) Virginia Attorney General
In October 1998, Virginia Attorney General Mark Earley announced
that an attorney from the Attorney General's Criminal Division would be
detailed to serve in the U.S. attorney's office as a full-time
prosecutor for gun related crimes under Project Exile.
(iv) Virginia Governor
In 1998, Virginia's Governor, Jim Gilmore, also endorsed and lent
his support to Project Exile. In particular, in September Gov. Gilmore
hosted a dinner for many of Richmond's business and political leaders,
at the governor's mansion to encourage support for Project Exile.
Support by Richmond's business community has been a critical part of
the success of the media outreach effort.
8. metro networks traffic report sponsorship
In January 1998, Project Exile began a traffic report sponsorship
campaign on twenty four local radio stations through Metro Networks to
increase understanding in the community about Project Exile, and send
out the message that armed criminals will be prosecuted federally and
removed from our community, that the citizens can help protect their
own communities by reporting armed criminals through the Metro Richmond
Crime Stoppers telephone number, and that the project is working. In
this campaign, each traffic report has a message that the report is
sponsored by Project Exile, and following the report the announcer gave
a message explaining the basic premise of the project. Subsequent
messages provide a phone number which can be used to anonymously report
armed criminals. This campaign has helped get the message out that
armed criminals will be prosecuted federally, detained without bond,
and receive mandatory sentences.
On April 13, 1998, a new traffic report sponsorship program began
with the assistance of Metro Networks. The program included
approximately 125 announcements per week on 24 radio stations which ran
for one month. An expanded sponsorship program, including funding from
the Chamber of Commerce, has enabled the program to continue.
9. fox-35 support
(a) Black Achiever's program
For the last three years, Fox-35 T.V. News at Ten has sponsored a
``Black Achievers'' month in which members of the African-American
community are recognized for their personal efforts to assist in
community activities and organizations for the betterment of Richmond.
Project Exile is a sponsor of this program. The U.S. attorney's office
participated on the selection panel to review nominations for the
awards. Each person selected was featured in segments on Fox-35
throughout March 1998, with the Project Exile message given as sponsor
approximately 190 times. The program presents an excellent means of
distributing the project's message that the community must assist in
combating armed criminals, and also stresses that law enforcement is
not an end in itself but a means by which our community can be
substantially improved.
(b) Fox-35 Corporate Invitational Golf Tournament
Richmond's local Fox Network affiliate, Fox-35, has found great
value in Project Exile and has done much to promote it, including a
good deal of free and discounted air time for the outreach television
spots. On September 1, 1998, Fox-35 held a Corporate Invitational Golf
Tournament to benefit Project Exile. Through the tournament,
approximately $100,000 in commercial air time was obtained.
10. community pride food stores
On July 30, 1998, Mr. Johnny Johnson, President/CEO/Owner of the
Community Pride Food Stores chain announced Community Pride's
sponsorship of Project Exile. As a corporate citizen serving the needs
of the communities most directly affected by armed criminal violence,
Community Pride is well positioned to assist in the outreach effort.
Community Pride began reaching the community through a series of ads,
with slogans such as ``Bag A Crook, Support Project Exile,'' placed on
its grocery bags. It is estimated that these messages reach over 75,000
customers per week.
11. other media coverage
Experience in Project Exile has demonstrated that getting the
message out to both the criminals and the community is a continuing
requirement to ensure success. As part of this effort, Project Exile
has received various other news media coverage explaining the project
and its success.
(a) Richmond Times Dispatch/Richmond Free Press/``Hard Times''
The Richmond Times Dispatch has played a central role, through its
coverage of federal court proceedings, in publicizing the project and
its purposes. The coverage of Project Exile related matters has been
extensive, balanced, and has informed the public of the project's
purposes and success. The project would not be the success it has been
without professional and detailed reporting in the paper.
Similarly, the Richmond Free Press, a newspaper directed toward the
African-American community, has provided important coverage of the
project's success. This coverage is important because the African-
American community has been particularly victimized by armed criminal
violence. Full page ads were run in early 1999 regarding the project.
Finally, the Virginia Coalition for the Homeless' bi-weekly
newspaper ran full page ads in January and February 1999 in support of
the project. These ads reached many of those most affected by the
problem of criminal violence.
(b) National News
In July 1998, the Fox Network national news division produced a
report which aired nationally on July 15, 1998. The report commented
favorably on the project and its success. As a result, the U.S.
attorney's office received inquiries from cities around the country
about the project and whether it could be emulated in their localities.
Such reports serve to alert other areas to the approach and
possibilities for dealing with firearm violence.
As a result of the creative approach taken in Project Exile, CBS
and ABC have highlighted the program in their broadcasts. The reports
gave national exposure to the ``good news'' that Richmond's criminal
violence is being substantially reduced.
(c) Local T.V.
The Unites States Attorney conducted a series of interviews on
April 9, 1998 with reporters from each of the local T.V. stations to
discuss Project Exile and its success. These interviews served to
continue the high public visibility of the project.
(d) National print media coverage
In June 1998, the project began receiving national attention
through various media including the Washington Post, New York Times,
the Philadelphia Inquirer, U.S. News and World Report, U.S.A. Today,
Crime Prevention News, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times,
as a program that is working in dealing with violent crime. As a
result, the U.S. attorney's office has received numerous inquiries from
jurisdictions around the country and is providing information to
replicate the project in those areas.
12 national organization endorsements
The coordinated approach to removing the armed criminal from
Richmond's streets has received national attention beyond the
electronic media. National groups crossing the political spectrum have
reviewed and endorsed the project's approach.
On March 5, 1998, the U.S. attorney's office received a letter of
endorsement from Mr. Wayne LaPierre and Ms. Tanya Metaksa on behalf of
the National Rifle Association, and on March 12, 1998, from Mrs. Sarah
Brady on behalf of Handgun Control, Inc. As their letters makes clear,
no matter what one's views are regarding the myriad issues involved in
the ongoing gun control debate, all parties can agree that vigorous
prosecution and sentencing of the armed criminal is not only
appropriate, but also the first step in eliminating this modern
terrorist from our streets. The NRA has also made substantial donations
to the Project Exile Citizen Support Foundation.
13. success
Recent academic studies, comparing crime and punishment rates in
various countries, have made clear that swift, sure, and substantial
prosecution punishment of violent crime will result in a reduction of
those crime rates. By any measure, applying this principle, Project
Exile has been an unqualified success. In a very brief time period, the
project has removed a large number of criminals predisposed to violence
from the streets of Richmond. The project has also demonstrated
substantial reductions in gun carrying by criminals. In Richmond, the
homicide rate has been significantly reduced. While many factors have
contributed to the reduction, there is no doubt that project Exile has
been a major factor. Homicides in 1998 were down 33 percent from 1997
and for 1999 through 18 March, homicides are down 97 percent from the
same date in 1998. The homicide rate in 1998 was the lowest in the city
since 1987.
Any one of numerous anecdotes tells the story as well:
1. In the Spring 1998, in the execution of a search warrant,
a defendant was caught with substantial quantities of drugs.
What was unique was that no guns were found in the search. This
was the first time anyone could remember a defendant with so
much narcotics not being armed. The defendant was questioned
extensively about where the guns were, with the defendant
vehemently denying having any guns. Finally, somewhat
exasperated, the defendant looked at the prosecutor and said
``Haven't you heard man? Five years.'' It was clear that the
advertising message, ``An illegal gun gets you five years in
federal prison'', had gotten through to its primary target
audience.
2. In another case, again in an interrogation, a drug/gun
defendant patiently explained how he understood the ``feds''
had a special T.V. channel going into the projects to spread
the message that the feds were cracking down on guns. He was
referring to the T.V. commercials run at the end of 1997 on
Fox-35 and several cable channels. He got the message even
while overestimating the degree of the advertising.
3. In a recent case concerning the sentencing of a defendant,
the defendant wrote to the U.S. attorney complaining that the
sentence he would be getting under the federal sentencing
guidelines was too harsh in that it was based in part on his
juvenile convictions. It was clear he had seen the outreach
media message because he wrote in his letter,
I'm writing to you in reference to my Presentence
Investigation Report. My charge is possession of a firearm by a
convicted felon. My sentence guideline is 77-96 months. In
reaching my sentence guideline, the probation officer used 3
charges from my juvenile record on page 4 of my Presentence
Investigation. * * * in all do respect, I think going back to
my juvenile record is a little too much. Even the bus and the
billboard says five years. * * * (emphasis added)
4. In April 1998, a probation officer advised the United
States Attorney's Office that he had been talking with a
supervised defendant who had been engaged in drug dealing for
many years. The defendant gestured to a poster on the wall with
the Exile campaign message (``An Illegal Gun Gets You Five
Years In Federal Prison'') and said ``you got that right''. He
explained to the probation officer that the word on the street
now is that if you sell drugs, then ``sell drugs but don't be
carrying no gun''. He said the message had gotten to the
criminal element. Breaking the gun/drug link is the single most
important factor in reducing street violence and murders.
5. In June 1998, a plainclothes detective reported stopping
three individuals on the street who met the radioed description
of three individuals wanted for a recent crime. The detective
detained the three and did a safety patdown for weapons. He
asked one of the three of he had any weapons. The person
responded, ``Are you crazy. That Exile thing will put you away
for five years. I'd be an old man when I got out.'' None of the
individuals were in fact carrying firearms.
The criminal element is clearly getting the message.
14. future efforts
(a) Commitment to the comprehensive effort in Richmond
Recent statistics show that the U.S. attorney's office for the
Eastern District of Virginia now ranks second among federal districts
in prosecuting federal firearm violations. The U.S. attorney is proud
of this long term commitment to addressing the problem of violent crime
in the District and intends to continue the Office's focus on armed
criminals.
Because success requires a sustained commitment, the federal and
local authorities have pledged to continue the program as long as the
need exists. Additional manpower has been assigned by the Richmond
Police Department and the Virginia State Police, along with additional
FBI and ATF resources requested by Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder.
Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney, David Hicks, has detailed an
experienced prosecutor to the U.S. attorney's office from the beginning
of Project Exile to assist with the trial workload of the project, and
in October, 1998, the Virginia Attorney General also detailed an
attorney to the Richmond U.S. attorney's office through October 1999 to
assist on trials. In addition, the Department of Justice, thru Deputy
Attorney General Eric Holder, a strong supporter of Project Exile, has
detailed attorneys on a temporary basis to assist with Project Exile
cases.
(b) Expansion of Project Exile to other areas
In January 1998, the U.S. attorney's office announced the expansion
of the project to the Norfolk area. Certain areas in the Tidewater area
also have high homicide rates, and it is expected that significant
reductions can be achieved there as well. Since Project Exile began in
the Tidewater area, 112 indictments have been brought, 43 individuals
have been convicted and the average sentence is 64.4 months. To date,
279 guns have been seized.
Conclusion
t is not an exaggeration to say that armed criminals can and do
terrorize our cities. Senseless violence tears at the very fiber of our
community, and we cannot allow that to continue. We must deal with
these criminals swiftly and firmly, so that our citizens can return to
a level of normalcy, where decent, law abiding people can live, work,
and most importantly raise this nation's next generation of young
adults.
However, federal prosecutions alone cannot put an end to the
tragedy of violence in our cites. A sustained and comprehensive
community effort is critical to our ultimate success. With the
leadership of community-based organizations, such as those mentioned
above, and with the support of those living in the community, we can
overcome both the cause and the effect of the unbridled and
unprecedented violence we have all seen.
While Project Exile is only part of the solution, it can send and
enforce a very important message to the criminal element; an illegal
gun will get you five years in federal prison.
This is a proven strategy, and it is making a difference.
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Senator Sessions. Thank you very much, and thank you for
your leadership. I was going to ask--and I think it is
correct--that this wouldn't be the only cause of that decline.
But I think it is fair to say you believe it is a measurable
factor in the decline in----
Ms. Fahey. I think it has been a very significant factor.
But I would also like to say--and to some extent this is in
response to your comments earlier about perhaps neglecting
other kinds of cases. With a very small staff in the Richmond
office, we have prosecuted a large number of multi-defendant
violent drug gangs and done a number of death penalty cases as
well as a public corruption case, a major fraud case in the
past year, year and a half. So I think that both can be done.
They are not mutually exclusive.
Senator Sessions. I would say those in combination are
clearly the most effective things to reduce crime: prosecuting
violent drug gangs and gun cases.
Chief Oliver.
STATEMENT OF JERRY A. OLIVER
Chief Oliver. Good afternoon. My name is Jerry Oliver, and
I am proud to be the police chief in the city of Richmond, VA.
As the fourth person to present this afternoon, I can assure
you that some of my comments will be somewhat redundant, at
least from my perspective.
Accompanying me this afternoon, if I may, I would like to
introduce Detective Sergeant C.T. Woody from our community
intelligence team; Sergeant Mike Shamus and Officer John Hannah
who are both uniformed members of the Richmond Police
Department rapid mobilization team, and who are the street-
level people that actually get this Project Exile that we are
talking about done. So I asked them to come along for their
perspective at the street level.
Conceived from a partnership developed in 1996, Project
Exile is the byproduct of what I consider to be a very strong
and effective relationship between the Richmond Police
Department and the Office of the U.S. attorney for the Eastern
District of Virginia, the Honorable Helen Fahey. It is the
result of a desire to explore confrontive and aggressive and
innovative alternative strategies to address the difficult and
sometimes intractable urban problems of guns, drugs, thugs, and
street violence.
When I arrived in May of 1995 to become police chief in
Virginia's capital city, Richmond was reeling from an ever
increasing level of violent crimes from the previous year of
1994. During that year, a record of 160 persons were viciously
murdered and a total of 3,594 violent crimes were reported in
the city.
Richmond is a city of just over 200,000 people, and like so
many other American cities and metropolitan areas, much of
Richmond's crime problem stemmed primarily from the trafficking
of illegal substances, particularly crack cocaine, and the
violent competitive behavior associated with this commerce.
Guns, drugs, and thugs went hand in hand in many of our
neighborhoods and on our street corners. Richmond was widely
known as an area with a very high ``carry rate'' for guns, a
problem that was recognized by the U.S. attorney.
In 1996, Helen Fahey, U.S. attorney for the Eastern
District, joined me in developing this approach we now know as
Project Exile. Through the tireless efforts and total
commitment of what I consider to be a brilliant prosecutor and
true community leader, Jim Comey, James B. Comey, Deputy
Assistant U.S. attorney for the Richmond area, and David
Schiller, Assistant U.S. attorney and chief Federal prosecutor
for Project Exile, we carefully and deliberately crafted a
program to aggressively target and prosecute those criminals
who use firearms, particularly handguns, to threaten our
neighborhoods and diminish the excellent quality of life in
Richmond.
From the project's inception, the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms was brought on board, as the sponsoring
agency, to become the key third member of our new team. Agents
from the local office are assigned, as part of the Project
Exile Task Force, to aid our officers in their investigations
at the street level and to adopt cases that meet certain
criteria for prosecution within the Federal courts under 18
U.S. Code 922 and 924. Such criteria include gun possession
while possessing drugs; gun possession by a convicted felon;
gun possession if a person is a fugitive from another State;
gun possession if under a felony indictment; gun possession if
a person is the subject of a restraining order; gun possession
by a drug user; gun possession if a person has been involved in
prior domestic violence; or gun possession if the gun is known
(by the possessor) to be stolen.
A ``typical'' Project Exile case would involve an officer
who might be assigned to a precinct beat car or to any other
uniformed or plainclothes units of our agency, like these
gentlemen that accompanied me today, encountering or arresting
an individual who has used or is in possession of a firearm. If
during the course of that investigation or that incident it is
learned that a person meets any of the previously listed
criteria, the case is referred to the Project Exile Task Force
for review and possible adoption. Additional State charges may
or may not be placed against this person at this time,
depending upon the circumstances of the encounter.
This prosecutorial strategy offers three advantages over
existing State statutes: one, stiffer sentencing guidelines for
those using firearms in the commission of drug offenses or
crimes of violence; two, a rebuttable presumption of bail, that
is, a ``no bail'' provision prior to an offender's first
appearance in court; and, three, the likelihood of service a
number of years in prison far, far away from home, from their
associates, and from their criminal support networks in the
community.
Other agencies soon joined our efforts. The Honorable Mark
L. Earley, Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia,
assigned members of his staff to provide assistance. Our local
Commonwealth's Attorney, David Hicks, has assigned a full-time
prosecutor to this effort. Other law enforcement agencies, such
as the Virginia State Police and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, quickly offered their support as well.
The Project Exile Task Force is now staffed by Federal,
State, and local law enforcement officers, along with Federal
and State prosecutors. The Richmond Police Department has
assigned three officers specifically to help facilitate the
prosecution of these cases and has a staff member dedicated to
the tracking and researching of all firearms seized by the
Richmond Police Department. This effort, which was talked about
and described earlier, also is supported by the Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms National Tracing Center.
There has been a list given to you earlier about the
successes, but just quickly, by 1997, successes were being
realized, and in a period of 4 months--February to May--92
persons were indicted for firearms-related crimes. Over half of
these were held without bond for trial. Fifty-five persons have
been convicted and sentenced to terms in Federal facilities.
Project Exile strategies, in conjunction with our department's
Residential Intensive Patrol and other RIP activities, ``Street
Heat'' and similar enforcement activities, have been aggressive
and have led to the success that you have heard described here
today.
Just a real quick word about advertising. We have many
partners that have not been talked about here today, and those
are the community people that help raise the funds to produce
the marketing element that we have talked about here with the
cards and with the billboards and the buses. The Martin Agency,
the Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Richmond Partnership, the
law firm of LeClair Ryan, and other small mom-and-pop type
businesses have come forward with money to help in this
pursuit.
All of this, Senator, has led to the success of Project
Exile in Richmond, and I thank you for the opportunity to be
here to describe the success.
[The prepared statement of Chief Oliver follows:]
Prepared Statement of Jerry A. Oliver
Colonel Jerry A. Oliver, accompanied by Sergeant Michael J. Shamus
and Officer John P. Hannah, both uniformed members of the Richmond
Police Department involved in a number of Project Exile cases.
Conceived from a partnership developed in 1996, Project Exile is
the brainchild of the Richmond Police Department and the United States
Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. It is the product of a
desire to explore innovative, alternative strategies to address the
difficult urban problem of guns, drugs, and violent crime.
When I arrived in May of 1995 to become police chief, Richmond was
reeling from intolerable levels of violent crime the previous year
(1994). During that year, a record 160 persons were murdered and a
total of 3,594 violent crimes were reported. This in a city of just
over 200,000 people. Like so many other cities and metropolitan areas
in our country, much of Richmond's crime problem stemmed from the
trafficking of illegal substances, particularly crack cocaine, and the
violent competitive behavior associated with this commerce. Guns and
drugs went hand in hand in many of our neighborhoods and on our street
corners. Richmond was widely known as an area with a very high ``carry
rate'' for guns, a problem that was recognized by the U.S. attorney.
In 1996, Helen F. Fahey, United States Attorney for the Eastern
District of Virginia, joined me in developing this new approach we now
know as Project Exile. Through the tireless efforts and total
commitment of James B. Comey, Deputy Assistant United States Attorney
for the Richmond area, and David Schiller, Assistant United States
Attorney and chief federal prosecutor for Project Exile, we crafted a
program to aggressively target, and prosecute, those criminals who use
firearms to threaten our neighborhoods and diminish the excellent
quality of life in Richmond.
From the project's inception, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms (BATF) was brought on board, as the sponsoring federal agency,
to become the third member of this new team. Agents from the local
office are assigned, as part of the Project Exile Task Force, to aid
our officers in their investigations and to ``adopt'' cases that meet
certain criteria for prosecution within the federal courts system under
18 United States Code 922 and 924. Such criteria include gun possession
while possessing drugs; gun possession by a convicted felon; gun
possession if a person is a fugitive from another state; gun possession
of under a felony indictment; gun possession if a person is the subject
of a restraining order; gun possession by a drug user; gun possession
if a person has been involved in prior domestic violence; or gun
possession if the gun is known (by the possessor) to be stolen.
A ``typical'' Project Exile case would involve an officer, who
might be assigned to a precinct beat car or to any other uniformed or
plain clothes unit of our agency, encountering or arresting an
individual who has used, or is in possession of, a firearm. If, during
the course of the investigation of that incident, it is learned that
the person meets any of the previously listed criteria, the case is
referred to the Project Exile Task Force for review and possible
adoption. State charges may or may not be placed against the person at
that time, depending upon the circumstances of the encounter.
This new prosecutorial strategy offers three advantages over
existing state statutes:
(1) stiffer sentencing guidelines for those using firearms in the
commission of drug offenses or crimes of violence.
(2) a ``no bail'' provision prior to an offender's first court
appearance, and
(3) the likelihood of serving a number of years in a prison far from
home and associates.
Other agencies soon joined our efforts. The Honorable Mark L.
Earley, Attorney General for The Commonwealth of Virginia, assigned
members of his staff to provide assistance. Our local Commonwealth's
Attorney, David Hicks, has assigned a full time prosecutor. Other law
enforcement agencies, such as the Virginia State Police and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, quickly offered support. The Project Exile
Task Force is now staffed by federal, state, and local law enforcement
officers, along with federal and state prosecutors. The Richmond Police
Department has assigned three officers to help facilitate the
prosecution of these cases and has a staff member dedicated to the
tracking and researching of all firearms seized by the Richmond Police
Department. These efforts are also supported by the BATF National
Tracing Center.
By early 1997, successes were realized in a period of 4 months
(February-May), 92 persons were indicted for firearms related crimes.
Over half of these were held without bond for trial, and 55 persons had
been convicted and sentenced to terms in federal facilities. Project
Exile strategies, in conjunction with our Department's Residential
Intensive Patrol (RIP) initiatives such as ``Street Heat'' and similar
enforcement efforts, soon produced results. Aggressive prosecution by
our Commonwealth's Attorney brought an end to the violence by
neighborhood-based drug groups known as the ``Poison Clan'' and the
``Dogg Pound''. Richmond's City Manager, along with City Council and
its Public Safety Committee, were instrumental in helping to devise,
and support, not only policing strategies, but a number of initiatives
across the spectrum of City government services.
Word began to spread quickly, and not just ``on the street''. With
the leadership of Dave Schiller, assistant U.S. attorney, and Stan
Joynes, a prominent attorney, we launched an ambitious campaign to
market our new efforts, and educate the law-abiding public and criminal
element, through the support of corporate and private sector partners
such as:
Greater Richmond Retail Merchants' Association,
The Martin Agency,
Chamber of Commerce--Greater Richmond,
Greater Richmond Partnership,
The law firm of LeClair Ryan,
National Rifle Association, and many other businesses and
individuals.
We have purchased advertising time and space. We run public service
announcements on radio and television. We advertise in the print media.
One bus, owned by the Greater Richmond Transit Company, is painted
black with the message, ``An illegal gun gets you 5 years in Federal
Prison'' in large white letters, accompanied by the telephone number of
our 24-hour hotline. The transit company rotates that bus among all
City routes in order to expose all of Richmond's communities to the
message that firearm violence in Richmond will not be tolerated.
Fifteen billboards, carrying the same message and number, can be found
around the metropolitan area warning those criminal minds of the
consequences of using a gun in the furtherance of their violent acts.
We have also distributed thousands of business cards with the same
message and color scheme.
Has it worked? As previously mentioned, there were 160 murders and
3,594 violent crimes committed in Richmond in 1994. That murder figure
gave Richmond one of the highest per capita homicide rates in the
United States. The numbers in each of these categories have decreased,
down to 94 murders (-41 percent) and 2,804 violent crimes (-22 percent)
in 1998. The first Project Exile indictment was prosecuted in early
1997. Through March of 1999, in just two years, there have been 438
people indicted under Project Exile guidelines. Seventy-four percent of
these were detained without bond. To date there have been 228
defendants sentenced, with the average offender being ``exiled'' to
53.8 months (4\1/2\ years). Perhaps of even more critical importance is
that fact that these indictments also resulted in the removal of 512
guns from the streets of Richmond and out of the hands of street thugs.
Our officers have observed, supported by citizen accounts, that fewer
drug dealers and users are being found carrying firearms. Thus, we are
realizing a reduction in the previously high ``carry rate'' mentioned
earlier. Consequently, gun violence has been reduced.
Our efforts through Project Exile have garnered regional and
national recognition. Other law enforcement agencies in Virginia now
pursue similar avenues of prosecution. Cities such as Rochester, NY;
Birmingham, AL; Camden, NJ; Philadelphia, PA; Oakland, CA; and Baton
Rouge, LA are implementing similar programs in their communities
modeled after that in Richmond.
We, in the Richmond Police Department, view Project Exile as one of
our greatest success stories of the past few years. It has truly been a
highlight among partnerships that the Richmond Police Department has
forged with other agencies and members of the community.
Project Exile has provided an avenue of prosecution for firearms
related crimes not previously available under our state system.
However, the Virginia General Assembly, in the recently adjourned 1999
session, passed legislation being referred to as ``Virginia Exile''.
These new laws closely mirror the sanctions and procedures found in 18
USC 922 and 924, and will provide other Virginia localities with
similarly aggressive policing tools to combat gun violence in their
communities. Our state legislators had only to examine the success of
Project Exile in their capital city to anticipate the positive effect
this new legislation would have throughout The Commonwealth. We
anticipate working closely with our state and local prosecutors in
pursuing aggressive prosecution in state courts, while building on our
successful partnership with the United States Attorney and other
members of the Project Exile team.
Senator Sessions. Thank you very much for your leadership.
It just seems to me the two of you are telling a story of a
community that was concerned about its crime rate, got
together, developed a plan that worked for you, and set about
to execute it using your common sense and good judgment and
experience as law officers. And I really salute you for it.
Mr. Timoney.
STATEMENT OF JOHN F. TIMONEY
Mr. Timoney. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman. I have submitted
this formally. There is no sense going through that, so I will
just hit some of the highlights and then spend about a minute
going over four maps that I brought with me.
I am John Timoney, the police commissioner of Philadelphia.
I was hired a little over a year ago by Mayor Rendell, after
having spent 29 years in the New York City Police Department. I
retired there with Commissioner Bratton in 1996 as the number
two person in that organization, and the two intervening years
I spent as a consultant and adviser to governments and police
departments all over the world.
I am greatly honored to have been invited to speak to you
today regarding gun violence. It is an issue that has been of
deep concern to me throughout my police career.
Gun violence is a critical issue in our Nation today, and
in Philadelphia, it has reached a crisis stage. Let me just
share some quick statistics with you, and I think you will get
the point that they are quite chilling.
Every year 1989 through 1997, the city of Philadelphia has
suffered at least 400 homicides. In each of the last 4 years,
guns have accounted for more than 80 percent of the homicides,
usually around 80, 82, or 84 percent. In addition more than
one-third of all aggravated assaults and more than one-half of
all robberies in Philadelphia last year involved the use of
guns.
More terrifying still is the effect of guns on children. In
10 percent of all Philadelphia gun homicides over the last
several years, a juvenile under the age of 18 was the trigger
man. Homicide is now the leading cause of death among youths
aged 16 to 21 in Philadelphia, and death by firearms has risen
102 percent in Philadelphia from 1985 to 1995.
Philadelphia police officers have been making heroic
efforts to stop gun violence. I am very proud of their
performance. They make approximately 4,000 gun arrests each
year. Unfortunately, however, the average sentence for a gun
conviction in Philadelphia is between 3 and 6 months.
With these grim statistics in mind, Mayor Ed Rendell and
U.S. Attorney Michael Stiles announced the implementation of
Operation Cease-Fire in January of this year. Operation Cease-
Fire is modeled on the success on Project Exile which has
dramatically reduced gun violence in Richmond by prosecuting
gun possession cases federally.
Let me just speak quickly. In Philadelphia, out of the
4,000 gun arrests, we estimate about 1,200 would be eligible
for Federal prosecution. Presently, under the new Project
Cease-Fire, about 200 will be, so there is lots of room for
improvement.
There is a debate going on in the United States today
regarding the role of the Federal Government and there is an
allegation afoot that somehow we are federalizing far too many
crimes. Well, in the area of narcotics and guns, as Senator
Specter said earlier, there has always been Federal
involvement. We just think there is a need for the Federal
Government to get involved, and in Philadelphia an even greater
need.
We have a tendency to think of gun violence as episodic,
isolated incidents. Let me just show you quickly four maps that
we used in our COMPSTAT process. Our COMPSTAT process is where
we have our weekly meetings with our commanders every Thursday
for 4 hours, and we go over crimes, and in this case we are
talking about gun violence.
The first one involves the Elias Pagan drug organization,
and here you will see it is in different parts of the city of
Philadelphia, different neighborhoods, but it involves
basically about five guns involved in 14 shootings, resulting
in six homicides. Arrests have been made, prosecutions have
been effectuated, but the five guns have not been recovered
yet. That is the drug organization. If you would flip over--I
should have brought my glasses.
Would you read that title to me, young man, on that one?
What is that one?
Staff. This is firearms and casing links for the city of
Philadelphia.
Mr. Timoney. The new IBIS system, which we implemented a
little over a year ago, of course, about $300,000, has analyzed
about 6,000 pieces of evidence. We have gotten cold hits on 122
cases, cold hits in 61 cases. They are in different parts of
Philadelphia.
Would you just flip over one more?
Senator Session. What do you mean ``cold hits''?
Mr. Timoney. On these homicide cases, we had absolutely no
leads whatsoever, no informants, and as a result of the IBIS,
the Integrated Ballistics Identification System, testing the
bullets or the shells, we were able to come up with hits on
122----
Senator Sessions. Now, is that the ATF or the FBI program?
Mr. Timoney. That is an ATF program, and we got that--I
wish you would ask me----
Senator Sessions. Do you want to testify which is best?
Mr. Timoney. You can ask me that question later on. It is a
very important question.
Here, sir, again, the Federal role of law enforcement, you
can see there was a series of four shootings by a young man.
Three of them happened in Philadelphia. The fourth one was a
homicide in Camden, NJ, across the river. This young man was
arrested three times in the fall of 1997 by the Camden Police
Department. All three times he was armed and there were
narcotics charges, and yet he was still out. The third time he
killed somebody. They locked him up again. They recovered four
guns in the three arrests. All the serial numbers had been
obliterated. They were sent down to ATF in Maryland, who then
have surfaced the numbers on two of the guns. The guns were
then sent up to Philadelphia, and through the IBIS system, we
wound up getting three hits off two of those guns.
One more. The last chart----
Senator Sessions. One more point I would make. If that
youngster moved across State lines and was arrested in
Philadelphia, you have no record in NCIC of his prior juvenile
arrest, which is something we are trying to change in our
juvenile crime law.
Mr. Timoney. Well, interestingly enough, that one is the--
this is an interesting one. This is the Franklin and Jefferson
organization. It is interesting in that it involves just two
guns involved in seven incidents where the gun was used. Five
people were shot. There were two homicides. But the real
interesting part, it wasn't just one drug organization.
Remember what I said about youth in Philadelphia? We wound up
arresting five people--a 17-year-old, an 18-year-old, a 19-
year-old, and a 20-year-old--and this drug organization, five
shootings and two additional homicides. You can see they are in
different neighborhoods.
Senator Sessions. With the same gun?
Mr. Timoney. With the same two guns, a Baretta .9mm and
then a regular automatic .9mm.
Using maps like this, we are doing two things, and we are
going to do a third thing in Philadelphia. The two things we
are doing--I mentioned the COMPSTAT process. The COMPSTAT
process is where I bring in the commanders every Thursday
morning for 4 hours, and using a variety of crime maps, we hold
the commanders accountable: What are you doing in the area?
What kind of initiatives have you undertaken?
We have now taken--when we look at the maps in COMPSTAT, we
see that the crime stops at the Philadelphia border. Aha. We
are now met with the chiefs of the four surrounding counties
because we recognize that the criminals don't recognize the
boundaries. So now we are developing for the first time in the
United States a regional COMPSTAT involving not just
Philadelphia but the surrounding four counties of Philadelphia.
In the area of gun violence, we are now looking--I am
proposing with Mr. Stiles and some of our friends in the
Federal Government to come up with what I call--we have
COMPSTAT. We are going to come up with FEDSTAT. We are going to
bring in the Federal Government, ATF, FBI, DEA, Customs, INS,
and the Philadelphia Police Department around the table at
least once a month or once every 2 months, whatever it is,
mapping out the gun crimes and then questioning our
investigators: What are they doing about it? It will be a
revolving Chair so it won't be just the Philadelphia Police
Department. The FBI will chair it one time. That is the new
level we are trying to take this whole COMPSTAT process, this
mapping process.
Senator Sessions. Unfortunately, we need to move on. But if
you will wrap it, we will come back for----
Mr. Timoney. That is it. That is my testimony, sir.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Timoney follows:]
Prepared Statement of John F. Timoney
Good afternoon. I am John Timoney, Police Commissioner for the City
of Philadelphia. Prior to being hired by Mayor Edward Rendell just over
a year ago, I served for nearly 30 years in the New York City Police
Department, retiring from the NYPD as the First Deputy Commissioner to
Police Commissioner William Bratton. I also spent about two years as a
consultant advising police departments in this country and abroad about
how to make themselves more effective and more efficient.
I am greatly honored to have been invited to speak to you today
about gun violence. It is an issue that has been of deep concern to me
throughout my police career.
Gun violence is a critical issue in our nation. In Philadelphia, it
has reached a crisis stage. Let me quote some statistics to you. I
think that you will agree that they are chilling. Every year from 1989
through 1997, the City of Philadelphia has suffered at least 400
homicides. In each of the last four years, guns have accounted for more
than 80 percent of these homicides. In addition, more than one third of
all aggravated assaults and more than one half of all robberies in
Philadelphia last year involved the use of guns.
More terrifying still is the effect of guns on children. In 10
percent of all Philadelphia gun homicides over the last several years,
a juvenile under the age of 18 was the trigger-man. Homicide is now the
leading cause of death among youths aged 16 to 21 in Philadelphia.
Death by firearms has risen 102 percent in Philadelphia from 1985 to
1995.
Philadelphia police officers have been making heroic efforts to
stop the gun violence. I am very proud of their performance. They make
approximately 4,000 gun arrests each year. Unfortunately, however, the
average sentence for a gun conviction in Philadelphia is only 3 to 6
months.
With these grim statistics in mind, Mayor Edward Rendell and US
Attorney Michael Stiles announced the implementation of Operation
Cease-Fire in January 1999. Operation Cease-Fire is modeled on the
success of Project Exile which has dramatically reduced gun violence in
Richmond, Virginia by prosecuting gun possession cases federally.
In Operation Cease-Fire, Michael Stiles, the US Attorney for the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania, has committed to prosecuting at least
200 gun possession cases federally this year. We intend to create a
fear in criminals of hard time for illegal handgun possession. The
Federal Fact Book published by US Department of Justice reports that
the average national sentence for violation of federal gun laws is 77
months. This stands in stark contrast to the 3 to 6 month sentence now
received in Philadelphia's state courts. Other benefits to federal
prosecution are that federal laws require criminals to serve 85 percent
of their sentence and stringent federal bond requirements keep gun
violators off the streets while awaiting trial. This is very important.
Experience has shown that too many defendants prey on others while
awaiting trial.
In the two months that Operation Cease-Fire has been in effect, a
total of 79 cases have been accepted for federal prosecution. Not all
of these cases will need to be prosecuted federally. A number of the
cases accepted for federal prosecution will be given the opportunity to
plead guilty in the state system and accept a serious state prison
term. If the defendant declines, the case will then be prosecuted
federally with the potential for more severe federal penalties.
Operation Cease-Fire has just begun and it is off to a good start. But
it is only a start. I hope that additional resources will become
available so that it can be expanded. Two hundred federal prosecutions,
while significant, account for only a small percentage of the 4,000 gun
arrests made by the Philadelphia Police Department each year.
It is important and appropriate that the federal government plays a
role in the fight against gun violence. It is well recognized that
there is an unmistakable interstate nature to gun trafficking and gun
violence. Gun supply cannot be controlled in an individual state solely
by legislation in that state. We know that so-called strawman
purchasers in a state with lenient gun laws buy guns in bulk and resell
them to people who cannot buy guns easily in their own state because of
their's strict gun laws. States with lenient gun purchase laws thus
become the source for illegal guns used in states that have tried to
limit guns through strong legislation.
Crime and criminals know no geographical/political boundaries. As
the maps prepared by my Department show, an individual gun is often
used to commit crimes of violence in many different places.
As gun violence has serious interstate implications, we must
develop interstate strategies to tackle it. This means that federal and
state law enforcement authorities must work closely together in this
area. In New York City, for example, the cornerstone of our crime
fighting strategy was the COMPSTAT process. COMPSTAT is a police
strategy that uses computerized crime statistics and crime maps to
predict crime, allocate resources and target individuals and gangs
responsible for crime. Every week, precinct commanders meet with the
top brass of the Police Department to review crime trends and
strategies in the commanders' individual jurisdictions. As I am sure
you know, this process has proved extraordinarily successful in
tackling crime in the country's most densely populated city. It is also
working effectively in Philadelphia. I have no doubt that it will work
also to fight crime in a national level.
I say this with confidence because in Philadelphia we have recently
begun to extend the COMPSTAT process beyond the City limits to the
surrounding counties. Our aim is to share crime information and
intelligence to target those criminals who operate across county lines.
I have recently recommended that we use this same approach to
combine federal and local law enforcement efforts on gun violence. I
propose that a joint team of federal, local and Philadelphia police
investigators take an active role in following up the cases accepted
for federal prosecution under Operation Cease-Fire. Using the stiff
potential federal sentence to encourage defendants to cooperate, these
officers will build federal and state conspiracy cases against targeted
drug gangs.
Every time a gun case is accepted for federal prosecution, this
Investigative Team will review the case and, if deemed appropriate,
offer the defendant an opportunity to cooperate. If the defendant has
information about a narcotics operation or gang, he may wish to share
this with us in return for receiving ``downward consideration'' at
sentencing. I believe that those who are aware of the severe federal
jail sentences for gun possession will find this offer very attractive.
Of course, even with this cooperation, defendants will still serve more
time federally than they would in the state system. Using the
information gained from the debriefings, the investigative teams will
target gangs responsible for narcotics distribution and violence.
Follow-up investigations and undercover work will focus on building
criminal conspiracy cases.
A regular COMPSTAT meeting will be held at which the Investigative
Team leaders meet and present their strategies. Representatives of the
Police Department, FBI, DEA, ATF, US Attorney's Office, and various
state agencies will participate in these strategic meetings. The
location of various gangs and criminal operations will be discussed.
The people responsible for these criminal activities will be identified
and targeted. Representatives from probation and parole will also
participate in order to discuss options involving their clients who
might be in violation of the terms of their release. Resources will be
synchronized to build further cases. Since the Police Department, the
DA's Office and the federal agencies are already doing this work
separately, combining our efforts should require only modest increases
in resources. The results that are possible with a combined focus,
combined resources, and a mutual goal will justify any additional
expense.
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss this important matter with
you.
Senator Sessions. Thank you.
Mr. Stern.
STATEMENT OF DONALD K. STERN
Mr. Stern. Good afternoon. Thank you, Senator Sessions.
Thank you for inviting me to testify this afternoon on gun
prosecutions. I have spent a good deal of the last 5\1/2\ years
as U.S. attorney in Massachusetts focusing on this issue as
part of the effort to reduce youth violence. I have also served
as the Chair of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee of
U.S. Attorneys.
I am pleased to report that in Boston Federal prosecutors'
partnership with State and local law enforcement agencies, as
well as with others in Boston, have achieved considerable
success. Indeed, over 200 different jurisdictions have come to
Boston to learn about what some have referred to as the Boston
model.
Senator Sessions. Based on Mobile and Birmingham, AL, both
have--I have been there, and I have recommended it, and they
are already implementing many of your programs in those two
cities. I think you have done some very creative things that
are being replicated around the country, and I congratulate
you.
Mr. Stern. Thank you very much, Senator. We had the
commissioner come and visit, in fact, about a year ago, and I
am going to now take credit for most of the good things that
will happen in Philadelphia.
But I think it is worth pausing----
Senator Sessions. Are you going to claim credit for
Giuliani's New York, too? [Laughter.]
Mr. Stern. I think it is worth just pausing to set the
scene for what things were like, not now in Boston but in the
early 1990's, and then I want to identify what I would call
three basic reasons for the success in Boston.
In 1990, homicides were at an all-time high in the city.
Drive-by shootings were commonplace. Parents were afraid to let
their children play outside. There was a real question, as
Police Commissioner Evans has said at times, about the
viability of the city.
These problems were symbolized by two events, now etched in
the memory of every resident in Boston. The first occurred in
December of 1992 when 14 gang members invaded the Morning Star
Baptist Church during the funeral of a young murder victim, who
had been shot in a drive-by killing. A 21-year-old man was
beaten and stabbed inside the church. Then, in December of
1993, Louis Brown was murdered. Louis was a 15-year-old honor
student in West Roxbury High who said he wanted to be the first
African American President. And he was murdered in a cross-fire
between two rival gangs when Louis was on his way to an anti-
gang meeting.
Things have dramatically changed. Between 1995 and 1998,
homicides dropped by 64 percent. In 1998, last full year, there
were 35 homicides in Boston, a city of about 650,000, 700,000
people, as compared with 152 homicides in 1990. This year, thus
far--and we are almost 3 months into the year--there have been
four murders in the city of Boston, down another 56 percent
from this time last year. Indeed, serious crime in general is
at the lowest level in more than 30 years.
And then there was the period from July 1995 through
December 1997, when not a single juvenile was murdered by a
firearm in the city of Boston. Let me just say that again. Not
one juvenile for 2\1/2\ years was murdered in the city of
Boston. And while we knew that statistic could not last
forever, we also knew that we were on to something successful.
In 1990, 51 Boston young people, 24 and under, were
murdered by a firearm. Last year, there were 16 such murders.
This year, thus far, again, almost 3 months into the year,
zero.
I attribute this remarkable success to three things: the
creation of true partnerships between local, county, State, and
Federal officials, as well as community leaders, the faith
community, and business leaders; second, a willingness of all
these people to really step out of their traditional roles; and
then, third, a focused and targeted law enforcement strategy.
Let me just briefly talk about each one.
There is no question that the law enforcement community in
Boston has its act together. We are cooperating in ways that
were really unthinkable years ago. And although we shouldn't
get medals for this--taxpayers should expect that law
enforcement agencies cooperate, as I am sure, Senator, you can
attest to from your years as a prosecutor--turf battles among
law enforcement agencies can sometimes be fierce, even if
always counterproductive. That is not the case anymore. I would
like to think that the partnerships that have been developed,
Federal, State, and local, really are now a model for the
country.
But I have to say that this cooperative effort really would
have fallen short unless we didn't also have as part of it a
component of community-based justice. Part of this is what is
known as community policing, the cops that have been added to
the Boston police force by the crime bill, but it has really
refocused policing, as I am sure is happening in Philadelphia,
from a reaction to 911 calls to now a problem-solving mode.
In Boston, we have expanded that to not only include the
police departments and the investigative agencies, but other
parts of the criminal justice system as well, including
prosecutors. Prosecutors, even Federal prosecutors, now see
their role as proactively solving problems and making things
safer in the community. And as you know, Senator, President
Clinton has asked for $200 million addition in his year 2000
budget to fund additional prosecutors to do this.
Second, I think the second reason for Boston's success is
that people have been willing to step out of their traditional
role. Police have gotten out of patrol cars. Ministers have
come down from the pulpits and are walking the street.
Probation officers are visiting homes, even late at night. And
prosecutors are in the schools.
If some of this cooperation and community-based justice
sounds a little vague and maybe even a little soft, let me
clear that up. The third and essential leg of the Boston
strategy has been aggressive, focused, and targeted
prosecution. This means determining who are the relatively
small number of violent criminals in Boston and going after
them with the combined fire power of local, State, and Federal
prosecution.
Sometimes that means State prosecution, but in other
instances, we have used the heavy penalties and the special
tools available in the Federal prosecution. We have gone after
gun traffickers, repeat violent offenders, and violent drug
organizations.
Let me give one which I think has become kind of the poster
child, if you will, or poster case for the effort in Boston.
An individual who had 15 prior State felonies, who was
recycled, as has been referred to that can happen, through the
State system over and over again, was walking down the streets
of Boston in Roxbury one night, having handed a gun off to a
juvenile, or so the police thought. And he was flipping a
single bullet in his hands as he walked down the street, a live
cartridge, fairly brazenly, basically saying to the police
officers, You know, I have nothing on me.
Well, what he didn't realize is that, as a felon, carrying
a single round of live ammunition is as much a violation of the
Federal law as is a gun. We prosecuted him as a felon in
possession of ammunition, and he was sentenced to 20 years in
Federal prison.
At the sentencing, the judge made clear his long sentence
was not being imposed because of that single bullet, but
because he was a career violent criminal. The result was widely
publicized by the Boston Police Department through word of
mouth and hand bills, and as Richmond has demonstrated, the
informal word of mouth, the ability to get the word out, is
very important. In fact, what we have done, Senator, in Boston,
since virtually all of the potential murderers and victims are
themselves court-involved in the State system--and we know who
they are--the profiles done of the shooters and the victims
usually are pretty much the same, 75 percent of them are court-
involved. We bring them in while they are on probation, and we
have an array of Federal, State, local investigators and
prosecutors, and we tell them, if you start shooting each
other, if you start to commit violence, we are going to focus
on you.
And we do it face to face. We don't do it through hand
bills or hand-outs, although sometimes the Boston police have
done----
Senator Sessions. Who does that specifically? Is it a
probation officer or----
Mr. Stern. Well, we bring them in as part of the probation
effort, but it is a pretty staggering array of personnel. We
have an assistant district attorney, an assistant U.S.
attorney, someone from ATF, someone from probation, someone
from the Youth Violence Strike Force, someone, interestingly
enough, from the faith community, the Ten Point Coalition,
which has been a very powerful force in Boston, who speaks
directly to some of these young people.
One of the great comments from the faith community which
really began--the Ten Point Coalition began as principally an
African American ministers organization. It has now expanded.
They will say sometimes to some of these young people: We think
everyone can be saved, but sometimes it has to be in a prison
ministry. They send a very powerful message to the violent
criminals that if you are going to shoot other people, we are
going to support the police. We are going to support the U.S.
attorney's office. We are going to support the district
attorney's office, and we are going to take you off the street.
This effort has proven very successful, so successful now
that we are now trying to find jobs for some of the people who
want another way. The Boston police and the district attorney's
office and the U.S. attorney's office and other members of law
enforcement are actually trying to steer some of these former
gang members--not the gang bangers, the heavy hitters who are
going away to Federal prison for long periods of time, but some
of the younger people, we are actually trying to steer them
into job training in the hopes that in the same way that we can
identify the violent criminals and prosecute them, maybe we can
identify some of the kids who want to make a change in their
lives.
Senator Sessions. Thank you. It is a very exciting program.
My staff person, Kristi Lee, has been there and observed it,
and it is striking to me that you know those young people's
names and they know you know them, and you are watching them
personally and expect them not to continue a life of crime. And
it goes beyond punishment. It strikes me you don't care about
them at all if you don't monitor them and keep up with them. It
is only because you care about them and want them not to
continue a life of crime that you have intensive parole
supervision and probation supervision and monitoring and
personal contact with them. I think that is an essential
component, and it used to be part, I think, of crime
enforcement when we had smaller communities and less crime.
There are a lot of good things happening there.
Let's see. Ms. Fahey, there were reports that you have
pitched, let us say, this program to the Department of Justice
for some time, and at least initially were having difficulties
convincing them of the wisdom of it. Is that true? And have you
received a different reception lately?
Ms. Fahey. Well, I wouldn't say that I had pitched it to
the Department of Justice. What we did--and this goes back
probably more than 18 months--was go to the Department,
specifically to Eric Holder, and to ask him to help us with
resources for Project Exile in Richmond. And he as well as his
staff people were very responsive and were able to get for us
additional FBI agents, DEA agents, encourage the ATF to send
additional agents down there, have the Marshals Service do a
major fugitive round-up as well as detailing attorneys from the
Department of Justice to Richmond.
Senator Sessions. Well, I don't want to belabor the point,
but I do want this to be a seminal, important moment. And I
would like to see us as a Nation and the Department of Justice
and the ATF to refocus and to realize the possibilities of
lives being saved through intensive prosecution of the laws
that are basically already on the books.
Chief Oliver or Ms. Fahey, with regard to the cases that
are being prosecuted in Exile, could you tell me what are the
most common penalties or violations you are prosecuting?
Ms. Fahey. Felon in possession. These are people who have--
--
Senator Sessions. Prior criminal convictions.
Ms. Fahey. Prior felony convictions, and they are carrying
weapons, and they are frequently carrying semi-automatic
weapons.
I think we look at it as part of our crime prevention
program that we take these individuals off the streets because
they are the ones who are most likely to be engaging in the
future in further crimes of violence.
Senator Sessions. Chief.
Chief Oliver. I would just say, yes, that is correct, and
these are also the people who are most likely to exponentially
create problems for us in the sense that they know that they
have been able to go to jail, get out, use the system,
intimidate witnesses, intimidate victims, and create an
atmosphere of intimidation in the community. And so that is
what--I think that is the important thing. Probably as
important as any other element is that you are taking these
people out and you are sending a psychological message, if you
will, to the community about their absence and heretofore their
presence and that they are actually gone.
Senator Sessions. I think that is exactly right, and you do
prosecute a number of carrying firearms during a commission of
a felony, I presume, do you not? Would that be the second most
common violation?
Ms. Fahey. Let me refer to Mr. Comey and see if he knows.
Yes, yes.
Senator Sessions. That would be number two, and that has
the mandatory 5 years without parole.
Chief Oliver, what is it about the Federal system--if you
could share with the country, I guess, right now, why is it
that we seem to be able to make more progress with a case in
the Federal system than in State systems? And it is not just
Richmond. It is all over the country. Would you share with us
your thoughts on that?
Chief Oliver. Well, I think that there are a number of
reasons. First of all, as I indicated in my comments, the
rebuttable presumption for bail, I think that at least in
Virginia, up until very recently, violent criminals and
homicide suspects were able to basically go down and go to a
magistrate and, basically uncontested, get bail and sometimes
get out at very low bails. That is an advantage with the----
Senator Sessions. That is not uncommon throughout this
country. It is too often the case in my home State of Alabama.
Chief Oliver. That is correct.
Senator Sessions. Federal bail is much tougher than State
bail.
Chief Oliver. And in some cases, I know that in dealing
with our U.S. attorney, there is always somebody there to
contest that giving of bail, and at the local level that is not
always the case.
Senator Sessions. In other words, a prosecutor is before
the judge arguing to keep the defendant in jail rather than
having only his lawyer there arguing to keep him out.
Chief Oliver. That is correct. And the other issues I think
have to do with the speed, the rapidity with which the Federal
system seems to work, seems to move cases through in an
expedited manner, and sometimes at the State level, at the
local level, it takes an awful long time because of dockets and
so forth to get these cases moving through court--which, again,
I think underlies and belies the confidence that citizens have
at a local level in the whole system when things don't move,
when they see bad guys still out and around and creating even
additional crimes while they are waiting to go to court on some
of the crimes that they have already been arrested on.
We have spent a great deal of money, by the way, on getting
them there, and we still haven't got them prosecuted.
Senator Sessions. I suppose it is not good for your police
officers who actually catch a dangerous criminal, perhaps at
risk of their life, and see him be released on bail that very
day, and it may be a year before the case comes to trial.
Chief Oliver. That is another area that I think it
certainly has provided a shot in the arm, adrenaline, if you
will, to the Richmond Police Department officers, the men and
women out there on the street, to know that when they have
taken somebody off the street--we gave you the statistics, as
indicated. These people are off the streets. And when they go
to jail, they go to jail.
As I indicated, they go to jail, they go to prison not for
a short period of time, but a relatively long period of time,
and then a relatively far distance away from home.
I think that that is--when I think about it, at least in
Richmond, our experience with Project Exile, that has been the
most salient point. That is, the certainty and rapidity of the
prosecution and the certainty that you will do jail time if you
are caught with a gun has really sent a message substantively
and psychologically throughout our community.
Senator Sessions. Chief, how has the African American
community responded in Richmond to this plan?
Chief Oliver. Well, I think community policing is really
based on aggressive--fair but aggressive law enforcement. And I
think all citizens in every neighborhood, black, white, or
whatever, want a safe community. They want the kids to be able
to play in the park. They want the elderly to be able to walk
down to the corner drug store or the corner store. They want
families to enjoy the amenities of their city. And sometimes
community policing has to be based on aggressive style
policing.
Once we create the opportunity for peace and for
tranquility, that has to be created, the soil, the fertile
soil, and that comes with law enforcement aggressive
prosecution. I think that is what has happened in Richmond,
that there is a confidence, a rebirth of confidence because of
the police department being the police department and the
prosecutors actually prosecuting criminals. Confidence has been
regained, has been renewed, and people are coming out in droves
really to support us in our effort.
So the African American community--Richmond is a majority
minority community, and we have received widespread support in
our initiatives, especially Project Exile.
Senator Sessions. Ms. Fahey, under the general--with some
flexibility, would you say that virtually every community--
would you say every community in America could benefit from a
coordinated State-local effort to focus on violent crime, in
particular gun violations?
Ms. Fahey. Well, I think that would be worthwhile in every
community. I don't think necessarily, though, they would have
to be Federal prosecutions of those violations. That would
depend upon the particular circumstances in that community.
We developed this program to deal with a particular problem
in the city of Richmond, and I think it has worked very well
there. But I think that you can tell from listening to Mr.
Stern, different communities have different problems. One major
difference that I hear listening to Mr. Stern is that the
average age of both our murder victims and our perpetrators in
Richmond is almost 30 years of age. We did not have a major--
not that we didn't have any, but we did not have a major
juvenile crime problem. And I think also different States and
different communities have different levels of local police
resources, local prosecution resources, and local court
resources.
I was a prosecutor in Arlington, VA, for approximately 17
years before I became the U.S. attorney. We are not doing a
Project Exile in Northern Virginia. We are doing gun cases on a
case-by-case basis as necessary. We are not doing Project Exile
in Northern Virginia because we have sufficient police
resources, prosecution resources, and court resources to deal
with the problems; whereas, I think when we started in
Richmond, the local police, prosecutors, courts, were
absolutely overwhelmed by the number of very, very serious
cases.
I think that when you look around the country you see those
kinds of differences and you see that different things apply in
different areas. So I think gun cases should be prosecuted
everywhere; they should be prosecuted all the time. That word
should go out all over the country. But they can be prosecuted
both in the State courts and in the Federal courts, depending
upon the circumstances.
Senator Sessions. Mr. Stern, do you have any comment on
that discussion?
Mr. Stern. I would just add one concrete example of what
Helen Fahey is saying. Massachusetts penalizes by mandatory
sentence, a year in prison for anybody caught carrying a gun.
That has been the law for probably 15 years, and it is
enforced. So what that means is that we have been able to
harness our resources and really focus on the repeat offenders.
If someone is caught with a gun by a Boston police officer,
for example, they are going to go away for a year, and the
legislature a couple of years ago actually expanded that to
include juveniles. So now it encompasses juveniles as well.
So we don't have to do every case federally in Boston or
any community in Massachusetts. What we do instead is we have a
constant dialogue between my office and the district attorney's
office to make decisions on a case-by-case basis, which cases
are appropriate for Federal prosecution for all the reasons
that you identified, the tension issues, speed-of-trial issues,
sometimes symbolic issues because the police know and we know
that a particular criminal is notorious within a neighborhood.
And we have had many situations where someone shows up in
Federal court--you probably had this, Senator, when you were
U.S. attorney. They show up thinking they are going home that
day. They don't go home. They don't go home.
Senator Sessions. Because the prosecutor is there who
argues and presents their record, and the judge has a hearing
and denies them bail.
Mr. Stern. Denies them bail and they think it is just like,
you know, the Boston municipal court, and it is not. But, you
know, we don't need to do that for every single offender.
Then the other thing I would say, just building on what
Helen said, we have been successful in part because it has been
a balanced approach. It has not been just aggressive, heavy law
enforcement. It has included prevention efforts to try to reach
out to some of those younger kids who really do want to make a
change and really want alternatives. So we have worked with the
Boys and Girls Clubs. We work with some of the youth
organizations. We have worked with the faith community.
I think if you accompany that with the other message, which
is if you don't take advantage of those programs you may wind
up in Federal prison, I think you send a very powerful two-
punch.
Senator Sessions. Well, this committee has been very
supportive of Boys and Girls Clubs, and Congress is
exponentially increasing their funding. I guess I would just
say that there is a fundamental principle that, I think, years
ago when I started in this business, people weren't very much a
believer in, and that is that police and prosecutors actually
can affect the crime rate. There was a belief not too many
years ago nothing would do it. I call it the ``Hill Street
Blues'' syndrome. You know, they just arrest them and take them
in. Everybody has got their head hanging down, just life, you
know, in the big city. Arrest them, they get out, and they go
on. But when we really work together and as a coordinated
community effort, time and again you see progress in reduction
of crime.
Now, in Philadelphia, I understand what you do is you
evaluate case by case, or you are planning to do it that way,
and that certain cases will be referred upward or over to
Federal court and certain cases will stay in State court. And
let me ask you, sometimes can you use the suggestion of Federal
prosecution as a basis to get a criminal to confess and tell
you more things about who else was involved in the crime?
Mr. Timoney. Absolutely, and we have to do more of that.
That is absolutely correct, Senator, as leverage.
One of the other problems with Philadelphia is we are
responsible for prisons up to 23 months; 24 months, they go
upstate. And so often they will plead guilty to 22 months to
stay local even though they should be getting 5 years. We tell
them you better take 3 years or else you are going to go
federally for 5 years. So it is a bargaining chip.
Senator Sessions. You can get a better State sentence.
Mr. Timoney. Yes.
Senator Sessions. Well, I think that is interesting, and I
wonder, do you have the same problem with speedy trials and
lack of certainty of punishment in Philadelphia when you arrest
people for serious offenses?
Mr. Timoney. I think most large urban areas seem to have
that, yes. Again, I think Senator Specter hit on it, that if
you have the ability to go shopping for a judge, you know, you
will come up with all sorts of reasons to postpone hearings,
preliminary hearings and wait hearings and a whole host of
things until you come up with the right judge. And so there is
kind of an accretion effect of all the different delays that in
a sense delays justice also.
Senator Sessions. We had some hearings here involving a
situation in Philadelphia, and I saw some sentences on
convictions for very serious crimes and repeat offenders that
shocked me, how light they were. It was unfortunate.
With regard to the casings and identification, the Federal
Government--we talked about two agencies that have systems that
if you find a bullet and a casing, you can actually put them
together and solve old crimes and things of that nature.
Mr. Timoney. Right.
Senator Sessions. Do you have an opinion as to how that is
working, how we can make it better? And you might as well say
which program you like best.
Mr. Timoney. Well, we happen to have the ATF program. We
think it is great. It has really been terrific for us.
But, more importantly, on which is the best system, it
actually points out, you know, what is the appropriate role for
the Federal Government. How about establishing national
standards for ballistics evidence, for fingerprint evidence,
for DNA evidence? We are all over the lot.
I just testified 3 weeks ago before Congressman Burton's
committee on this very issue, establishing national standards.
You know, they have it in the telephone company. You can call
China. There is no problem. You will get the same system, even
though there are different carriers. The Internet system, they
are all interchangeable. It is only when you get to the
criminal justice system that they all have their own stand-
alone independent systems.
Senator Sessions. I think that is a good idea and a good
suggestion. But it is an appropriate role for the Federal
Government to do the research and to provide the technology to
the States to scientifically analyze these projectiles and
casings to identify the criminal behind it. I think that is a
perfect role.
What about this? Let me ask Chief Oliver. In my home State,
we have had, despite some heroic efforts, difficulties in being
current with drug analysis, chemical analysis reports for use
in trial. Is that a problem in Virginia, or can you get rapid
turn-around if you submit a drug and have an expert report
back?
Chief Oliver. Well, at a local level, it is a problem in
terms of submissions to our State labs and even to the medical
examiner's office at times in getting what we consider to be
from our perspective as police officers a timely response. In
many cases, to be honest about it, because it takes a long
length of time, it really holds up the ability to dial in on
certain suspects in many cases.
Would you say that is correct? So, yes, the answer to your
question is yes, we do have problems at a local level, and the
quick return of analysis of drugs and other kinds of evidence
in many of the local-level crimes.
Senator Sessions. Even if the person is inclined to plead
guilty, his lawyer is not going to plead guilty until that
report comes back, normally.
Chief Oliver. Of course.
Senator Sessions. So delays can delay the whole system.
Chief Oliver. If there is a backlog, there are many delays,
yes.
Senator Sessions. And I just think that maybe that is also
a role that the Federal Government could--Senator DeWine and I
and others have worked on some programs to increase funding for
State laboratories, which I think is a good step.
Mr. Timoney. Up in New York we had the problem of getting
timely analysis of drugs. In Philadelphia, though, this is one
of the things they actually do very well. The judges will
stipulate to a field test by the police officer. The field test
will indicate the presence or non-presence of cocaine. So for
preliminary hearings--which is very good because then you only
wind up having to test those that go to trial.
Senator Sessions. That can be very positive.
All right. I know some of you have planes to catch. Any
comments that you would like to contribute before we conclude?
[No response.]
Senator Sessions. Well, thank you very much. I have the
basic view that I have spent too long in this business to get
too much on the frills and symbolism. I would like to see us
develop programs that will actually reduce crime, and what is
exciting to me about the hearing today is we have three
different cities who have plans under way that I believe will,
in fact, reduce crime, save people from being killed, make
communities safer, actually help revitalize a city, in fact,
change the whole self-image of a city.
I think all of us in law enforcement need to believe again
that there is hope, that we can make a difference, and if we
work together, we can continue to make this a safer country.
Thank you very much for your excellent testimony.
I will offer for the record the statement of Henry Neal, a
retired ATF agent, without objection.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Neal follows:]
Prepared Statement of Henry L. Neal, Retired Special Agent, ATF
I was a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms from August 1971 until March 1997. My work for that 26 year
period encompassed nearly every segment of law enforcement and support
operations conducted by ATF. My career began at the close of the liquor
law enforcement era in Milledgeville, Georgia. I was, at various
stages, a street agent, a support agent, a manager and a supervisor.
Various approaches were tried by the ATF administration to enforce
elements of the often unpopular ``Gun Control Act''. Those attempts met
with checkered success; in some measure due to the politics of the
moment. It was my observation there were many dedicated men and women
in ATF doing their very best to conduct meaningful investigations into
violations of those gun laws, but the often changing directions from
headquarters did little to develop a continuum of enforcement effort.
There was a continuing problem with overall effectiveness; very limited
resources were expended without tangible results.
The development and implementation of Project Triggerlock provided
a focal point for those valuable resources provided by ATF in the
effort to curtail violent crime in the street. It provided the impetus
for the vital cooperative law enforcement effort at the state and local
and federal levels. Local police saw real evidence there was federal
cooperation which resulted in meaningful help to them. Just as
importantly, federal intervention at the street level was and is a
highly efficient method of developing and expanding an investigation
into a multi-level, multi-defendant, complex criminal case. It was my
experience that beginning an investigation at the lower level of a
criminal operation and working up was much easier than trying to begin
at the top and working down. Several examples of that type are provided
at the end of this statement.
The Triggerlock type operation provided a well defined road map for
agents to follow in developing criminal investigations. Available
resources, support and personnel, were assigned to a known objective.
Criminal prosecutions increased with the support of the Justice
Department. Consequently violent crime was curtailed to the extent
federal resources can do that. It was a concerted effort. There were
tangible results. Prosecutions of armed criminals expanded dramatically
under the Triggerlock umbrella.
The well noted memorandum from Attorney General Richard Thornburgh,
which essentially prohibited U.S. attorneys dealing firearms cases,
added impetus to the team effort.
In the 1992 to 1993 time frame prosecutions began to diminish
nationwide, based on internal ATF documents circulated during that
period. That was due to a number of factors, many beyond the agency's
direct control, but the message from headquarters clearly changed to
concentrate on the ``big'' case of federal interest. Street level
agents, who had a good grasp of crime issues, began to lose direction
again. Many questioned just what those major cases were, and how did
they initiate them without a point of entry. State and local officers
were told succinctly that ATF could no longer support them in most
street level firearms violations. These were the same officers and
agencies who had come to view ATF as a friend on the street under
Triggerlock.
I observed the current director of ATF, beginning in 1993, in
personal appearances and on video tape state unequivocally the agency
had been headed in the wrong direction. Street level enforcement would
be de-emphasized and resources would be directed at the cases of
federal interest. The message was clear--do not work street level
firearms violations. They are the responsibility of local police. That
directive was published internally in written documents from the
director and his subordinates. The effect was dramatic. Criminal
prosecutions began to fall at a precipitous rate.
One of the strangest events I witnessed was the revocation of the
``Thornburgh memo'' by the new Attorney General in 1993. That was done
by an administration which touted gun control as one of its hallmarks.
The effect was immediate. Local assistant U.S. attorneys refused to
prosecute or otherwise subordinated firearms charges. The atmosphere in
my meeting with those assistants on prosecution matters changed
palpably.
The continuing decline in the prosecutions of firearms violations
had not changed at the time of my retirement in March 1997. As recently
as three weeks ago a local police officer in Alabama called me to ask
how he could get federal help with firearms violations. I explained the
process as I knew it to him. He was not encouraged.
The brief summaries which follow are of federal criminal
investigations initiated in the Southern Judicial District of Alabama
in calendar years 1995 and 1996. They represent, in my opinion, a
responsible utilization of federal resources at the street level.
Case No. 1: Five burglaries of gun dealers in two states conducted
by a gang of eight violent offenders. At least four of them were
juveniles; one adult was a multi-convicted violent felon. The firearms
were distributed in a multi-state area including Michigan. I only
became aware of the crimes because I had requested local law
enforcement notify me if they found firearms in the hands of criminals.
The case could not be completed before I retired. ATF never followed up
on the case even though the U.S. attorney's office, Mobile was familiar
with the investigation and had approved prosecution.
Case No. 2: An exchange of gunfire in Atmore, Alabama resulted in
no injuries, but it was determined one of the individuals involved was
using a sawed off shotgun and was one of the eight involved in case no.
1 above. He was in the street vernacular a ``gang banger''. He was a
very dangerous young man. I stopped him on the street and arrested him
for the .12 gauge sawed off shotgun in his waistband. The shotgun had
been stolen had been stolen in a burglary in case no. 1. He was sixteen
years old at the time of his arrest. He is now in the federal prison
system.
Case No. 3: Five young men, including 3 juveniles, car jacked a man
in north Florida. The main trigger man shot the victim's arm off with a
twelve gauge shotgun. The trigger man was one of the eight burglars in
case no. 1. We arrested the five and convicted all in federal court in
Mobile, Alabama. I learned of the shooting from local law enforcement
because I advised them to contact me in the event of local street level
offenses involving firearms.
Case No. 4: A local officer approached me to describe an arrest of
one man in a car with several firearms and a user quantity of
methamphetamine on his person. He was not a convicted felon. I entered
the pertinent information in the Treasury Enforcement Communications
System and followed up on the investigation. The investigation resulted
in the prosecution of 15 people at the state and federal level in what
was and is the largest methamphetamine distribution operation ever
identified in northwest Florida and southwest Alabama. The principal
pled guilty to the distribution of more than ten kilograms of
methamphetamine. A number of firearms, including some stolen, were
recovered. A substantial number of military explosive devices, which
had been stolen from a U.S. Army base in Georgia and never reported,
were recovered.
[Whereupon, at 4:20 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
----------
Additional Submission for the Record
----------
PROSECUTOR'S STRATEGY SCRAMBLES GUN-CONTROL ALLIANCES
By David S. Cloud, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal,
August 31, 1998
cue cards for cops
Important:
Always ask if the suspect uses drugs, i.e., cocaine, heroin,
marijuana.
Most suspects will deny dealing but readily admit using and
that's all we need to make a federal gun case.
Federal Gun Possession Crimes:
Carrying during drug possession
Convicted felon (state or federal)
Fugitive who has fled another state
Under indictment for a felony
Subject to a restraining order
Drug user or addict
Mental defective
Illegal alien
Dishonorably discharged
Prior misd. domestic violence
Obliterated serial number
Sawed-off weapon
Stolen gun (if defendant knows)
RICHMOND, Va.--David Schiller says he can make a federal case out
of just about anything involving guns. He's right.
For the past two years, Mr. Schiller has used his powers as an
assistant U.S. attorney to transfer mundane arrests by local police
here to the federal court system. His zealous pursuit of almost anyone
caught violating even the most obscure federal gun law has sent 200
people to prison, which Mr. Schiller's supporters say helps explain a
dramatic drop in the city's homicide rate.
Now this seemingly simple idea--federalizing firearms cases--is
scrambling alliances in the national gun-control debate. Mr. Schiller's
campaign, dubbed Project Exile, is backed by both the National Rifle
Association and some ardent gun-control advocates, including a few big-
city mayors. Congress wants to implement Project Exile in other cities,
but the Clinton administration is loath to divert money and attention
from its own antigun initiatives to one backed by its nemesis, the NRA.
The battle over Project Exile heats up when Congress returns from
its summer recess to finish work on next year's budget. Supporters will
lobby hard for more money, and some Republicans see a chance to
embarrass the president if the administration opposes a get-tough
solution on one Mr. Clinton's pet issues.
A career prosecutor, the 43-year-old Mr. Schiller didn't mean to
get in the middle of a political storm, but his relentless evangelizing
has made him a minicelebrity here and a thorn in the side of Justice
Department officials in Washington.
`Lone Ranger'
``Some people think Schiller's nuts,'' says Richmond defense
attorney David Boone. ``Is he overzealous? Absolutely, but he's like
the Lone Ranger: He's on a mission.''
For years, Congress has been expanding the reach of federal gun
laws, making it relatively easy to bring these cases. But few
prosecutors tool the bait until Mr. Schiller started using the little-
noticed laws to prosecute not only well-armed drug dealers, but middle-
aged wife-beaters who happen to keep a gun in the closet. The mandatory
federal sentences are stiffer than those generally given in state
courts.
Has it made a difference? Throughout the 1990's, Richmond was one
of the country's most violent cites, but now things are improving.
There have been 39 gun-related homicides in Richmond so far this year,
49 fewer than last year at this time. Violent crime has been falling
nationwide, but Mr. Schiller claims to be altering criminal behavior on
the street. ``What we're finding is that a lot of dopers are now being
arrested without any guns on them,'' he says.
Mr. Schiller and his boss, U.S. attorney Helen Fahey, have gone to
Washington repeatedly to plead with senior Justice Department officials
for more prosecutors and agents, but with little success. ``We could do
more cases if we had more help,'' says Ms. Fahey, a Clinton appointee.
Kent Markus, Attorney General Janet Reno's top aide on gun violence
until leaving last month to teach law, dismisses Project Exile as
``assembly line'' prosecutions that bleed resources from other law-
enforcement priorities, such as organized crime and high-level drug
trafficking. ``I don't think there's any empirical evidence'' that
Richmond's falling murder rate is related to Project Exile, says Mr.
Markus.
Mixed views in Richmond
Richmond officials applaud Mr. Schiller's efforts, but worry about
the long-term social consequences of such draconian measures. ``There
got to be solutions other than Exile,'' said Police Chief Jerry Oliver,
a supporter of the program. ``As an African-American male I'm dismayed
at what we have to do to maintain safety.''
The NRA embraced Project Exile as the embodiment of its antigun-
control doctrine: Get tough on crime, not guns. ``It says with deadly
accuracy that guns are for the law-abiding,'' asserts NRA Executive
Director Wayne LaPierre, who is lobbying lawmakers to expand the
program to dozens of cities. ``That hasn't been said anywhere else in
the country, and it is changing criminal behavior in Richmond.''
Mr. Schiller disagrees with the NRA on gun control and worries that
its backing for his program could overshadow its accomplishment. But
the group's support was key to getting the program off the ground. At
first, Richmond's conservative business community was lukewarm about
it. Mr. Schiller says, because of early NRA hostility. When he asked
for an endorsement, he says the NRA denounced him as an antigun zealot
from the ``Clinton-Reno empire.''
A subsequent appeal through a friend of a friend of Mr. Schiller's
brought a closer look from Mr. LaPierre. Since then, the NRA has spent
more than $25,000 promoting the program, including a sizable gift to a
nonprofit foundation that publicizes Project Exile's harsh consequences
on radio, television and billboards. For balance, Mr. Schiller also
sought out Handgun Control Inc., whose chairman, Sarah Brady, called
Project Exile's results ``impressive,'' though not a panacea.
Odd partnerships
Other odd alliances are forming as well. In June, NRA resident
Charlton Heston joined forces with Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, a
pro-gun-control Democrat, to seek Project Exile funding for his city.
But the Philadelphia U.S. attorney's office worries that trying Project
Exile in a city with seven times more people than Richmond is
impractical and might swamp the courts.
Nevertheless, last month the Senate approved an amendment by
Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter requiring the Justice Department
to spend $1.5 million on five prosecutors to prosecute gun cases in
Philadelphia, which averages over 400 murders a year. New Jersey Sen.
Frank Lautenberg, a pro-gun-control Democrat, secured $800,000 for a
similar effort in nearby Camden.
The NRA bought a full-page ad in USA Today earlier this month,
prodding President Clinton to support the Philadelphia appropriation:
``Instead of giving us another press conference about more gun-control
laws,'' it said, ``give us one city. Let us try crime fighting one
way--the Project Exile way.''
The ad annoyed Mr. Rendell, whose White House lobbying efforts
received a polite but noncommittal response. Still, he says, ``If it
stops only six murders a year, I've got to be for it. * * * The White
House may distrust the NRA, but I've got to overlook that.''
In Richmond, Mr. Schiller works on a shoestring. He has merchants
pass out black cards warning, ``An illegal gun gets you 5 years in
federal prison.'' He hands out laminated cards to the police explaining
the basics of federal gun statutes. For example, it's a federal crime
to carry a weapon while possessing illegal drugs. ``Most suspects will
deny dealing but readily admit using,'' the card reads. ``That's all we
need to make a federal gun case.''
Just ask Shuler Cox, 19 years old. He was arrested with a small
amount of crack cocaine and marijuana--and a .45-caliber semiautomatic
in his car. A federal jury convicted him of drug and gun charges. Now,
despite an otherwise clean record, he's facing seven years in a federal
penitentiary. ``When I turned 17, I got into the drug scene, and I just
thought that having a weapon by my side wouldn't let nobody get to
me,'' explains Mr. Cox, who nevertheless claims the gun wasn't his and
is appealing.
On the other hand, some dangerous offenders are now off the
streets. Melvin ``Bug'' Smith, a 22-year-old member of a gang called
the ``Bottom Group,'' was pulled over on a routine traffic stop and
ended up getting 16 years for drug and firearm convictions. Once he was
behind bars, witnesses came forward and implicated him in five murders.
He was indicted on those charges by state prosecutors earlier this
month.