[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 28 (Thursday, March 10, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H1328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CRACKING DOWN ON GANGS THAT TERRORIZE OUR COMMUNITIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, last month I introduced with the gentlewoman 
from California (Mrs. Bono) the Gang Prevention and Effective 
Deterrence Act of 2005, a comprehensive bill to increase gang 
prosecution and prevention efforts. Our legislation is virtually 
identical to the Feinstein-Hatch bill that was reported out of the 
Senate Judiciary Committee in the 108th Congress and has since been 
reintroduced.
  The number of gangs continues to grow in communities across the 
country with substantial increases in the numbers of cities and 
counties with gang problems between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s. 
Since my days as a Federal prosecutor in California, I have been 
increasingly concerned with the growing public safety threat posed by 
organized street gangs, and I have also seen the destructive impact 
that street gangs continue to have on families, on our youth, and on 
our communities.
  In 2002, it was estimated that youth gangs were active in over 2,300 
major cities across America, with a total of over 21,000 gangs and over 
730,000 gang members. Gang activity is still, regrettably, on the rise.
  The gang problem is no longer a local issue but a national one, 
requiring a national strategy. Our legislation is designed to 
facilitate this strategy by bringing together Federal, State, and local 
law enforcement, providing them with new tools to combat gang violence, 
making available new funds to keep kids out of gangs to begin with.
  Street gangs are increasingly focusing on running full-service 
criminal enterprises in the neighborhoods where they reside, 
terrorizing those who live in the community. Some have shown increasing 
levels of sophistication, exhibiting characteristics common to 
organized crime, and will likely continue to expand their criminal 
enterprises in new ways and places throughout the country. This 
requires new and creative ways of attacking the problem.
  In 2002, the city of L.A. announced that it would begin to go after 
gangs in the same way law enforcement brought down traditional 
organized crime figures, using the Federal racketeering statute RICO to 
its full capacity. These racketeering laws, however, were designed to 
prosecute organized crime with Mafia-style organizations in mind. The 
Gang Prevention and Effective Deterrence Act would create a similar 
tool, but tailored specifically to violent street gangs by 
criminalizing violent crimes in furtherance or in aid of criminal 
street gangs.
  The most lucrative criminal enterprise for street gangs has been the 
retail distribution of illicit narcotics. Our legislation would attack 
this problem by making murder and other violent crimes committed in 
connection with drug trafficking a Federal crime.
  Street gangs also engage in a host of other criminal endeavors. Gangs 
are responsible for a large portion of the violent offenses, and the 
use of firearms is a major feature of gang violence, with gang members 
far more likely than other delinquents to carry guns and to use them.
  Our legislation increases penalties for criminal use of firearms in 
crimes of violence and drug trafficking. The bill also allows for the 
detention of persons charged with firearms offenses who have been 
previously convicted of crimes of violence or serious drug offenses.
  Unfortunately, gangs have strong links to the youth in our country. 
The FBI reported that 819 juvenile gang killings occurred in 2003, up 
from 580 in 1999; and law enforcement reports the problem is getting 
worse.
  Our youth are being held hostage by gangs. Gang involvement takes a 
heavy toll on adolescent development and life-course experiences.
  In order to prosecute an entire gang, it is sometimes necessary to 
prosecute multiple defendants in the same case, including juvenile gang 
members. Our bill proposes a limited reform of the juvenile justice 
system to facilitate Federal prosecution of 16- and 17-year-old gang 
members who commit serious acts of violence.
  Our legislation also provides more resources to bolster the fight 
against gangs and attack the problem at its roots, with $650 million 
over 5 years to support Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
efforts, as well as intervention and prevention programs for at-risk 
youth.
  Mr. Speaker, the time to crack down on the gang epidemic in our 
country is now, and I urge my colleagues to join the gentlewoman from 
California (Mrs. Bono) and me in this effort by cosponsoring this 
important legislation.

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