[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 21 (Monday, February 5, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1571-S1572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   GANG ABATEMENT AND PREVENTION ACT

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the Gang 
Abatement and Prevention Act, introduced by Senator Feinstein. Before 
discussing the details of this bill, I want to state how pleased I am 
that it has such broad bipartisan support. With 13 sponsors, 7 
Democrats and 6 Republicans, I am hopeful that this bill can move 
quickly through Congress.
  Gang-related violence is on the rise, in Colorado and throughout the 
Nation. Just by way of example: according to the Colorado Bureau of 
Investigation, Denver is home to roughly 12,470 gang members, who are 
affiliated with 110 gangs. Nationwide, there are roughly 730,000 gang 
members. Since 1999 the number of crimes investigated by the Denver 
gang unit has risen 35 percent; gang members were responsible for fully 
35 percent of Denver's firearm-related homicides;

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  As these statistics show, gang violence is still a serious problem--
and we in Congress have an obligation to respond. This bill is a good 
first-step, because it focuses on four key pillars of effective law 
enforcement policy: prevention; investigation and prosecution; firm and 
just penalties; and effective law enforcement training.
  On prevention, the bill would authorize $250 million for intervention 
programs focused on at-risk youth. These funds would be administered 
through a new High Intensity Interstate Gang Activity Area program, or 
HIGAA, which would be designed to facilitate cooperation between 
Federal, State, and local law enforcement in identifying, targeting, 
and eliminating violent gangs.
  I have firsthand experience with the effectiveness of 
multijurisdictional law enforcement efforts: the Rocky Mountain High 
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, and the various local 
multijurisdictional drug task forces in Colorado, have successfully 
leveraged Federal, State, and local resources to fight crime. I support 
applying this model to the fight against gangs.
  On the investigation and prosecution front, I am pleased that the 
bill would increase funding for the Justice Department, Federal 
prosecutors, and FBI agents to coordinate Federal enforcement against 
violent gangs.
  In regards to penalties for gang-related activity, this bill takes a 
sensible approach. It would replace the current sentencing enhancement 
for gang-related conduct with a new Federal antigang law that directly 
criminalizes gang crimes--and related conspiracies and attempts to 
commit crimes in furtherance of a criminal gang. The bill would also 
create new Federal offenses prohibiting the recruitment of minors into 
a criminal gang.
  Finally, the bill would authorize $3-$5 million per year for the 
creation of a national gang violence prevention training center and 
clearinghouse, which would assist local law enforcment with training 
and the implementation of effective gang violence prevention models. 
Since my time as attorney general, I have been acutely aware of the 
importance of effective law enforcement training--and I am pleased that 
this bill contains provisions which would directly address this 
important issue.
  This is a sensible, comprehensive bill. By focusing on prevention, 
investigation, prosecution, punishment, and training, I am hopeful that 
it will give our law enforcement agencies--Federal, State, and local--
the resources they need to effectively fight the growth of gangs and 
gang activity.

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