TheWeekInCongress.com
Week Ending May 13, 2005
HR 1279 to reduce violent gang crime and protect law-abiding citizens and communities from violent criminals, and for other purposes.
BRIEF
The bill takes aim at the growing problem of not only gang violence but the perception that gangs – now reaching an estimated 750,000 members nationwide – are nationally and internationally connected in a fashion akin to organized crime in the 1960s and 1970s.
The bill addresses the problem with two titles. Title I provides death or life for murder or manslaughter, 30 years to life for kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse or maiming, a mandatory minimum of 20 years to life for assault resulting in serious bodily injury and a mandatory minimum of ten years to life for any other gang crime. Using a firearm in commission of any crimes adds seven years to the time to be served for the crime itself.
Approaching the interstate organized crime aspect of the gang problem the bill increases fines and punishment for interstate or foreign commerce-related to racketeering, interfering with commerce by threats or violence (extortion) and using interstate commerce facilities to carry out murder-for-hire and other violent felonies. The statute of limitations on those crimes would be 15 years.
The determination to try a minor as an adult rests with the federal government. Convicted of an adult felony after age 16 can get the death penalty for the minor, but lesser crimes could also cause the juvenile to be tried as an adult; “the juvenile may be prosecuted and convicted as an adult for any other offense which is properly joined under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and may also be convicted as an adult of any lesser included offense.” The bill text said. A juvenile who commits a crime that would normally receive 6 month in prison or less would not be tried in court unless the flee the charges. Several things such as age, maturity, seriousness of the crime and other factors would be considered when determining if a juvenile would be tried or tried as an adult.
Title II is designed to increase resources to deter and prevent youth from joining gangs.
After the Attorney General designates locations as ‘high intensity interstate gang activity areas’ assistance from a $50 million yearly fund would support increased investigations and prosecutions in those areas. $20 million yearly would allow for hiring of additional state and local prosecutors and purchase equipment to improve accurate identification and prosecution of violent offenders.
What constitutes a criminal street gang would be changed. “`criminal street gang' means a formal or informal group or association of 3 or more individuals, who commit 2 or more gang crimes (one of which is a crime of violence…)” the bill text reads. Formerly 5 individuals constituted a gang.
“In the alternative, we should emphasize prevention programs which discourage youth from joining gangs. Research indicates the effectiveness of focused family interventions, including functional family therapy. Youth whose families received family therapy, for example, were half as likely to be re-arrested as the youths whose families did not receive family therapy. Unfortunately, instead of investing in commonsense programs such as this, H.R. 1279 adopts a `lock 'em up and throw away the key' strategy to deal with the problem.”
Sponsor: Representative Randy J. Forbes (R-VA-4th)
Vote: Passed House 279 to 144 (May 11, 2005) (RC 168). The Motion to Recommit the bill with Instructions failed 198 to 227 (May 11, 2005) (RC 167)
Cost to the taxpayers: The bill appropriates $100 million; $20 million yearly 2006 through 2010 “to help States hire prosecutors, purchase technology, equipment and training for gang enforcement.” But the CBO calculates the cost at $370 million over five years. Included in the costs would be the estimated $60 million to incarcerate more gang members for longer periods of time.
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MORE INFORMATION
DISSENTING VIEWS (From Committee Report)
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION (From Committee Report)
AMENDMENTS
Amdt. 1 to exclude property crimes from listing as violent crimes; adds conspiracies as possible violations of interstate commerce violations and increase penalties for it; modifies definition of violent crime to include an act that by its nature creates substantial risk that physical injury may result to person or property of another; clarifies an exception to the ban on handgun possession by juveniles to permit a juvenile to possess a firearm while in the presence of parent or guardian who is not prohibited by law to possess a firearm. The juvenile does not have to have written permission from the parent or guardian.
Sponsor: Representative James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI)
Status: Passed House by voice vote (May 11, 2005)
Amdt. 2 to establish a National Gang Intelligence Center at the FBI and authorizes $10 million to establish the Center.
Sponsor: Representative Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28th)
Status: Passed House by voice vote (May 11, 2005)
Amdt. 3 to establish funding for regional databases that track gang activity in high intensity gang areas.
Sponsor: Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX-30th)
Status: Passed House by voice vote (May 11, 2005)
Amdt. 4 to require the Attorney General to seek input from local elected officials before designating an area as a “High-Intensity Interstate Gang Activity Area.”
Sponsor: Representative Diane E. Watson (D-CA-33rd)
Status: Passed house by voice vote.
Amdt. 5 to add 100 new inspectors and 100 new agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and assign them to the designated High-Intensity Gang Activity Areas.
Sponsor: Representative Diane E. Watson (D-CA-33rd)
Status: Passed House by voice vote (May 11, 2005)
Amdt. 6 to authorize the Attorney General to conduct a media campaign about changes in penalties.
Sponsor: Representative Albert Russell Wynn (D-MD-4th)
Status: Passed House by voice vote.
Amdt. 7 to add five years to any sentence for violent crimes or drug trafficking offenses when the violator is an illegal alien. If the illegal alien has been previously deported on the grounds of a criminal offense and has re-entered the country. Requires the Dept. of Homeland Security to send to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) the names of individuals who are subject to deportation orders or who have signed voluntary deportation papers.
Sponsor: Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA-6th)
Status: Passed House 266 to 159 (May 11, 2005) (RC 165)
Amdt. 8 to provide to the National Crime Information Center information on the three categories of illegal aliens: those with a final order of removal, those who have signed a voluntary departure agreement and those who have overstayed their visa.
Sponsor: Representative Charlie Norwood (R-GA-9th)
Status: Passed House by voice vote. (May 11, 2005)
Amdt. 9 to require a Depts. of Justice and Homeland Security study on the link of illegal aliens and gang membership.
Sponsor: Representative Charlie Norwood (R-GA-9th)
Status: Passed House 395 to 31 (RC166) (May 11, 2005)
Amdt. 10 to strike all sections of the bill that set mandatory minimum sentences.
Sponsor: Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA-35th)
Status: Withdrawn by unanimous consent.
H.R. 1279, the `Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2005,' is a comprehensive bill to increase gang prosecutions and prevent gang-related crimes. The bill authorizes increased Federal funding to support Federal, State and local law enforcement efforts against violent gangs, and to coordinate law enforcement agencies' efforts to share intelligence and jointly prosecute violent gangs. The act also creates new criminal gang prosecution offenses, enhances existing gang and violent crime penalties to deter and punish illegal street gangs, proposes violent crime reforms needed to prosecute effectively gang members, and reforms the Federal juvenile justice system to authorize prosecution of 16- and 17-year-old gang members who commit violent crimes.
The problem of gang violence in America is not a new one. 1
[Footnote] Nor is it a problem that is limited to major urban areas. Once thought to be only a problem in our Nation's largest cities, gangs have invaded smaller communities. 2
[Footnote] According to the Department of Justice there are currently over 25,000 gangs that are active in more than 3,000 jurisdictions in the United States. 3
[Footnote] Every city with a population of 250,000 or more has reported gang activity in their communities. 4
[Footnote] Based on the latest available National Youth Gang Survey, it is now estimated that there are over 750,000 gang members. 5
[Footnote]
[Footnote 1: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs--Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Modern-Day Youth Gangs (June 2002), available at http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/ojjdp/191524.pdf.]
[Footnote 2: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs--Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Fact Sheet, National Youth Gang Survey Trends from 1996 to 2000 (February 2003), available at http://www.west.asu.edu/ckatz/gangclass/Section--1/current.pdf.]
[Footnote 3: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs--Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Highlights of the 2002 National Youth Gang Survey (April 2004), available at http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/ojjdp/fs200401.pdf.]
[Footnote 4: See Id.]
[Footnote 5: See Id.]
Gangs now resemble organized crime syndicates who commit gun violence, illegal gun trafficking, illegal drug trafficking and other serious crimes. More and more communities are suffering from gang violence, leading to rival gang battles, where all too often innocent bystanders are tragically shot, and law-abiding members of communities are prisoners in their own homes in fear of being caught in the cross-fire of gang violence.
There has been rapid growth in national and international gangs as well. In particular, many communities have seen a rapid increase in the membership and presence of `MS-13,' a violent gang comprised of alien criminals from El Salvador (most, if not all of whom, are illegally in this country)--which has been estimated to include 8,000 to 10,000 members operating in 31 States. 6
[Footnote]
[Footnote 6: See http://www.house.gov/forbes/documents/gangcliques.pdf.]
Gang violence in America is a growing problem. While national figures have shown a decline in violent crime generally, the proportion of violent crimes committed by gang members has increased. In 2003, juvenile gang members committed over 800 murders across the nation. 7
[Footnote] Gangs have been directly linked to illegal drug trafficking, human trafficking, identification documentation falsification, violent maimings, assault and murder, and the increased use of firearms to commit deadly crimes.
[Footnote 7: See http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius--03/xl/03tbl2-11.xls.]
In response to this problem, the `Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2005,' seeks to build on strategies that work, including: (1) mandatory-minimum penalties for crimes of violence to incapacitate violent gang members and to gain leverage from less culpable gang members in order to secure cooperation of insiders to solve gang crimes and prosecute higher-ups in the organization; (2) joint task forces of Federal, State and local law enforcement and prosecutors that will join Federal resources with local intelligence in order to target the most serious gangs in a community; (3) the promotion of intelligence sharing among Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies; and (4) limited juvenile justice reform to ensure that violent juvenile gang members are prosecuted for acts of violence.
The bill is premised on the need for a national, comprehensive, and coordinated approach to reducing gang violence in our communities. Such an approach is analogous to the national effort in the 1960's and 1970's to eliminate organized crime syndicates through aggressive Federal law enforcement efforts. The gang bill applies these same principles, some of which already have started and are in place--to increase significantly the ability of Federal, State and local task forces to investigate and prosecute violent gangs.
As in the case of organized crime, Federal law enforcement has the ability to conduct long-term and complex criminal investigations which are designed to prosecute large organizations--akin to national gangs (e.g. `MS-13,' `Bloods,' `Crips,' `Latin Kings'). There is no national coordinated infrastructure for conducting such investigations, nor is there a means to share intelligence among law enforcement agencies to coordinate such an effort.
The bill will create a national infrastructure by: (1) designating High Intensity Gang Areas (`HIGAs') and authorizing Federal funding to combat gang activity by creating Federal, State and local Gang Enforcement Task Forces that bring together local intelligence and Federal resources; (2) creating a national means by which to share gang intelligence among Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies; and (3) authorizing $20 million per year over 5 years to help States hire prosecutors, purchase technology, equipment and training for gang enforcement.
When attacking organized crime syndicates, prosecutors were given new and effective tools to prosecute and convict members of organized crime families. The Justice Department aggressively prosecuted such cases, and used a new and valuable tool for attacking organized crime, the RICO statute (`Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations'). The RICO statute gave Federal prosecutors broad jurisdiction to charge members of organized crime syndicates with a variety of State and Federal crimes typically committed by members of such organizations (e.g. State and local crimes involving murder, robbery, extortion, gambling). Without such a new tool, and enhanced criminal penalties, investigators and prosecutors would not have been able to dismantle and bring down the significant organized crime figures.
We strongly dissent from H.R. 1279. The legislation would federalize a host of crimes currently and competently handled by the states and the District of Columbia; penalize even non-violent drug dealing and some misdemeanors as crimes of violence; expand without reason the definition of criminal street gang; unwisely leave to the sole discretion of the government the unreviewable decision to try juveniles as adults; impose unduly harsh and discriminatory mandatory minimum sentences; and expand the use of the federal death penalty to new offenses. The legislation is unnecessary as federal prosecutors are already armed with the Continuing Criminal enterprise (`CCE') and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (`RICO') statutes to combat gang crimes. The legislation also may be unconstitutional. Recent Supreme Court opinions strongly suggest that this legislation would exceed Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause.
H.R. 1279, the `Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2005' (Gang Deterrence Act') has a deceptive title since its primary purpose is to punish more young people as adults to the extent possible. 1
[Footnote] The bill would largely federalize the prosecution of criminal street gang members and facilitate the federal prosecution of juvenile members. Research shows young people who are prosecuted as adults are more likely to commit a greater number of crimes upon release than youth who go to the juvenile justice system. Therefore locking young people up in adult prisons actually compromises public safety. Moreover, research demonstrates that increasing prison terms does not reduce youth violence. H.R. 1279 also authorizes substantial appropriations for law enforcement teams and technology, while providing nothing in the way of jobs or education for at-risk youth.
[Footnote 1: The Supreme Court recently struck down the death penalty for juveniles in Roper v. Simmons, 125 S. Ct. 1183 (2005).]
While there is no question that violent and dangerous youth need to be securely confined for our safety and theirs, the emphasis of H.R. 1279 on the death penalty and mandatory minimums is misplaced. Mandatory minimum sentences have been studied extensively and have been proven to be ineffective in preventing crime; proven to distort the sentencing process; and proven to be a considerable waste of taxpayers money. Moreover, the death penalty system has numerous deficiencies, not to mention its discriminatory effects. The bill also unwisely advocates for transferring a greater number of juveniles to adult court to be tried for youth-related crimes. This runs contrary to research which indicates that prosecuting young people as adults does not reduce youth crime. In fact, it's been proven to have the opposite effect.
In the alternative, we should emphasize prevention programs which discourage
youth from joining gangs. Research indicates the effectiveness of focused family
interventions, including functional family therapy. Youth whose families
received family therapy, for example, were half as likely to be re-arrested as
the youths whose families did not receive family therapy. Unfortunately, instead
of investing in commonsense programs such as this, H.R. 1279 adopts a `lock 'em
up and throw away the key' strategy to deal with the problem.
John Conyers, Jr.
Robert Scott.
Zoe Lofgren.
Maxine Waters.
William D. Delahunt.
Anthony D. Weiner.
Linda T. Sanchez.
Chris Van Hollen.
Howard L. Berman.
Jerrold Nadler.
Melvin L. Watt.
Sheila Jackson Lee.
Martin Meehan.
## All Rights Reserved. © 2005 TheWeekInCongress.com.
No reproduction or distribution without written permission from TheWeekInCongress.com.