Floor Statement - Gangs

Statement of Sen. Orrin G. Hatch Before the Unitd States Senate

Hearing on"Gangs: a National Crisis"

Good morning. The Committee is convened to hear from several distinguished witnesses, including our colleague from Nevada, Senator Reid, about an issue that has plagued this country for more than a decade. The issue is the interstate spread of violent gangs.

Thousands of dedicated law enforcement officers have fought gang violence throughout the years, and they continue to work harder than ever to curb gang violence. But, despite their best efforts, the problem has continued to grow at an alarming rate. Not only have gangs increased in size and strength, but also they have become more sophisticated. Gang activity has spread across the country at a startling rate and is placing more and more of our people at risk.

We are facing a national crisis, and it is time for federal government to assist state and local law enforcement efforts in cracking down on these young criminal enterprises. Many persons hold the out-of-date view that gangs are, more or less, a local problem. The unfortunate truth, however, is that gangs now more resemble organized crime syndicates than small, romanticized neighborhood street toughs, like those once portrayed in "West Side Story" as the "Sharks" and the "Jets."

Today's street gangs have not confined themselves to one small neighborhood or "turf." Gangs have expanded from state to state and have national—perhaps even international—networks of illegal activity. They have expanded, developing cells in different cities to further the illegal activities of the gang, such as trafficking in illegal drugs. Gangs have, in a word, franchised. The structure of these large, interstate gangs is highly organized and complex. Most large gangs actively recruit young new members, collect membership dues, provide legal defense funds, have private lawyers, and reportedly in one case, even have a political action committee. Such organization has increased the strength of gangs, as well as the danger they pose to society.

Gang violence, moreover, is now common even in places where it would have been unthinkable several years ago. Many people find it hard to believe that Salt Lake City or Ogden, in my home state of Utah, could have such a problem. Most Americans think gangs are a problem in large cities such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, but not in our nation's smaller cities. That belief is mistaken.

The reality is that, nationwide, 95 percent of major cities and 88 percent of smaller cities report problems with gang violence. Gangs like the "Bloods" and the "Crips," which originated in Los Angeles, have made their way smaller cities. In fact, the "Bloods" and "Crips" have expanded to 118 cities. The "Gangsta Disciples" have expanded throughout the Midwest and south and Asian Gangs have emerged in sixteen cities throughout the country.

In my hometown of Salt Lake City, I find it shocking that since 1992, the number of identified gangs has increased 55 percent, from 185 to 288, and the number of gang members has increased 146 percent, from 1,438 to 3,545. The number of gang-related crimes has increased a staggering 279 percent, from 1,741 in 1992 to 6,611 in 1996. In 1996, there were 208 gang-related drive-by shootings in the Salt Lake City area, a 19.5 percent increase over the 1995 level of 174.

Given the nationwide nature of our gang problem, the rapid growth in interstate gangs, and its devastating impact in our communities, I believe that it is time for the federal government to step up its efforts to assist state and local law enforcement curb gang violence. I am not one to advocate unbridled, unwarranted expansion of federal jurisdiction, and I do not do so today. But in the case of criminal gangs that are now moving interstate to commit crimes, it is proper for the federal government to step in and play an important role.

In response to the growing interstate violent gang threat, Senator Feinstein and I have introduced S. 54, the Federal Gang Violence Act of 1997. I want to thank Senator Feinstein, and I commend her steadfast commitment to this issue. This is a truly bipartisan effort. In addition to Senator Feinstein and myself, S. 54 is cosponsored by Senator Reid, Senator D'Amato, and Senator Harkin. Our legislation will add teeth to the current federal law on criminal street gangs, which, in my view, is too narrowly focused on drug offenses and provides inadequate penalties to be an effective tool for federal prosecutors.

Our bill strengthens the coordinated and cooperative response of federal, state, and local law enforcement to criminal street gangs. This act will provide the federal prosecutorial tools needed to combat gang violence, by adding tough penalties based on the existing Continuing Criminal Enterprise statute in title 21 [21 U.S.C. 848]. Federal prosecutors will be able to charge gang leaders or members—and criminally forfeit their gang-related assets—under this section if they engage in two or more criminal gang offenses. Such offenses include: violent crimes; serious drug crimes; drug money laundering; extortion; and obstruction of justice—all offenses commonly committed by gangs.

The Federal Gang Violence Act also adds a one- to ten-year sentence for recruiting persons into a gang. An important component of this provision, provides tougher penalties for recruiting a minor into a gang, including a four year mandatory minimum sentence.

The Act adds the use of a minor in a crime to the list of offenses for which a person can be prosecuted under the federal racketeering laws, known as RICO. It also enhances the penalties for transferring a handgun to a minor, knowing that it will be used in a crime of violence, and adds a new federal sentencing enhancement for the use of body armor in the commission of a federal crime.

Finally, the provisions of the Federal Gang Violence Act adds serious juvenile drug offenses to the list of predicates under the federal Armed Career Criminal Act, and authorizes $20 million over five years to hire federal prosecutors to crack down on criminal gangs.

I believe that the provisions of this Act are common sense, gravely-needed provisions. They're tough, but we need to get tough with gangs. Violent crimes committed by youth continue to be the fastest growing type of crime in this country. Indeed, even as the general crime rate has leveled off, or even declined slightly over the last couple of years, violent youth crime, most of which has been committed by gangs, has increased. The sophistication and the interstate nature of these gangs has increased as well.

Before we proceed, allow me to take a moment to welcome our guests who have agreed to testify here this morning. I look forward to your testimony on this serious issue and hope that it will bring us closer to understanding how to better address a problem that is risking the safety of all Americans.