Congressman Burgess Votes for Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act

Congressman Burgess Votes for Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act

WASHINGTON, DC, May 11 - Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1279, The Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2005, which authorizes increased federal funding to support federal, state and local law enforcement efforts against violent gangs, to coordinate law enforcement agencies' efforts to share intelligence and to jointly investigate violent gangs. Congressman Michael Burgess voted in favor of this legislation. The Act creates new criminal gang prosecution offenses, enhances existing gang and violent crime penalties to deter and punish illegal street gangs, and proposes violent crime reforms needed to effectively prosecute gang members.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, there are currently over 25,000 gangs and over 750,000 gang members who are active in more than 3,000 jurisdictions across the United States. Gang activity has been directly linked to the narcotics trade, human trafficking, identification document falsification, violent maiming and assault and the use of firearms to commit deadly shootings. This legislation is part of an increasing federal effort to assist local law enforcement in targeting and federally prosecuting violent criminals who are associated with street gangs. The bill will encourage partnerships across all levels of government and ensure the success of these partnerships through the expansion of resources and intelligence.

"Gang violence and intimidation is a parasite growing across the country," stated Congressman Michael Burgess. Representative Randy Forbes (R-Virginia), author of the bill, sited the statistic that gang recruitment has been so successful, that if gang member's from around the country united, they would comprise the sixth largest standing army in the world. "The swelling numbers in gangs is alarming, and this bill is a solid starting point from which we should continue to tackle this problem. This bill will facilitate and fund coordination efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement."

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

"I am please that many law enforcement groups support this strong piece of legislation," stated Congressman Michael Burgess. "I am hopeful that my local police and sheriffs, who tirelessly work to combat gangs, will benefit from passage of this bill."

http://burgess.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=27016