Washington, DC -- U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) today announced legislation to authorize $650 million to combat gang violence, create new gang criminal designations, increase the penalties for the most serious gang crimes and make it a federal crime to recruit persons to join a criminal street gang.

"In my view, this legislation would take an important step in the effort to reduce gang violence," Senator Feinstein said. "Simply put, our legislation gives prosecutors tough new tools to go after gangs with increased resources and increased penalties. It also provides the money and a framework needed to help to keep young people out of gangs in the first place.

There has been a sharp rise in gang violence. In Los Angeles in 2002, for example, there were:

• 658 homicides (an increase of 11 percent over 2001), and police suspect that more than half were gang-related.
• An estimated 430 gangs with 52,000 gang members.
  

"Senator Hatch and I first introduced the Federal Gang Violence Act in April of 1996. It had become clear to both of us that gangs were no longer local entities. Gangs had become coordinated, criminal enterprises that operated on the national level. And this is why need a strong federal response to gang violence."

"Indeed, over the past two decades, gangs have become far more violent, far more numerous, and far more interstate in scope than they ever were previously. We need to act now to stem the tide. All in all, this bill gives prosecutors the tools, the funding, and the framework they need to prosecute gang crimes and to keep children and others out of gangs in the first place."

Specifically, the Gang Prevention and Effective Deterrence Act of 2003 (introduced on October 15, 2003):

• Authorizes $650 million over the next five years, $450 million of which would be used to support Federal, State and local law enforcement efforts against violent gangs, and $200 million would be used for intervention and prevention programs for at-risk youth.



• Increases funding for federal prosecutors and FBI agents to increase coordinated enforcement efforts against violent gangs.
  
  
• Establishes high intensity interstate gang activity areas with $100 million per year in authorized funding:

  - $60 million per year to carry out coordinated law enforcement activities between federal, state and local law enforcement.
  
  - $40 million per year for community grants, including crime prevention and intervention services that are designed to work with gang members and at-risk youth in the designated areas

• Establishes a new, federal criminal offense for anyone who recruits a member into a criminal street gang with a maximum prison sentence of ten years and sets a mandatory minimum sentence of three years if the recruitment involves a minor.

• Creates a new federal criminal offense when three or more people work together to commit predicate gang crimes which include murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, gambling, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, arson, obstruction of justice, tampering with or retaliating against a witness, burglary, sexual assault, carjacking, or selling controlled substances, firearm offenses, and illegal transportation of aliens. Gang members who commit two or more predicate gang crimes or employ another individual to commit a gang crime could be sentenced to up to thirty years in prison. If the predicate gang crime carries a greater penalty, the maximum would increase. If the gang member employs a minor to commit the gang crime, the gang member would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years.

• Increases the maximum penalty for traveling or using interstate commerce to engage in or promote illegal activity, or distributing the proceeds from such activity from five years to ten years.



• Imposes a sentence of up to life imprisonment for obstruction of justice in State proceedings.

• Doubles the penalty for offenders who cross state lines to commit murder-for-hire.
  

• Makes it easier for federal prosecutors to target dangerous gang members under federal law.



• Creates new federal offenses of violent crime in aid of drug trafficking and gang activity with penalties up to life imprisonment or death where murder is the violent crime.

• Increases penalties for criminal use of firearms in crimes of violence and drug trafficking crimes.

• Provides $7.5 million per year for five years to help the Justice Department in hiring additional prosecutors.

Legislative History

In 1996, Senator Feinstein, Senator Hatch, and others introduced the Federal Gang Violence Act, which would have increased criminal penalties for gang members, made recruiting persons into a criminal street gang a crime, and enhanced penalties for transferring a gun to a minor.

Many of the provisions of that bill were incorporated into the 1999 Juvenile Justice bill, which was approved overwhelmingly (85-13) by the Senate in the 106^th Congress. However, the Juvenile Justice bill stalled in conference, and these provisions were never signed into law.

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