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U.S.
Senator Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees |
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For Immediate
Release January 31, 2007 |
CONTACT: Cody Wertz – Comm.
Director |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – United States Senator Ken Salazar and a bipartisan coalition of 13 U.S. Senators today introduced the Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2007, legislation that will fight gang violence and establish tougher federal penalties to deter and punish members of street gangs. “It is past time for Congress to take action on the growing menace posed by criminal gangs,” Senator Salazar said. “Recently, gangs, gang member numbers and gang-related activity have all increased in Colorado and across the nation. This strong, bipartisan bill ensures stronger penalties for those who commit gang-related offenses, increases funding for investigation, prosecution and training of law enforcement officials and invests in the programs essential to preventing our youth from joining gangs. This is a sensible approach and deserves quick action.” In Colorado alone, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recently reported that there are approximately 12,470 confirmed gang members affiliated with 110 individual street gangs. Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Justice reported more than 731,000 gang members and 21,500 gangs.
Over a 5-year period, the comprehensive gang legislation will provide more than $1 billion to:
The legislation has also been endorsed by the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO), an organization representing 238,000 police officers from across the country. The bipartisan coalition includes Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Arlen Specter (R-PA), John Cornyn (R-TX.), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Ted Stevens (R-AK), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Joseph Biden (D-DE), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Max Baucus (D-MT) and Mark Pryor (D-AR). As Colorado Attorney General,
Senator Salazar frequently worked with the law enforcement community
to prosecute gang-related crimes and reduce gang numbers in Colorado.
He created the first-ever Attorney General Gang Prosecution Unit to
target gang members who recruit youth from our communities and successfully
pushed through a state law making it a felony for an adult to recruit
a minor into a gang. ### |
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