In Support of a Federal Anti-Gang Law

“A functioning federal gang prosecution law patterned after Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act would provide a direct legal outlet for FBI’s ‘increased focus’ on gangs.”

As president of the Georgia Gang Investigators Association, I have the privilege of working with local, state, and federal prosecutors who dedicate countless hours to stopping this country’s greatest public safety threat: criminal street gangs. To verify this, one needs to look no further than the federal statistics showing that there are well-over 1,000,000 gang members from approximately 33,000 separate gangs that commit the majority of violent crime, narcotics distribution, and human trafficking.

But, systemic failings when it comes to adhering to best anti-gang practices are often unnoticed, even when the statistics are widely available. A high-profile federal program supplies a “teachable moment.”

Safe Streets Violent Crime Initiative: FBI’s “Gang Focus”

The United States Department of Justice’s website tells us that the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Violent Crime Initiative (“Safe Streets”) was employed when the FBI “increased its focus on violent gangs.”

The FBI, to this effect, explains that “For the 68 Safe Streets Task Forces (SSTFs) focused on violent gangs in 55 of our field offices,” there were “more than 2,000 local, state, and federal investigators representing over 700 law enforcement agencies throughout the United States.”