MAYOR GIULIANI UNVEILS NEW ANTI-STREET GANG STRATEGY
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today announced a new strategy to combat the problem of violent criminal street gangs. The coordinated, multi-pronged initiative is comprised of law enforcement, correctional, educational and legislative components.
"New York City has not been confronted with the same problem of gang violence facing many other American cities," the Mayor said. "There is strong evidence now, however, that the problem is beginning to grow here. And that is why, today, I am announcing a multi-pronged strategy -- including law enforcement, education and legislation -- to combat these gangs in their earliest stages."
The Mayor reminded New Yorkers, "More than a year ago, Police Commissioner Safir began implementing a coordinated street-gang strategy targeted at dismantling street gangs before they had a chance to take hold. The plan we unveil today expands these efforts."
The Mayor said that, drawing upon past experience, many of the successful strategies used to attack organized crime will be employed to combat street gangs. "Working together, the Police Department, Department of Correction, other local, State and Federal law enforcement agencies, and the Board of Education, will develop a coordinated approach to crack down on street gang activity. Gang resistance and intervention programs to prevent the City's children from becoming involved in street gangs will also be implemented in the City's public schools," the Mayor said.
"Protecting New Yorkers from the indiscriminate acts of violence perpetrated by criminal gangs, dismantling these organizations and perhaps most important, preventing children from becoming involved with gangs in the first place will be the major focal points of this coordinated strategy," the Mayor concluded.
Highlights of the City initiative follow:
Law Enforcement:
The core of the strategy will include the creation of new, specialized anti-gang units within the Police Department, as well as the supplementation of existing anti-gang enforcement efforts.Coordination with Department of Correction:
The Department will increase by approximately 66 percent (from 18 to 30) the number of police officers assigned to the existing Gang Intelligence Unit, which develops detailed information concerning the nature and extent of gang activity in the City, identifies street gang members who engage in criminal activity, and investigates gang-related crimes. This unit will be supplemented by Investigatory Squads which will be created within each detective bureau command. These squads will total approximately 40 additional officers who will focus on the investigation of gang-related crimes and further the Department's gang-related intelligence gathering.
A new Gang Suppression Unit will be formed to deter violent street gang activity in each of the City's five boroughs. This new unit will be staffed by more than approximately 100 officers, comprised of 77 newly deployed officers and the 24 officers presently assigned.
Among the crimes targeted by the Street Gang Investigation Units will be criminal conspiracy, witness intimidation, drug trafficking, and other illegal conduct that forms part of a pattern of criminal activity. The Street Gang Investigative Unit will also target gang structures and violent gang members, including gang leaders, with the goal of developing timely major cases in order to dismantle criminal street gangs.
Commissioner Safir said, "As Police Commissioner and a parent, I am well aware of the need to crack down on street gangs before they have a solid foothold on our streets and our young people. For that reason, we created a Citywide Gang Coordinator earlier this year. The steps we are announcing today will greatly enhance our existing efforts to prevent the expansion of street gang violence."
The Police Department will also enhance coordination of its anti-gang efforts with the Department of Correction which has developed a sophisticated computerized tracking system of known gang members who have been in the City's jail system over the last two years. This information will be shared with the Police Department and other local, State and Federal law enforcement and criminal justice agencies upon the release of the gang members from the custody of the Department of Correction. The New York City Department of Probation also will undertake efforts to ensure that known gang members are subject to intensive supervision and curfew restrictions.Educational Initiatives:
The Mayor will also urge the New York State Parole Board to establish a uniform policy requiring, as a condition of parole, that parolees identified as gang members not associate with other known gang members. This is particularly important because it is estimated that 70 percent of the inmates in the New York State prison system are residents of New York City.
As part of its coordinated effort, the Police Department will increase the number of gang resistance programs throughout the City, concentrating first on at-risk communities. Given the impact of gang membership on criminal activity, these focused efforts will be directed toward reducing the rate of juvenile participation in street gangs through education and community-based anti-gang programs. Additionally, anti-gang programs will educate parents, teachers, and community members about how to detect the signs of gang involvement by youth.Legislation:
The Board of Education will implement a "no tolerance' policy for street gang activity and will work with the Police Department to expand the existing GREAT Program (Gang Resistance Education and Training) from its present 20 schools to 40 schools, and will develop additional anti-gang after school programs.
As part of its "no tolerance" policy the Board of Education will take steps to directly reduce street gang criminal activity by :
- banning the wearing of "gang colors";
- banning tagging of gang related graffiti;
- working with the Police Department to establish "gang-free" school zones;
- reporting all street gang activity to the NYPD, and precluding the mediation of street gang-related incidents by teachers, principals and school safety officers;
- drug testing all school safety officers; and
- prohibiting the hiring of street gang members in any capacity.
In addition, the City will propose an anti-gang legislative package to obtain stricter penalties for gang-related activity. Legislation will be sought, among other things, to:
- make it a crime to recruit new gang members into criminal street gangs, with special penalties for recruiting minors or using violence and threats;
- add enhancement factors for punishment of criminal offenses committed by gang members fulfilling a criminal initiation rite, such as a random slashing;
- create the offense of participating in a criminal gang that makes it a felony to commit a gang-related crime, with enhanced penalties for special victims, for offenses committed in or around schools, for witness intimidation, and for gang members with prior convictions;
- create a new civil-seizure law that will allow the seizure and forfeiture of the profits of street-gang related activity; and
- make it a crime for minors to possess a box-cutter for criminal purposes.
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