House panel hears pleas for aid to battle rising violence

 

BY KRIS KITTO : The Herald-Sun Washington bureau

WASHINGTON -- Several Durham community organizers say gangs have gotten bolder in recent months, and federal officials say arrests of gang members are rising in the area.

A House committee Tuesday was offered what supporters say is a potential solution -- the "Gangbusters Act" to provide more policing and harsher punishments for gang-related crimes.

The bill, introduced by Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-Va., provoked debate on the best way to end gang violence.

Opponents said the legislation's sentencing requirements -- which include the death penalty and life terms -- and treatment of juvenile offenders as adults are too harsh and take the wrong approach.

"Something has gone wrong in America," said Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., noting that the United States incarcerates more people for longer periods of time than any other country in the world.

"What about prevention?"

Rep. David Price, who represents Durham and Orange counties, said the best approach to reducing gang violence is a combination of preventive action and tougher law enforcement.

"Obviously prevention is preferable if and when it works," he said. "But that doesn't remove the need for enforcement."

Price said he pushed for federal support to create two gang programs in Durham in 2002. Gang Resistance Education, and Training, or GREAT, focuses on life skills for youth, and the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative attempts to reduce gun violence.

He said he has not yet taken a position on the proposed "Gangbusters Act."

Mayme Webb-Bledsoe of the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership said the city's gang problem is the result of kids spending too much time on the streets.

"You just can't ignore the fact that there is nothing for youth to do," she said.

Webb-Bledsoe, 48, added that residents are searching for answers on how to combat gangs. She said a recent community meeting on gang activity drew a standing-room-only crowd.

Another Durham resident concerned about the city's rising gang activity is Juanita McNeil, a program coordinator at the Joseph Alston and Juanita McNeil West End Community Center.

"I'm petrified," she said.

The 57-year-old Durham native started the community center in her house in the late 1980s.

It now offers after-school programs to children of all ages.

"I think this year the teenage gang members have gotten very bold," she said. "I mean, we have young people roaming the street all night long around here."

According to Thomas O'Connell of the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement's office in Cary, the Research Triangle has seen a spate of activity from the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang.

He confirmed that there have been arrests in Durham of members of this Latin American-influenced gang. Overall, he said, three dozen MS-13 gang members have been arrested in North Carolina and deported within the last eight months.

Durham Police Department spokeswoman Kammie Michael said police officers recognize the area's growing gang problems.

The department recently nearly doubled its gang unit to 30 officers, who both patrol and gather information on the city's gangs.

"We felt like it was important for them to have a visible presence in the community," she said.

Michael said the department works with community organizations to provide teenagers with alternative activities in addition to patrolling neighborhoods for gang incidents.

In addition to federal legislation, the North Carolina General Assembly introduced the Street Gang Prevention Act last month. The state legislation also suggests stiffer penalties for gang-related crime.

The House Judiciary Committee's crime subcommittee, which is chaired by Republican Rep. Howard Coble of North Carolina's 6th District, has scheduled a meeting to finalize the language of the "Gangbusters Act" for April 12. A similar bill is working its way through the Senate.