Report: Mass. needs more help to repel gangs

By JULIE MEHEGAN, Sun Statehouse Bureau

BOSTON The state should invest millions more and give police and prosecutors new tools so cities throughout Massachusetts can deal with growing gang violence, according to a legislative report released yesterday.

The report, based on testimony from police, prosecutors, mayors and outreach groups, recommends at least $4 million more in community-policing grants targeted to cities where gangs operate, as well as creation of a state witness-protection program to safeguard fearful witnesses.

A bipartisan group of officials said yesterday that a statewide strategy must be implemented because gang activity has expanded far beyond cities such as Boston and Lowell.

"It is not any city's problem. It's every city's problem," said Sen. Jarrett Barrios, D-Cambridge, co-chairman of the Commitee on Public Safety, who wrote the report.

The report recommends the state:

Create a state witness protection program, adopting a tougher federal perjury standard, allowing courts to issue protective orders for witnesses in criminal cases, and making it a crime to distribute copies of grand jury testimony.

Increase penalties for illegal possession of a loaded firearm.

Increase community-policing grants by $4 million to help communities with gang problems.

Expand the state police gang unit.

The report also recommends that the state fund a new grant program to support outreach groups working to combat gang violence. Government must partner with those community-based organizations to be successful, the report found.

Lowell Police Superintendent Edward F. Davis III said he backs the effort by Barrios, his colleagues and the Romney administration to help communities tackle the gang problem through legislation and added resources. Davis said he senses momentum for significant changes this year given the bipartisan approach.

"I think that bodes well for communities like Lowell that are dealing with this," Davis said. "When you have that kind of consensus, good things can happen."

Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey said many of the recommendations in the report echo the findings of a panel appointed by Romney to study urban crime. The Republican administration will work with the Democratic Legislature to enact needed reforms, Healey said, though she plans to file several criminal-justice bills of her own in the next two weeks to help address the gang problem.