Hello Everyone,
Evelyn here,
with a message of the Attorney General Bill McCollum on Gang Reduction Proposals.
----------
News Release
December 20, 2007
Attorney General McCollum Announces Gang Reduction Proposals
Two-day summit will lead to the development of multi-pronged strategy
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced
several recommendations from this week’s two-day Gang Reduction Strategy
Summit which he hosted at the Florida Capitol. The summit featured speakers
and presentations from members of the Attorney General’s Gang Reduction
Strategy Executive Group which consists of several partnering state
agencies, and stakeholders from throughout Florida.
"As we go forward with the creation of a statewide strategy to reduce
and ultimately eliminate gangs, input from our communities and the law
enforcement agencies charged with protecting those communities is vital,"
said Attorney General McCollum. "I am grateful to our partners and the many
interested parties who came forward to provide insight and to make
suggestions on how we can win this fight to take back our neighborhoods."
While the overall crime rate has decreased in Florida, gang-related
crimes continue to increase substantially in number. The Florida Department
of Corrections reports a 61 percent increase in the number of felony
convictions of gang members over the past three years. The Florida
Department of Juvenile Justice reports the alarming fact that gang
recruiting efforts are targeting children as young as 10 years old.
(Embedded image moved to file: pic00041.jpg)Secretary Walter McNeil and
Attorney General McCollum discuss the threat to Florida's youth
One of the key recommendations is to press for all prevention and
intervention programs around Florida to involve parents and to include a
parent-focused element in the program. Another recommendation is to do a
more complete job of cataloging the different awareness and
prevention/intervention efforts in Florida, and assessing their
effectiveness.
"Attorney General McCollum has it right," said Florida Secretary of
Juvenile Justice Walter McNeil. "Intervention and prevention are paramount
in our efforts to keep youth from penetrating the juvenile justice system.
This is a local, county, and state-wide issue and there are many parts to
the solution."
Attorney General McCollum emphasized that education and outreach will
be critical in the ultimate reduction of the influence of gangs on
Florida’s young people, and that effort must include the involvement of
local leaders.
"Our local governments and community leaders are vital in developing
strategies to keep our children engaged in school and away from gang
involvement," said Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith. "The Gang
Reduction Strategy Summit is an excellent learning opportunity for all
stakeholders to develop workable solutions for schools and classrooms
around the state."
Drug trafficking and abuse remain one of the key factors in the
growth of gangs in Florida. Additional recommendations from the summit
include recognition that rehabilitation and re-entry efforts aimed at
Florida’s juvenile and adult inmates must begin much earlier in their
incarceration and be more comprehensive if those efforts are to be
successful. Participants in the summit also acknowledged that the
successful effort to reduce gang and drug activity will be closely tied to
finding ways to reduce the demand for illegal drugs.
"The Gang Summit initiative led by Attorney General McCollum is a
critical milestone in our effort to break the nexus of gangs, drugs, and
violence in Florida," said Colonel Bill Janes, Director of the Florida
Office of Drug Control. "The drug problem in Florida is aggravated
significantly by gangs selling drugs and terrorizing our communities. To
stop this, our response must be comprehensive, coordinated, and immediate."
Local and state leaders continued to voice their support for the
summit’s goals and the Attorney General’s efforts, particularly in those
communities that have already acknowledged the gang crisis and are working
to combat it.
"As a former police director, I’m all too familiar with youth crime
and gangs in particular," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez. "I
strongly believe that prevention and early intervention programs are the
keys to eliminating our youth gangs. I look forward to working with
Attorney General Bill McCollum and all partners on this important issue."
The next step in the development of the Attorney General’s Gang
Reduction initiative will be to review input received during the summit and
formally present the resulting statewide strategy this spring. Results of
the summit will be compiled and posted online at
http://www.safeflorida.net/safestreets
in January.
----------
Evelyn out.
