California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed former U.S. Attorney Paul Seave on Tuesday as anti-gang director in his drive to combat gang crimes.
The appointment was part of his California Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention Program (CalGRIP), the governor said in a statement e-mailed to Xinhua.
The governor also allocated 2.8 million dollars for local governments to expand job training for at-risk and gang-involved youth and gang members.
Seave, along with a 10-member advisory team, will be charged with helping build comprehensive, long-term strategies to fight gang violence.
"Today my administration is enacting critical measures to implement our CalGRIP strategy that targets more than 31 million dollars in state and federal funding toward local anti-gang efforts, including intervention, suppression and prevention," the governor said.
"CalGRIP will provide important job training and education programs, while at the same time giving tools to local law enforcement that will allow them to closely track gang leaders and make our streets safer," said Schwarzenegger.
As state director of gang and youth violence policy, Seave will coordinate anti-gang programs and grants at all state agencies, serve as the state contact for local governments and community organizations and collect, evaluate and promote local best practices. He will also track all federal anti-gang funding and grants.
In May, the governor introduced CalGRIP to confront the recent dramatic increase in gangs across the state and their proliferation in suburban and rural areas.
There are more than 420,000 gang members statewide. Gangs are responsible for crimes including money laundering, extortion, narcotic production and sales, prostitution, human trafficking, assassinations for hire, theft and counterfeiting. In spite of an overall decrease in crime in most California cities since the 1990s, rates of gang-related violent crime remain steady.
The CalGRIP strategy targets more than 31 million dollars in state and federal funding toward local anti-gang efforts, including intervention, suppression and prevention.
The program will double funding for witness protection from the state Victims Restitution Fund to a total of 6 million dollars. CalGRIP will also establish a "High Risk Gang Offender" designation to subject offenders to special parole conditions that limit their ability to recruit children into gangs and limit their access to gang-infested areas.
CalGRIP will also develop a list of community organizations that rehabilitate and provide job training to former gang members, as a resource for businesses interested in hiring them. It redirects 1.1 million dollars in uncommitted, discretionary Juvenile Accountability Block Grants for programs targeting at- risk youth.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article