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Posted by: kwflatbed

By Dan Kane

RALEIGH, N.C. — With a coalition of mayors and police chiefs urging action on gangs, the state Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved two bills to provide tougher penalties for gang activity and money for prevention and intervention programs.
The two votes, both 47-0, moved North Carolina closer to joining a majority of states that have laws dealing specifically with gangs. But despite all the hoopla Wednesday, some major issues remain before anti-gang initiatives become law. The Senate legislation makes no mention of how much will be spent on prevention programs, and the Senate has stripped out provisions that would give young offenders a break in sentencing or an erasure of their gang history if they are rehabilitated.
Senators also made no mention of the potential effect the legislation would have on an overcrowded prison system. The most recent cost estimates by legislative staff said adding the tougher penalties could cost the prison system more than $26 million for additional space and $5 million in operating costs in the first year. The penalties were expected to add nearly 180 inmates in the first year and then 370 or more in successive years.
Anti-gang legislation has become a big issue this year, largely because of two high-profile killings that so far have not been confirmed as gang-related. Eve Carson, UNC-Chapel Hill's student body president, and Abhijit Mahato, a Duke University graduate student, were shot in separate incidents. Arrests have been made but police are providing few details.
The mayors and police chiefs attending a news conference before the vote cited a Governor's Crime Commission report that said there are more than 550 gangs in the state and nearly 15,000 gang members.
Gastonia Police Chief Terry Sult said communities under 75,000 have, per capita, twice as many gang members as their more urban counterparts. With an average of 4.6 gang members per 1,000 residents, he said, smaller communities have more gang members than law enforcement officers.
"Gangs are recruiting better than the law enforcement agencies are," he said.
Attorney General Roy Cooper spoke of Treasure Feamster, a 13-year-old bystander killed last year in the crossfire between rival gangs in Salisbury.
"It is critical that we pass this legislation in order to send a message that we are not going to tolerate gangs in North Carolina," Cooper said.
The Senate legislation makes new felonies of gang activity, such as associating with a gang; acting as a gang organizer, supervisor or recruiter; threatening those who try to help someone leave a gang; or retaliating against someone who leaves a gang. It also creates a felony to deal with drive-by shootings. Property used by gangs or acquired through gang activity could be seized and forfeited.
The legislation moves to the House, where similar legislation has already passed. But there are key differences. The House bill spared those under 16 from being charged with the new gang crimes. It also had a provision allowing some reformed gang members to expunge gang activity from their criminal records.
State Sen. Malcolm Graham, a Charlotte Democrat and chief sponsor of the Senate bill, and Durham Mayor Bill Bell said they supported efforts to give someone who had been caught in gangs a chance to turn his life around.
Rep. Mickey Michaux, a Durham Democrat and chief sponsor of the House bill, said he would not support the anti-gang initiatives if there's little or no money pumped into prevention. He has pledged to put $10 million in the state budget for prevention grants to communities.
Just before the Senate vote, a coalition of youth service providers held a second news conference to press for an additional $5 million to be given to Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils, which fund programs to steer youths from crime.
"If we catch them when they are young, we will use our money well to make people safer, to make sure that these young people go ahead and live productive lives," said Rep. Alice Bordsen, a Mebane Democrat.
Sen. Malcolm Graham, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, speaks about the Senate's anti-gang bill, which passed 47-0. Staff Photo by Robert Willett

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