BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2140
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 23, 2010
Counsel: Meghan Masera
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2140 (Solorio) - As Introduced: February 18, 2010
SUMMARY : Establishes the High Intensity Interstate Gang
Activity Areas (HIIGAA) Task Force to formulate a comprehensive
strategy for addressing high intensity gang activity throughout
California and to advise the Emergency Management Agency (EMA)
on the appropriate disbursement of funds to regional high
activity gang areas. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes legislative findings about gang violence, including:
a) California has experienced an escalation in gang-related
crimes, and violence is a threat to the safety of all
citizens; and,
b) Gang suppression efforts, left uncoordinated, will
remain disorganized and inefficient in addressing the
problem of gang activity, and will allow violence to
continue to terrorize California communities.
2)Establishes in the EMA a program designated the HIIGA Task
Force to provide for the protection and safety of California's
communities from gang activity and violence, and to enhance
crime prevention efforts through increased federal, state, and
local law enforcement coordination. All funds appropriated to
the EMA for these purposes shall be administered and disbursed
by the Secretary in consultation with the HIIGA Task Force and
shall, to the extent feasible, be coordinated with federal
funds and private grants or private donations that are made
available for these purposes.
3)States that the purpose of the HIIGA Task Force is to
formulate a comprehensive strategy for addressing high
intensity gang activity throughout California and to advise
the EMA on the appropriate disbursements of funds to regional
high activity gang areas.
AB 2140
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4)States that in formulating that strategy, the HIIGA Task Force
shall:
a) Identify and designate HIIGAAs throughout California.
When establishing HIIGAAs, the HIIGA Task Force shall
consider:
i) The current and predicted levels of gang crime
activity in the area, especially the number of
gang-related homicides;
ii) The extent to which violent crime in the area
appears to be related to criminal street gang activity,
such as drug trafficking, murder, robbery, assaults,
carjacking, arson, kidnapping, extortion, and other
criminal activity;
iii) The extent to which state and local law enforcement
agencies have committed resources to respond to the gang
crime problem and to participate in a gang-enforcement
team; and,
iv) The extent to which a significant increase in the
allocation of state resources would enhance local
response to the gang crime activities in the area.
b) Establish regional high intensity interstate gang
activity area law enforcement steering committees, and
select the members of those committees.
5)States that the EMA Secretary shall appoint designees from the
Governor's Office, the EMA, the Attorney General's Office, the
California Highway Patrol, the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, the California State Sheriff's Association,
the California Police Chief's Association, the California
District Attorney's Association, the Chief Probation Officers
of California, each federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Areas (HIDTA) executive director's office as members to the
HIIGA Task Force.
6)Provides that the EMA Secretary shall designate the chair of
the HIIGAA Task Force from the appointed members.
7)States other requirements for the HIGGAA Task Force, such as
that the HIIGAA Task Force shall not be required to meet more
AB 2140
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than 12 times per year, the HIIGAA Task Force may create
subcommittees of its own membership, and all Task Force
members shall actively participate in all Task Force
deliberation subject to certain exceptions.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that the Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy
(OGYVP), located within EMA, is responsible for "identifying
and evaluating state, local, and federal gang and youth
violence suppression, intervention, and prevention programs
and strategies, along with funding for those efforts. [Penal
Code Section 13827(b).]
2)States that the OGYVP is "responsible for monitoring,
assessing, and coordinating the state's programs, strategies,
and funding that address gang and youth violence in a manner
that maximizes the effectiveness and coordination of those
programs, strategies, and resources." [Penal Code Section
13827(b).] The OGYVP is also responsible for collaborating
with a wide range of state and local stakeholders to develop
comprehensive recommendations "to define its mission, role,
and responsibilities as a statewide entity dedicated to
reducing violence and the proliferation of gangs and gang
violence in California communities." [Penal Code Section
13827(b).]
3)States that the OGYVP must play a role in the collection and
analysis of data on gang membership statewide and the
effectiveness of various gang prevention efforts, the
development of reliable and accurate sources of data to
measure the scale and characteristics of California's gang
problems, the development of a clearinghouse for research on
gangs, at-risk youth, and prevention and intervention programs
in order to identify best practices and evidence-based
programming, as well as unsuccessful practices, and in order
to promote effective strategies for reducing gang involvement
and gang violence. [Penal Code Section 13827(b).] In
addition, the OGYVP must play a role in assisting state and
local governmental and nongovernmental entities in developing
violence and gang prevention strategies, including built-in
evaluation components, developing sustained coordination
mechanisms among state, local, and regional entities, and
identifying available or needed federal, state, regional,
local, and private funding resources. [Penal Code Section
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13827(b).]
4)Defines "criminal street gang" as any ongoing organization,
association, or group of three or more persons, whether formal
or informal, having as one of its primary activities the
commission of one or more enumerated offenses, having a common
name or identifying sign or symbol, and whose members engage
in a pattern of gang activity. [Penal Code Section
186.22(f).]
5)Provides that a pattern of criminal gang activity can be
established by a single prior offense and the crime charged in
the current prosecution. [People v. Gardeley, supra, 14
Cal.4th 605, 625 (1996).]
6)Provides that it is not required that a person convicted of
active participation in a street gang, or whose sentence is
enhanced for committing a felony for the benefit of a gang
have been involved in the conduct establishing a pattern of
gang activity. [People v. Gardeley,14 Cal.4th 605, 621-622
(1996).]
7)Provides that any person who actively participates in a
criminal street gang with knowledge that its members engage in
or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity and who
promotes, furthers, or assists in any felonious conduct by
members of the gang shall be punished by imprisonment in the
county jail for up to one year or by 16 months, 2 or 3 years
in state prison. [Penal Code Section 186.22(a).]
8)Provides that any person convicted of a felony committed for
the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with
any criminal street gang, with the specific intent to promote,
further, or assist in criminal conduct by gang members, shall
receive a sentence enhancement, as specified. [Penal Code
Section 186.22(b).]
9)Provides that the minimum enhancements (in addition to the
prison term for the underlying felony) are: a felony (other
than specified) - two, three, or four years; a serious felony
- five years; a violent felony - 10 years; a home invasion
robbery - life with a minimum of 15 years before parole
eligibility; a carjacking - life with a minimum of 15 years; a
shooting from a vehicle - life with a minimum of 15 years; and
extortion or witness intimidation - life with a minimum of
AB 2140
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seven years. [Penal Code Section 186.22(b).]
10)Provides that any person convicted of either a felony or
misdemeanor that is committed for the benefit of, at the
direction of, or in association with any criminal street gang,
with the specific intent to promote, further, or assist in any
criminal conduct by gang members, shall be punished by
imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year or by one,
two, or three years in state prison. Any misdemeanor
sentence, or term imprisonment as a condition of probation,
must be at least 180 days in length. [Penal Code Section
186.22(d).]
11)Holds that Penal Code Section 186.22(d) is neither a
substantive offense nor an enhancement. Rather, Penal Code
Section 186.22(d) is an alternate penalty provision that may
be imposed where a defendant is convicted of either a
misdemeanor or a felony committed for the benefit of a gang.
Where the defendant, for the benefit of a gang, commits what
would otherwise be a misdemeanor, Penal Code Section 186.22(d)
allows prosecutors to charge the defendant with either a
felony or a misdemeanor. [Robert L. v. Superior Court, 30
Cal.4th 894 (2003).]
12)Defines "pattern of criminal gang activity" as the commission
of two or more of enumerated offenses, provided at least one
of the offenses occurred after the effective date of the
statute and the last of the offenses occurred within three
years after a prior offense, and the offenses were committed
on separate occasions, or by two or more persons. [Penal Code
Section 186.22(e).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Gangs pose a
serious threat to public safety in many communities throughout
the United States. Gang members are increasingly migrating
from urban to suburban areas and are responsible for a growing
percentage of crime and violence in many communities. Much
gang-related criminal activity involves drug trafficking;
however, gang members are increasingly engaging in alien and
weapons trafficking.
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"According to the National Gang Threat Assessment (NDTS) report
compiled by the National Gang Intelligence Center and the
National Drug Intelligence Center, there are approximately
6,900 gangs with more than 237,000 criminally active members
in the Pacific Region, which includes California and Nevada.
"Also according to NDTS data, the percentage of state and local
law enforcement agencies in the Pacific Region that report
gang activity in their jurisdictions increased from 66 percent
in 2004, to 74 percent in 2008. As much as 80 percent of
crime in some jurisdictions is gang-related, according to law
enforcement reporting. The most significant gangs operating
in the Pacific Region are 18th Street, Bloods, Crips, La Eme,
Nuestra Familia, and Hells Angels."
2)Background : According to information provided by the author,
"Today, violent criminal street gangs affect public safety,
community image, and quality of life in communities of all
sizes in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Criminal street
gang activity is often related to violent crimes, such as drug
trafficking, murder, robbery, assaults, carjacking, arson and
kidnapping. Northern California, the Central Valley, Los
Angeles and the southwest border region of California have
been designated as 'high intensity drug trafficking areas' by
the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy.
"According to the 2009 National Gang Threat Assessment report
prepared by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, coordination and
cooperation by federal agencies with local government is vital
to address local gang crimes, and the coordinated training of
law enforcement, community, and public officials will provide
the knowledge and forethought to develop prevention and
intervention programs in communities across the nation.
"There are no state law enforcement agencies with programs that
are specifically designed to coordinate multijurisdictional
task forces that target gang activity."
3)The Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy : This bill may
create overlap with the duties of the Office of Gang and Youth
Violence Policy established by AB 1381 (Nunez), Chapter 459,
Statutes of 2007, within the Governor's Office of Emergency
Services (OES), now the EMA.
Given the broad delegation of statewide gang planning authority
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granted to the OGYVP, it is unclear if and how the activities
of the proposed HIIGA Task Force would overlap with the
activities of the OGYVP.
The OGYVP is "responsible for monitoring, assessing, and
coordinating the state's programs, strategies, and funding
that address gang and youth violence in a manner that
maximizes the effectiveness and coordination of those
programs, strategies, and resources." [Penal Code Section
13827(b).]
In addition, the OGYVP is charged with assisting state and local
governmental and nongovernmental entities in developing
violence and gang prevention strategies, including built-in
evaluation components, and developing sustained coordination
mechanisms among state, local, and regional entities. [Penal
Code Section 13827(b).]
This bill states that the purpose of the HIIGA Task Force is to
formulate "a comprehensive strategy for addressing high
intensity gang activity throughout the State and to advise the
Emergency Management Agency on the appropriate disbursements
of funds to regional high activity gang areas."
The HIIGA Task Force would also be responsible for providing for
the protection and safety of California's communities from
gang activity and violence, and enhancing crime prevention
efforts through increased federal, state, and local law
enforcement coordination.
4)Federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program :
According to information provided by the author, "AB 2140
would create the HIIGA Task Force within the EMA. The HIIGA
Task Force would help protect the state's communities from
gang activity and violence by enhancing crime prevention
efforts through increased federal, state, and local law
enforcement coordination. The Task Force would be modeled
after the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas
(HIDTA) program in the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
HIDTA funds help federal, state and local law enforcement
organizations invest in infrastructure and joint initiatives
to confront drug-trafficking organizations."
5)National Gang Threat Assessment : According to the 2009
National Gang Threat Assessment released by the National Gang
AB 2140
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Intelligence Center (NGIC) and the National Drug Intelligence
Center, "Gangs pose a serious threat to public safety in many
communities throughout the United States. Gang members are
increasingly migrating from urban to suburban areas and are
responsible for a growing percentage of crime and violence in
many communities. Much gang-related criminal activity
involves drug trafficking; however, gang members are
increasingly engaging in alien and weapons trafficking.
Additionally, a rising number of U.S.-based gangs are
seemingly intent on developing working relationships with
U.S.- and foreign-based drug trafficking organizations and
other criminal organizations to gain direct access to foreign
sources of illicit drugs.
"Gang migration from larger cities to suburban and rural areas
is an ongoing concern for law enforcement. According to
analysis of National Drug Threat Survey 2008 data, the
percentage of law enforcement agencies in the United States
reporting gang activity in their jurisdictions increased from
45 percent in 2004 to 58 percent in 2008. Moreover, the
percentage of jurisdictions reporting gang activity during
this time frame increased in each of the seven NGIC regions;
however, the most significant increases were in the East and
Southeast Regions, most likely the result of the migration of
gang members from urban areas such as New York, New York;
Chicago, Illinois; and Los Angeles, California, to smaller
jurisdictions in these regions.
"Gang migration from urban areas has led to the recruitment of
new, younger gang members in many suburban and rural
communities. According to the most recent biennial School
Crime Supplement to the Bureau of Justice Statistics National
Crime Victimization Survey, the percentage of suburban
students ages 12-18 who reported that gangs were present at
school during the previous 6 months increased 17 percent from
2003 to 2005 after remaining stable from 2001 to 2003, and the
percentage of rural students reporting likewise increased 33
percent from 2003 to 2005 after decreasing (8%) from 2001 to
2003. In comparison, percentages of both total students and
urban students reporting gangs present at school increased
steadily from 2001 to 2005 (20% and 24%, respectively).
"Gang membership in the United States was conservatively
estimated at 1 million members as of September 2008, based on
analysis of federal, state, and local law enforcement
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reporting-an increase from an estimated 800,000 members in
2005. Current estimates include approximately 900,000 gang
members residing within local communities across the country
and more than 147,000 documented gang members incarcerated in
federal, state, and local correctional facilities, according
to state and federal corrections data. States in the Pacific,
Southwest, and Central Regions rank highest in the percentage
of the population identified as gang members.
"Most regions in the United States will experience increased
gang membership, continued migration of gangs to suburban and
rural areas, and increased gang-related criminal activity.
Gang-related violence is very likely to remain at high levels
or increase as gangs expand their criminal operations into
suburban and rural communities. As these gangs encounter
resistance from local gangs or other drug distributors in
these communities, an increase in violent incidents such as
assaults, drive-by shootings, and homicides can be expected."
6)Prior Legislation : AB 1625 (Solorio), of the 2007-08
Legislative Session, would have created within OES a program
designated as the HIIGA Task Force. AB 1625 was held on
Assembly Appropriations Committee's Suspense File.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Meghan Masera / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744