Van Hollen: House Makes Montgomery-Prince George's County Gang Initiative Eligible for Priority Funding

Van Hollen: House Makes Montgomery-Prince George's County Gang Initiative Eligible for Priority Funding

In an ongoing effort to help law enforcement officials deal with the growing level of gang violence in the Washington metropolitan region, United States Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) announced today that the Montgomery and Prince George's Counties Joint Gang Suppression and Prevention Initiative (also known as the Maryland Regional Gang Initiative) was identified as a priority program in the FY 2006 Science-State-Justice-Commerce Appropriations bill (H.R. 2862). The bill passed the House today on a vote of 418 to 7. Van Hollen worked with Congressman Frank R. Wolf (R-VA), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Science, State, Justice and Commerce, to ensure that this important initiative was included in the legislation.

Several weeks ago, Van Hollen organized a meeting between Representative Frank Wolf's staff and key officials from Montgomery and Prince George's Counties to discuss federal support for Maryland's Regional Gang Initiative. The meeting was attended by senior officials from both counties including Tom Manger, Montgomery County Police Chief; Carolyn Colvin, Director of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services; James Dula, Director of the Prince George's County Department of Health and Human Services; and Michael Herman, Chief of Staff to Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson.

"This is great news for our area," said Van Hollen. "I thank Representative Frank Wolf for his leadership on confronting the issue of gang violence throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. I look forward to continuing to work with him to provide federal resources to help support the Montgomery and Prince George's Counties Joint Gang Suppression and Prevention Initiative."

This gang violence initiative is the product of a Joint County Gang Prevention Task Force established last year. Centralized anti-gang units would be established within each county's police force, pursuing a zero-tolerance policy for gang violence. A cross jurisdictional community-based program, serving youth and families, would be created to provide gang prevention education, mentoring, outreach services, as well as a full placement. Critical after-school programs would be funded for areas where there is a high incidence of gang activity.

Van Hollen continued, "This initiative is a vital part of combating the problem of gang violence and making sure that young people understand that gang life is not the road to success, but rather the path to prison. It is important that we provide our law enforcement officials, our teachers, and our community leaders with the support they need as they work to keep our youth safe from gangs and teach them the long term consequences of joining a gang."

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/md08_vanhollen/ganginitiative.html