Legislature passes Hurst anti-gang bill

Now goes to governor's desk

March 11, 2008

OLYMPIA -- A new law by Rep. Christopher Hurst (D-Greenwater) to tackle criminal street gangs is headed for the governor's desk after being approved by the House and Senate.

"Gangs are on the rise in every corner of Washington state," said Hurst, a retired detective who headed a violent-crime task force and did undercover work. "This law is how we fight back -- to prevent these gangs from terrorizing communities and to stop them from recruiting kids into this dead-end life."

The Anti-Gang Act (House Bill 2712) is the product of a bipartisan task force that toured Washington state, taking testimony from citizens, police officers, prosecutors and community activists. The bill includes funds for prevention, suppression, and intervention of criminal street gang activity, as well as clean-up of gang graffiti.  

"This law is tough on crime and smart on crime," Hurst said. "Police and prosecutors told us that we can't arrest our way out of the gang problem. The older gang members will just recruit more kids. We've need a comprehensive attack to fight the growth of gangs, and that's what this law is about."

The new law tackles the gang problem in three areas:

1. Prevention -- stopping kids from being recruited into gangs in the first place.

2. Intervention -- rescuing teenagers from gang membership.

3. Suppression -- busting up gangs, especially by going after the adult gang members who recruit children.

"If we keep this up, we'll have fewer gang members five years from now and less people in jails for being in gangs," said Hurst, who worked with task force co-chair Rep. Charles Ross (R-Naches) on the law.

“I was proud to be a part of the team — which included legislators from both sides of the aisle and both sides of the state — to work on this problem," Ross said. "I especially want to thank Sen. Adam Kline and Rep. Chris Hurst who proved that crime is a non-partisan issue and that Democrats and Republicans can come together and find common ground on matters as important as this one.”

For more information about the Anti-Gang Act, visit:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=2712&year=2007