|
Safer Streets and
Neighborhoods The goal is simple: no Massachusetts resident should ever live in fear for their families – in their homes or on their streets. We need to be both tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. We must put criminals in jail where they belong but we also need to be working across communities to get to the root causes of violent crime. In today’s world we face many challenges ranging from homeland security to making sure our citizens can walk safely to their homes and play in their neighborhood parks. As the Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, I have led the fight to protect our streets from gangs, to rewrite the state’s outdated fire safety laws and to ban the sale of military-style assault weapons to criminals. I have also held oversight hearings that unveiled mismanagement in the Department of Corrections and state’s Medical Examiner’s Office, forcing massive change in both agencies. In 2004, after learning of a huge backlog in classifying and locating the state’s most dangerous sex offenders, I held a joint hearing with Senator Tom McGee to investigate the delay and force the Romney Administration to clear the backlog as soon as possible.
Fighting Crime for Safer Streets The startling resurgence of gang violence remains a major concern in communities across the state. In 2004, in response to this startling rise in youth violence statewide, I launched a major statewide anti-gang initiative with Lieutenant Governor, Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley, local mayors, community groups, and law enforcement. My anti-gang strategy focuses on attacking violent crime at its core through prosecution, policing and prevention. We need to give prosecutors more tools to put criminal behind bars, increase witness protections, put more police on the street talking with community leaders, and to increase collaborative community prevention programs that give youth alternatives to gangs. The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Springfield Republican and Worcester Telegram have all endorsed my efforts. We must do all we can to take a stand against violence that destroys lives and has claimed countless innocent victims. Background: In September 2004, I held an all-day oversight hearing on strategies for reducing gang violence. My committee heard from Attorney General Reilly, D.A. Conley, law enforcement, mayors and local communities groups on what they believed needed to be done to combat gang violence. Based on what I learned at that hearing and from conversations with leaders around the state, in December 2004 I filed an anti-gang bill with New Bedford Representative Stephen Canessa to create a witness protection program, strengthen penalties for gang-related activities and create a grant program for local prevention efforts. In January 2005 I joined Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey in touring ROCA, Inc. in Chelsea, MA to learn about successful prevention strategies for reducing gang/youth violence. And in February 2005, surrounded by L.G. Healey, law enforcement and mayors, I released a 22 page report entitled “Reducing Gang Violence in the Commonwealth."Reforming the Department of Corrections to Make Sure Prisoners Don't Re-Offend In 2004, I held an oversight hearing that unveiled severe mismanagement within the Department of Corrections. I pressured the Romney Administration to fire the Commissioner and establish a commission to review the management practices at the Department of Corrections. We need to make sure we run our prisons so that prisoners won’t re-offend if and when they return to society after their prison sentences. In 2004, I was appointed to the Harshbarger Commission on Corrections Reform and have worked tirelessly to reform the corrections department. I am sponsoring legislation to create an independent watchdog Inspector General to continually review the Department of Corrections. The Inspector General’s office would work with the state police and the internal affairs division of the Department of Corrections to ensure that all investigations are independent and open. The Inspector General will be given the independence to conduct effective and thorough investigations to protect the safety of prison guards and ensure that prisoners won’t be tempted to re-offend when they are returned to society.
This year, I am partnering with the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police,
Suffolk County D.A. Dan Conley, and Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral
to ban the sale of cop-killer handguns (that can pierces police body
armor) and military sniper rifles (that can shoot targets, like
airplanes, from 2000 yards away). We must protect the safety of police
officers that put their lives on the line every day to keep our streets
and neighborhoods safe. Increasing Port Security  In a tug boat tugging an LNG tank into the harbor. There are hundreds of thousands of people that live along the Boston Harbor and that see hazardous cargo float right by their windows. Families living along ports and rivers should be better protected from the potential for accidents involving hazardous jet fuel and oil tankers. At a November 2004 hearing I held on port security, experts and public safety officials testified that while over 12.8 million tons of bulk fuel cargo enters the Port of Boston – with the exception of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tankers -- little, if any, state regulations exist to protect the cargo from an attack or accident. This year, I am sponsoring a bill to strengthen our port security by creating stricter safety regulations for the transportation of hazardous materials into the Port of Boston. I am proposing to create a board that will ensure that tugboats meet high safety standards. Our ports are a critical concern of both the environment and national security. My legislation gives the established board the power to impose regulations they deem necessary to guaranteeing the highest levels of security. While much attention has been focused on LNG tankers, there are almost 6 million more metric tons of petroleum products than LNG entering the Port of Boston -- much of which travels past densely populated neighborhoods and communities like Chelsea, Everett and Charlestown. Chemical experts testified that the other hazardous cargo, such as jet fuel or home heating oil, pose a similar risk for explosion or accident. An estimate 70% of the petroleum products – including home heating oil, gasoline and jet fuel – that serve the region enter through the Chelsea Creek and past many of the communities in Senator Barrios’ district. In 2000, the tugboat that gouged a hole in a fuel tanker causing 58,000 gallons of fuel to spill into the Chelsea Creek was found to be operating without adequate safety devices, such as firefighting equipment and fenders. The spill would become the worst in the harbor’s history. According to testimony provided at the hearing it appears little has been done to ensure that tugboats and operators are using appropriate safety devices and procedures while transporting hazardous cargo past port communities.Focusing Young Drivers on the Road I have re-filed a bill to prohibit drivers under 18 from using cell phones while operating a motor vehicle. Young people are fairly new drivers and need to have their attention focused on the road.
|
| last updated
07-Jul-2006 02:32 PM The Jarrett Barrios
Website is privately paid for and authorized by Text portions,
photographs, graphics, and source code © 2002-2005, The Barrios
Committee. All rights reserved.
|
