Barrios Calls for State Grant Program to Support Local Anti-Gang Efforts

For Immediate Release
April 7, 2005
Please Contact: Colin Durrant (617)722-1650 or Dalié Jiménez, 617-722-1650

Barrios Calls for State Grant Program to Support Local Anti-Gang Efforts
Says Prevention is Key to his Statewide Anti-Gang Initiative

(Boston, MA) Senator Barrios this week proposed a statewide grant program to infuse new money and resources into to the anti-gang prevention efforts of local cities and towns in gang impacted communities. Barrios, who serves as Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, made the announcement a day before a State House hearing on a wide-ranging anti-gang bill he filed with New Bedford Representative Stephen Canessa.

“Reducing gang violence will mean safer streets and neighborhoods for our children but we can’t expect cities to go it alone without our support,” said Senator Barrios. “It’s time to get smart on crime. Our cities need the full support of the state to continue building bridges between neighborhood groups and police, and for giving youth opportunities to escape the temptation to join gangs.”

The grant program, proposed by Barrios as part of his statewide anti-gang initiative, would have provisions requiring communities to submit a “comprehensive plan” describing how anti-gang efforts will encourage coordination between law enforcement, community-based groups, and elected officials. In order to encourage information sharing among communities, the program would also encourage grant recipients to report “best practices” implemented as a result of the program.

The Metro Mayors Coalition, a group of 10 mayors and city managers in the urban core of Greater Boston, worked with Senator Barrios to develop a strategy for regional, multi-jurisdictional, and multi-disciplinary coordination of efforts to combat youth violence and substance abuse.

“Municipalities are willing to work with our partners in community-based organizations, the faith community and neighboring cities to tackle these tough issues,” said Mayor Joe Curtatone of Somerville, a co-chair of the Metro Mayors Coalition community safety initiative. “Youth violence and substance abuse do not respect our borders, so our strategies must cross borders and involve parents, religious leaders, probation officers, recreational administrators, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials.”

The Joint Committee on Public Safety adopted a report in February 2005 laying out the blueprint for a statewide initiative to combat gangs. The report called for a grant program committing $11 million to anti-gang efforts: $3 million be spent to support community outreach programs, $2 million on after-school programs, $2 million on summer job programs in communities with a “significant” gang problem, and that not less than $4 million be spent on community policing programs aimed at reducing gang violence.

To learn more about Senator Barrios’ anti-gang initiative download the report “Reducing Gang Violence in Massachusetts” at www.barrios.org.

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last updated 25-Jul-2006 04:09 PM

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