Arnold Schwarzenegger
California State Governor

Furthering his commitment to fight gang violence in California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed SB 1126 by Senator Gilbert Cedillo (D-Los Angeles), which makes it easier to hold gang members personally liable for harm to the community caused by their gang.

“We are taking a comprehensive and coordinated approach to combat the influence of gangs in our communities and make our streets safer. This legislation strengthens our statewide anti-gang efforts by giving prosecutors more tools to fight gang activity at the local level,” Governor Schwarzenegger said.

The Governor introduced the California Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention Program (CalGRIP) initiative in May of 2007 to confront the dramatic increase in gangs across the state and their proliferation in suburban and rural areas. Gangs are responsible for crimes including murder, witness intimidation, money laundering, extortion, narcotic production and sales, prostitution, human trafficking, assassinations for hire, theft and counterfeiting. In spite of an overall decrease in crime in most California cities since the 1990s, rates of gang-related violent crime remain steady.

The CalGRIP strategy targets more than $31 million in state and federal funding toward local anti-gang efforts, including intervention, suppression and prevention. This includes $7 million to enhance CHP’s support of local law enforcement, and a doubling of funding for witness protection to a total of $6 million.

Earlier this year, the Governor announced the award of $9.2 million in competitive grants to 19 cities and 13 community-based organizations for gang prevention, intervention and enforcement; and $7.3 million in grants to 19 agencies to provide job training and education programs targeting youth at risk of joining gangs or seeking to leave them. The grants are from the State Restitution Fund and the job training and education grants are federal workforce development monies.

The Governor’s enacted 2007-08 budget invests a total of $547 million in after-school programs and another $208 million in school counselors to give at-risk kids alternatives to gang life.

Last year, Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 271 to give prosecutors more tools in the fight against gangs, AB 104 to give city attorneys the tools they need to pursue gang injunctions and two other anti-gang measures to assist cities in curbing the source of income that funds gang activity, SB 706 and AB 924.