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Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S7929
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, the civil practice law and rules, the state finance law, the correction law, the education law, the executive law and the mental hygiene law, in relation to defining offenses involving criminal street gangs, creating the criminal street gang prevention fund, enacting the criminal street gang registration act, providing for gang prevention services in schools and creating the office of criminal street gangs and youth violence; and to repeal sections 120.06 and 120.07 of the penal law, relating to offenses of gang assault
Purpose
New York laws are insufficiently targeted to the prosecution of criminal street gangs and the protection of public order and individual safety against gang-related violence, because they lack programs and activities specifically designed to prevent the growth of criminal street gangs, facilitate prosecution and punishment of members of criminal street gangs, and punish those who solicit others to participate in criminal street gangs and in acts of gang-related violence or who provide support or resources to those who commit or encourage the commission of such acts.
Read the full memo (941 words)
Summary of provisions
* Creates Title Y-2 of the Penal Law that governs offenses involving criminal street gangs.
* Sets forth new penalties and sentencing enhancements for participation in criminal gang activities:
o Participation in a Criminal Street Gang: Class A Misdemeanor for participation in a criminal street gang with knowledge that its members engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity.
o Participation in Criminal Street Gang Activity: E Felony if a person willfully and knowingly promotes, furthers, assists in, conducts, or participates in the affairs of a criminal street gang by participating in a pattern of criminal street gang activity, or knowingly invests proceeds derived from criminal street gang activity, or proceeds derived from the investment or use of those proceeds, in an enterprise.
o Solicitation for participation in a Criminal Street Gang: E felony if a person solicits or recruits another to actively participate in a criminal street gang; or threatens a person with physical violence with the intent to coerce, induce, or solicit such person or another to participate in a criminal street gang; or uses physical violence to coerce, induce, or solicit another person to participate in a criminal street gang.
o Solicitation or recruitment of minors for participation in a Criminal Street Gang. D felony if a person commit the crime of solicitation for participation in a criminal street gang and the person solicited or recruited is less than eighteen years of age.
o Solicitation or recruitment of minors for participation in a Criminal Street Gang on School Grounds: C felony if the crime of solicitation or recruitment of minors for participation in a Criminal Street Gang occurs on school grounds.
o Provides stepped up sentencing for certain crimes committed as part of gang activity
o Abatement of premises used for criminal street an activity: Allows abatement and damages if a building or place is used by members of a criminal street gang for the purpose of engaging in a pattern of criminal gang activity, except that the court cannot assess a civil penalty against any person unless that person knew or should have known of the unlawful acts committed on or in the premises. Requires that damages be used for neighborhood improvement.
* Creates a fund and requires that forfeiture of monies from criminal gang activities be placed in it.
o Money is allocated to the support of the Criminal Street Gang Violence Prevention Program created by this act.
* Creates the Criminal Street Gang Registration Act modeled on the sex crime offender registration.
* Allows DCJS to create a Criminal Street Gang Database.
* Provides for transfer of gang kingpins out of state, pursuant to existing interstate compact.
* Creates the Gang Prevention program in the Education Department that includes in-service training for school personnel,
* Allows establishment of Dress Code re Gang-related Apparel by school districts.
o Allows the governing board of any school district to adopt or rescind a reasonable dress code policy that requires pupils to wear a school wide uniform or prohibits pupils from wearing "gang-related apparel" if the governing board of the school district approves a plan that may be initiated by an individual school's principal, staff, and parents and determines that the policy is necessary for the health and safety of the school environment.
* Creates the Criminal Street Gang and Violence Prevention Partnership grant program to provide services and activities designed to prevent
or deter at-risk youth from participating in gangs, criminal activity, or violent behavior.
* Creates a new Office of Criminal Street Gangs and Youth Violence at DCJS with vast coordinating powers.
* Effective date - January 1 of the year next succeeding its enactment.
Justification
The threat of violence and the disruption of public order and safety presented by criminal street gangs has reached a crisis point that threatens the right of residents of this state to be secure and protected from fear, intimidation, and physical harm. Hence, it is in the public interest to establish a comprehensive approach to protection of protect public order and individual safety against criminal street gangs and gang-related violence, by severely criminalizing such activities, by creating anti-crime programs that focus on patterns of criminal gang activity and organization, by expanding education and intervention to prevent the growth of criminal street gangs, and by establishing an ongoing system of tracking criminal gang activity, as provided in this legislation.
Legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect January 1 of the year next succeeding its enactment.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.