Hawkeye Reporter

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senator Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) have reintroduced the Gang Activity Reporting Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at addressing violent crime by improving federal reporting on gang activity. The legislation would require the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to resume annual reports to Congress on trends in local, national, and transnational criminal gang activity. These types of reports were discontinued in 2009 and 2012.

"Criminal gangs have been responsible for nearly half of all violent crime. To address this longstanding issue, Congress must have access to accurate, consistent and reliable data on gang activity and membership trends," Grassley said. "This commonsense, bipartisan bill would revive information-sharing between the executive branch and Congress, allowing lawmakers to make more informed and timely decisions to end the scourge of gang violence in America."

Senator Rosen added, "We know that gangs are responsible for a disproportionate amount of violent crime in the United States. As communities across the country grapple with devastating gang violence, we must ensure they have access to the resources and support to combat it. With this bipartisan bill’s required comprehensive federal report on gang membership data and trends, we can better understand how gangs are contributing to violent crime and take the right steps to support law enforcement and strengthen public safety."

Federal agencies previously provided regular updates about criminal gang activity. The FBI’s National Gang Threat Assessment last reported trends in gang membership to Congress in 2009. The DOJ’s National Gang Center ended its congressional reporting on gang growth in 2012. The Attorney General's most recent report on violent street gangs' growth in suburban areas was submitted in 2008.

The full text of the legislation is available HERE.