Barbara Kennelly: “many communities are faced with growing gang and drug-related violence. In these communities our constituents live in…”

“many communities are faced with growing gang and drug-related violence. In these communities our constituents live in fear under the shadow of gang-related violence, not just in our cities. Often local law enforcement officials do not have the necessary resources to address the drug and gang problems that plague their communities. What often happens if a community is fortunate and the problem is bad enough, a Federal task force will begin. However, this is expensive, time consuming, and can be a drain on resources. My amendment will offer local law enforcement another option to combat gang and drug-related violence under the law enforcement block grant. My amendment would allow local communities to form a partnership by pooling their resources together to form a task force designed to combat drug and gang related crimes. In my hometown of Hartford, the gang problem has continued to escalate. Last year a record number of murders were committed in the city, capped off by a killing spree over New Year's weekend during which five people were murdered and several others wounded by gunfire. It is times like these that the additional resources which a regional task force could provide would be beneficial for local communities to fight crime.”