Majority Squanders Opportunity to Help Law Enforcement Fight Gun Violence

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For Immediate Release
Date: Thursday, December 8, 2011
Contact: Matthew Morgan – 202-226-5543

Majority Squanders Opportunity to Help Law Enforcement Fight Gun Violence Conyers calls for more effective law enforcement tools to combat gun trafficking (WASHINGTON) –  Today, the House Judiciary Committee held an oversight hearing on the United States Department of Justice at which U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder testified.  The Majority focused most of their questioning on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) tactics during Operation Fast and Furious, a local operation planned by agents and prosecutors in Arizona.  Operation Fast and Furious used the same “gun walking” tactics initiated by investigations such as Operation Wide Receiver during the Bush Administration.  During Fast and Furious, the ATF allowed guns to move up the chain of illegal commerce instead of seizing dangerous firearms at the first opportunity.  Some of these firearms were found at crime scenes, including the scene of the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, a former Detroit area police officer.      “Agent Terry’s death was a tragedy,” said Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr.   “And the tactics employed by Operation Fast and Furious were reckless and never should have been used.  But there is no evidence that Attorney General Holder approved or even knew of these tactics at the time, and the Attorney General has consistently maintained that these tactics are unacceptable.  The tactic of letting guns walk began during multiple investigations initiated during the Bush administration, some with the possible knowledge of then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey.  When the current Justice Department’s Criminal Division chief learned that this tactic had been used in Operation Wide Receiver during the Bush years, he warned ATF leadership that the tactic was unacceptable. “Gun trafficking is a serious problem in the Southwest border region.  In order to combat gun violence, we must commit to maintaining the new rule requiring the reporting of multiple sales of large numbers of semiautomatic rifles and shotguns by individuals in the Southwest border states.  Many of my colleagues expressing outrage at Fast and Furious voted to prevent the use of funds to implement this rule, which is necessary to help fight the type of illegal straw purchases fueling the border violence. “But we must do more. Congress must enact H.R. 2554, a bill to prohibit gun trafficking.  The bill will prohibit the transfer of multiple guns when the individual knows or has reasonable cause to believe the guns will be further transferred to those legally prohibited from carrying guns or who intend to use the guns illegally.  Current law is inadequate to deal with straw purchasers, and we need to enact this bill, which Congresswoman Maloney has sponsored and which I have cosponsored, to help address gun trafficking at the border. “But the problem of gun violence on city streets across the nation is just as serious.  I applaud Attorney General Holder’s leadership and the Department of Justice’s commitment to helping cities combat gun violence in our communities.  For example, Detroit is one of six cities participating in the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, a Department of Justice led effort.  And I commend the Detroit Police Department Chief Ralph Godbee, who accompanied Attorney General Holder at the hearing today, for spearheading this DOJ led effort in Detroit.        “Fast and Furious was a poorly conceived local operation that should never have been implemented.  However, this committee should take action to do the things we know will make us safer from gun violence.”

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Our Continuing Efforts to Prevent Youth Violence

Our Continuing Efforts to Prevent Youth Violence

November 8th, 2011 Posted by Tracy Russo

The following post appears courtesy of  Attorney General Eric Holder.
Throughout my career, I have seen the devastating effects of youth violence far too often.  As a prosecutor and a judge; as a U.S. Attorney, as Deputy Attorney General – and, above all, as the father of three teenage children – I’ve been determined to make the progress that our nation’s young people deserve.

In September of 2009, this country was shocked by a video depicting the brutal beating and murder of a 16-year-old Chicago honor student.  That savage attack was seared into our collective memory, and it left an indelible mark on the community where it took place.  But, tragically, it is just one horrifying example of the violence that many young people face every day, in cities and towns across this country.

In response to this crisis, last year, President Obama directed the Departments of Justice and Education to partner with other federal agencies – and with representatives from six cities – to launch the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, a network of committed stakeholders dedicated to stopping the brutality and bloodshed that devastates too many of the youngest members of our society.  The six cities participating in the Forum — Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Salinas, Calif. and San Jose, Calif. — have made great strides toward developing and implementing comprehensive crime prevention strategies tailored to eradicating the violence that has ravaged their communities and stolen so many promising futures.

Last week, teams from these cities — comprised of law enforcement officers, policy and public-health experts, educators, researchers, city officials, social services providers, community and faith leaders, and concerned parents — gathered in Washington, D.C., to share their progress in using cost-effective and evidence-based strategies to prevent youth violence and help formerly incarcerated youth become productive citizens.

Also last week, at a hearing before the House of Representatives’ Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security,  Congressmen Bobby Scott, John Conyers, and Steve Cohen congratulated Laurie O. Robinson, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, and this Administration for our efforts on the Forum and urged us to keep up the important work.

It’s clear that these efforts are already beginning to take hold.  For example, the City of Memphis launched a Crime Prevention Unit this year that includes 90 officers focused on reaching youth before they come in contact with the criminal justice system.   Meanwhile, officials in Chicago have established a Youth Shooting Review panel — a pilot project that reviews fatal and non-fatal shootings, drawing on both public health and criminal justice perspectives, to gain a more substantive understanding of their causes and context.  The panel will identify patterns, gaps in key services, and effective strategies to prevent shootings among school-age youth. 

Forum participants have also taken steps to better understand, and more thoroughly address, the joblessness, illiteracy, violence, and other challenges that formerly incarcerated young people often face when they return to their communities.  To improve the outcomes for these youth and help them become contributing community members, San Jose, Calif. has become part of a county-wide Reentry Network.  The Network provides assessment and programming to youth who are both in custody and in the community, along with resources to help them transition to a more stable, self-sufficient and successful lifestyle.

In each of these six cities, the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention has brought local experts together with federal officials and other key stakeholders, in order to share best practices; to develop strategies for reducing brutality among, and directed toward, young people; and to address and overcome common challenges.
I’m proud to say that the work we are leading is sending an unmistakable message that, in this country, we will not give up on our children.  And it’s ensuring that the priorities we set now will allow America’s next generation of leaders to break destructive cycles and seize tomorrow’s opportunities.

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Conyers Calls for Increased Focus on Education and Jobs for At-Risk Youth at Historic National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention

Contacts: Nicole Triplett, 202-226-5543

Date: April 4, 2011

Conyers Calls for Increased Focus on Education and Jobs for At-Risk Youth at Historic National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention


Decries Mindless Budget Cutting as Penny Wise and Pound Foolish


(Washington)—Today, at the first National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement emphasizing the need to increase funding for education and jobs programs for at-risk youth:

“Getting tough” on crime may have seemed logical or at least politically expedient, but research and experience clearly demonstrates that we cannot “arrest our way out of the problem” of youth violence. Our nation has the highest incarceration rates in the world -- with more than 2.3 million people behind bars -- a disturbingly disproportionate share of whom are poor and minority. In fact, 1 out of 9 African American men between the ages of 20 to 34 in this country are in jail or prison at this very moment.

That is why I have co-sponsored and strongly supported legislation that provides for training and jobs for at-risk youth, such as “Youth PROMISE” Act (The Youth Prison Reduction for Opportunities, Mentoring, Intervention, Support and Education Act), the new Humphrey Hawkins Full Employment Act, and the Second Chance Act.

Today’s conference illustrates the folly of mindless budget cutting at the federal, state, and local levels that reduce or eliminate important critical juvenile justice and youth violence prevention programs. These penny-wise, but dollar-foolish cuts will inevitably lead to much higher costs associated with increased expenditures to deal with greater incidents of crime and victimization, more substance abuse, exacerbated mental health conditions, higher unemployment, and the need for more prisons. As Congress and the President attempt to work together on the budget for the next year and one half, I would urge them to heed the lessons of this conference.

I am very pleased that among the cities selected to participate in this forum, Detroit is here. I welcome the presence of Mayor Dave Bing, who will describe Detroit’s Youth Violence Prevention plan, which is built on strategies that have a distinct focus on building opportunities for youth, promoting positive youth development and preventing youth violence.

Rep. Conyers offered welcoming remarks today at the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, a two-day conference in Washington D.C. The Conference offers an opportunity for federal, state, and local officials as well as legislators to come together and share experiences about programs that work to prevent youth violence. Representatives from DOJ as well as the cities of Detroit, Boston, Chicago, and Memphis offered specific presentations about their at-risk youth programs. For more information on the Conference’s youth violence prevention initiative and how it affects cities like Detroit, please refer tohttp://www.findyouthinfo.gov/topic_preventingViolence_detroitBrief.shtml.