Law enforcement

March 11, 2010 -- "There is no law enforcement or sentencing rationale for the current disparity between crack and cocaine powder offenses, and I have strongly supported eliminating it to ensure our sentencing laws are tough, predictable and fair.

"The bill voted unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee today makes progress toward achieving a more just sentencing policy while maintaining the necessary law enforcement tools to appropriately punish violent and dangerous drug traffickers.    » read more »

March 11, 2010 -- Washington, D.C. - United States Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) today applauded the Senate Judiciary Committee's bipartisan vote to approve the Criminal Justice Reinvestment Act of 2010, a bill to help states and localities better understand how to manage the growth in prison and jail populations and increase public safety.

The legislation would authorize grants to analyze criminal justice trends and to design and implement policies to better manage prison spending. Senators Whitehouse, Cornyn, and Leahy introduced the legislation in November 2009.    » read more »

Bipartisan Leaders, Law Enforcement Groups Laud Effort to Comprehensively Review, Reform U.S. Criminal Justice System

January 21, 2010 -- Washington, DC -- Senator Jim Webb’s legislation to comprehensively review and overhaul America’s criminal justice system won a major victory today, when the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the measure with bipartisan support.

With the backing of thirty-four Senators and dozens of organizations representing a broad spectrum of the criminal justice community, Senator Webb’s “National Criminal Justice Commission Act” next goes to the Senate floor for a full vote.    » read more »

Senator presses SEC, DOJ, FBI officials to pursue additional high-level prosecutions; raises concerns that lack of transparency hinders enforcement in capital markets

December 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Ted Kaufman (D-DE) on Wednesday chaired a Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on “Mortgage Fraud, Securities Fraud, and the Financial Meltdown: Prosecuting Those Responsible,” questioning top law enforcement officials on the role financial fraud played in the current economic crisis, as well as efforts to bring perpetrators to justice and deter future financial crimes.    » read more »

Cuts Jeopardizing Police, Fire, Other Essential Services

December 4, 2009 -- LANSING - In her weekly radio address, Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today said revenue sharing cuts to local governments are jeopardizing police, fire and other essential services.

"Police officers and fire fighters are being laid off or open positions are left unfilled," Granholm said. "Other essential services are at risk as well. The reason why is that just like state government, cities, townships and villages are hurting financially and receiving fewer revenue sharing funds."    » read more »

Illinois Governor Quinn Signs Legislation Targeting Illegal Firearm Possession by Gang Members; New Law to Honor Slain Chicago Police Officer

CHICAGO – December 3, 2009 -- Illinois Governor Pat Quinn today signed a bill into law that will require prison time for street gang members convicted of possessing a loaded gun in a public area. This new law strengthens the current law which rules that gang members in possession of a loaded gun can be sentenced to probation.

“Public safety and crime prevention are of paramount importance to the law-abiding people of Illinois,” said Governor Quinn. “This new law I’m signing puts gang members on notice: If they get caught carrying a loaded gun in public, they will go to prison.”    » read more »

Introduces Bill to Preserve Gun Records Critical to Law Enforcement, Terrorism Prevention

December 1, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today introduced the PROTECT Act, legislation to preserve records of gun sales for longer periods of time to aid law enforcement officials in preventing gun crimes and terrorist acts. Under current law, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) must destroy these records in most cases within 24 hours of allowing a gun sale to proceed.    » read more »

November 10, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson and Legislative Leaders today announced the passage of two Governor’s program bills. The first provides measures to evaluate the costs of mandates on local governments, helping them to control costs and provide relief to property taxpayers. The second closes a loophole in sentencing laws that allowed some violent criminals to become eligible for parole and medical parole earlier than intended.

Both were passed in the extraordinary session that Governor Paterson called to address both the current-year deficit and additional legislation that was not finished at the end of session last June.    » read more »

Philadelphia, PA (November 11, 2009) – Results from a large, retrospective analysis of inmates with a serious mental illness (SMI) underscores the financial burden of mental illness on the criminal justice and health and human services (HHS) systems, and may provide useful information to policy makers. The results of the analysis, which evaluated patterns of arrest, utilization of services, and corresponding expenditures among nearly 3,800 inmates in a large urban county of Florida, were presented this week at the 137th American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting & Exposition.    » read more »

November 10, 2009 -- Washington D.C. -- The following is in response to the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report, “Sentinel Audit V: Status of the FBI’s Case Management System.”

“The FBI appreciates the Inspector General’s review of the FBI’s Sentinel Program progress and recognition of the FBI’s efforts to resolve concerns identified in previous Sentinel audits. As the OIG notes, the FBI estimates that Sentinel is scheduled to deliver full capability within the $451 million budget in the fall of 2010. The FBI already has implemented measures to resolve all six recommendations identified in this report and has successfully closed 30 of the 31 recommendations from the four prior OIG Sentinel audits.    » read more »

WASHINGTON (Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009) – The Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday held a hearing focusing on reauthorizing and improving the landmark Innocence Protection Act, legislation enacted as part of the 2004 Justice For All Act. The Innocence Protection Act was first introduced in 2000 by Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).

Leahy crafted the unprecedented criminal justice reform legislation to ensure that law enforcement officials have the necessary tools to find and convict criminals, while making sure that innocent people have the means to establish and prove their innocence. The Committee is expected to consider the reauthorization of Justice For All Act programs, including the Innocence Protection Act, in the coming months.    » read more »

Funds Will Be Used to Improve Hazardous Materials Planning and Training

October 19, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced that it is awarding $20.9 million to states, territories and Native American tribes to improve the nation’s response to transportation incidents involving hazardous materials. The grants will help train first responders to react to incidents involving hazardous materials and to meet the safety challenges posed by new chemicals and alternative energy products such as ethanol.    » read more »

October 19, 2009 -- Washington D.C. -- According to information released today by the FBI, 41 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty last year; 68 officers died in accidents while performing their duties; and 58,792 officers were assaulted while on duty. The 2008 edition of Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted released today provides comprehensive tabular data about these incidents and brief narratives describing the fatal attacks.

Felonious Deaths    » read more »

Submits Strengthening and Updating Resources and Equipment Act of 2009

October 16, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy today introduced legislation that will allow first responders to maintain the capabilities necessary to prepare and protect their communities against acts of terrorism and other emergencies. The Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Bennie Thompson, joined Kilroy in cosponsoring the Strengthening and Updating Resources and Equipment Act (SURE Act) of 2009.    » read more »

New Law Will Keep Deadly Ammunition Out of the Hands of Criminals

10/15/2009 -- Building on his commitment to keeping dangerous weapons off California’s streets and out of the hands of criminals and gang members, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today highlighted a bill he signed, AB 962 by Assemblymember Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles).

This bill would require vendors of handgun ammunition transfers and sales to keep a log of information on handgun ammunition sales, store ammunition in a safe and secure manner and require the face-to-face transfer of ammunition sales.    » read more »