Russ Feingold: Feingold Anti-Crime Measure Passes Senate Committee

Legislation Endorsed By Law Enforcement Organizations Would Help Identify Most Effective Crime Prevention Programs

June 14, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – An anti-crime bill authored by U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, which helps law enforcement agencies determine which crime prevention programs are most effective, has cleared its first hurdle. The bipartisan PRECAUTION Act of 2007, introduced with Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) and supported by a host of law enforcement and research organizations, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of a broader anti-crime measure. Feingold’s legislation would identify the most effective anti-crime programs from the sea of information available on crime prevention strategies.

The legislation would also offer direct and accessible guidance to state and local law enforcement and community organizations on how to implement those programs. With new FBI statistics showing that violent crime across the country has risen for the second year in a row, Feingold’s legislation is particularly timely.

“The statistics reflecting the national rise in crime are troubling, but the human toll is truly heartbreaking,” Feingold said. “The city of Milwaukee has witnessed some horrific crimes this year, including the murder of four-year-old Jasmine Owens by a drive-by shooter and the senseless killing of Shaina Mersman, a pregnant woman who was killed in broad daylight in a busy shopping area. Congress should work to assist our law enforcement agencies by passing measures like the PRECAUTION Act, as well as fully funding federal grant programs like Byrne and COPS grants, so more of these tragedies can be prevented.”

“Identifying and investing in proven crime-prevention approaches now will save lives and money before any damage has been done,” wrote David Kass and Miriam Rollin, President and Vice-President of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, in a letter of support for Senator Feingold’s legislation. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is a national, bipartisan, nonprofit anti-crime organization of more than 3,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, other law enforcement leaders and violence survivors.

Feingold’s legislation also creates a grant program through the National Institute of Justice that will fund new, promising and innovative crime fighting techniques that need federal dollars to be further developed. In addition to Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, the legislation is supported by the National Sheriff’s Association, the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association, the Council for Excellence in Government, the American Society of Criminology, and the Consortium of Social Science Associations.

“When it comes to preventing crime, it is far better to invest in precautionary measures now than it is to pay later when the cost is not only in dollars but in lives,” Feingold said. “My legislation will provide critical resources to help state and local law enforcement integrate effective prevention and intervention strategies into their traditional practices.”

Source: Senator Russ Feingold

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