Law enforcement

Biden Legislation to Completely Eliminate the Unjust 100-to-1 Crack/Powder Sentencing Structure and Replace with 1-to-1 System

February 12, 2008 -- Washington, DC – At a hearing addressing the federal cocaine sentencing laws today, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) called for an end to the current crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity. Currently, it takes 100 times more powder cocaine than crack to trigger the five- and ten-year mandatory minimum sentences under federal law.    » read more »

February 11, 2008 -- SANTA FE - New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today applauded the passage of a bill that increases penalties for repeat domestic violence offenders. The Senate agreed this morning to changes the House made to SB 68. The bill now heads to Governor Richardson, who will sign it.

“This bill is a huge step forward in our fight against domestic violence in New Mexico,” Governor Richardson said. “We’re sending a clear message to offenders that we take their crimes seriously and that they will not be tolerated."    » read more »

ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 8, 2008) – Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, joined by Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Terrence B. Sheridan and other officials, today hosted a ceremony honoring the efforts of four Maryland state troopers and their K-9 partner who made a record recovery of heroin during a traffic stop in Cecil County earlier this week.    » read more »

02/07/2008 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today released the following statement regarding the death of Los Angeles Police Department Officer Randal Simmons of Palos Verdes, CA:    » read more »

Crawford & Venango County prescription drug ring

February 6, 2008 -- HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett today announced that agents from the Attorney General's Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, along with local police, are in the process of arresting as many as 18 suspected drug dealers accused of illegally distributing and selling powerful prescription pain medication in Crawford and Venango counties.    » read more »

February 03, 2008 -- (Washington, DC) – Today, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) criticized President Bush’s budget for cutting critical funding for vital law enforcement programs. "This budget is harmful to the American people, law enforcement and our nation's priorities," said Conyers. "While spending lavishly on the war in Iraq, the president continues to shortchange the needs of our communities."    » read more »

February 4, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs and author of the landmark 1994 Crime Bill, Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE), criticized President Bush's FY 2009 Budget Proposal today because it fails to fund critical law enforcement and crime prevention programs.

“This President is out of touch with reality if he thinks we can keep crime down and our neighborhoods safe, while at the same time denying our folks in law enforcement the tools and resources they need to do their job,” said Senator Joe Biden.    » read more »

February 1, 2008 -- Washington, DC - Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) called on the President today to restore funding for critical law enforcement and crime prevention programs - the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program.    » read more »

February 3, 2008 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that her revised budget will include several measures that will beef up traffic enforcement across the state.

In the budget she will present on February 6th, the Governor will propose to add 100 state troopers over the next five years for traffic enforcement, starting with 20 new troopers in the fiscal year 2008-09 midterm budget.    » read more »

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - The crew of the 210-foot Coast Guard Cutter Diligence, homeported in Wilmington, N.C., helped interdict two suspected drug smugglers and seized 4,400 pounds of cocaine off the Nicaragua coast Jan. 23.

The Diligence crew launched a boat crew from the cutter and began pursuing the go-fast transiting west toward Nicaragua. A maritime law enforcement team with the 270-foot Coast Guard Cutter Tampa, homeported in Portsmouth, Va., also chased the vessel.    » read more »

Additional $600,000 set aside for coastal district attorney’s offices

February 1, 2008 -- (JACKSON, Mississippi) — Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour today awarded $2.5 million in federal grants to aid law enforcement and state agencies after Hurricane Katrina, with $600,000 in additional federal funds allocated to assist district attorney’s offices on the Gulf Coast.    » read more »

January 31, 2008 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that her budget proposals will include funding to take DNA samples from any person arraigned on a Class A or Class B felony charge as well as from anyone convicted of a felony, a crime against a minor, a violent or nonviolent sexual offense and certain Class A misdemeanors.    » read more »

Feingold Asks President to Increase Funding for COPS and Byrne Grant Programs to Help Law Enforcement

January 30, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold is calling on President Bush to increase funding for two law enforcement grant programs with a record of success in helping fight crime. In a letter to the president, Feingold called on him to fund the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program and the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program at their fully authorized funding levels in his budget proposal.    » read more »

Programs funds broad range of crime-fighting efforts in California

January 30, 2008 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today joined with Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Kit Bond (R-Mo.), Joseph Biden (D-Del.), and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) to call for restoring nearly $490 million to the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program. This program provides critical funding to state and local law-enforcement efforts, including drug and gang task forces and victim assistance.    » read more »

January 30, 2007 -- Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster announced today that the Gang Prevention Study Committee, created by the General Assembly in the 2007 Criminal Gang Prevention Act, has completed its Initial Report and Findings. The report was submitted to the General Assembly today.

The entire report can be viewed online: http://www.scattorneygeneral.com/newsroom/pdf/2008/gangstudy.pdf    » read more »