Gregoire signs anti-gang legislation

Gov. Chris Gregoire today signed the criminal street gang measure.

In addition, she and Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs announced that community involvement in gang prevention and intervention program planning will be a required component of all grant applications for enforcement funds.

Don Pierce, association executive director, said: "... we can’t arrest our way out of the gang issue facing some of our communities. Law enforcement officers know firsthand that we must prevent our youth from entering gangs in the first place.”

The anti-gang law will convene community meetings statewide to develop a plan to combat criminal street gangs.

“Gangs are on the rise in every corner of Washington state,” said Rep. Chris Hurst, D-Enumclaw, who authored the bill and co-chaired the work group. “This law is how we fight back to prevent these gangs from terrorizing communities and to stop them from recruiting kids into this dead-end life.”

For more, see The Olympian Tuesday.