How (not) to stop gang crime
June 5, 2007| By Nathaniel Ward
Gang crime is a serious problem. But Congress’ proposed solution—making such activity a federal offense—could actually make the problem worse by “detract[ing] from effective anti-gang strategies,” Heritage legal scholars Erica Little and Brian Walsh write in a new paper.
This approach is rife with unintended consequences, they explain.
- While gang activity is a local crime best policed by state and local officials, federalizing these laws is “almost certain to accelerate the ongoing erosion of state and local law enforcement's primary role in combating common street crime.”
- There are serious questions about the legislation’s constitutionality.
- The proposed law is so overly broad that it covers groups that are not gangs by any normal definition.
And the list goes on.
“The existence of a problem alone does not justify the assertion and expansion of federal jurisdiction and authority,” they conclude. “The best way to combat gang crime is to adhere to federalist principles that respect the allocation of responsibilities among national, state, and local governments.”
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.