The City Council voted unanimously Monday to add San Diego’s U.S. Attorney to a membership post on the city’s Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention.
U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder expanded the role of federal prosecutors to include crime prevention, and re-entry of prison inmates returning to civilian life.
“This is certainly one the organizations within this community targeting young individuals who are at-risk individuals before they become associated with gangs or involved with gangs,” Duffy said.
She said gang crime has become a “priority area” for federal prosecutors, with a lot of the criminal activity shifting from drug trafficking to sex trafficking.
People involved in such crimes often come from dysfunctional, single- parent families, have trouble getting or holding jobs, and avoid going to school, according to Duffy.
“I personally, and prosecutors in my office, have begun community outreach in a very robust way,” Duffy said. “Those are dedicated positions in my office over the last two years.”
Prosecutors can interact with at-risk youth and talk to them about the long-term consequences of associating with gangs, she said.
Under the approved motion, the gang commission will also be required to file two reports a year to the council’s Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee.
— City News Service
