Chattanooga Gang Violence Leads to Cross-Border Partnership

A recent partnership was announced between the Walker County, Georgia and Hamilton County, Tennessee sheriffs departments intended to reduce some of the jurisdictional impediments that stymie efforts by both to fight gang activity in the region. Leaders from both counties gathered to sign a Joint Mutual Aid Agreement meant to ensure cooperation in the pursuit and prosecution of gang members.

Though crime may take place in Chattanooga, that’s not always where the criminals stay. Often times, suspects either live or flee to Northwest Georgia after engaging in crime in Tennessee. The gang members use the county and state lines to their advantage, hampering investigators on both sides.

The two counties are already fairly closely tied, sharing information and resources as part of their membership in the Chattanooga Area Gang Enforcement initiative. Both agencies have taken pains to ensure the public realizes that this agreement does not extend beyond gang activities. Hamilton County officials have been clear that no Georgia sheriffs will be permitted to come to Tennessee to enforce laws other than those relating to gang crime.

The action has been taken because of a recent rise in gang activity throughout the state. Studies indicate that gang activity has tripled in Tennessee communities with populations of 50,000 or less, meaning that smaller communities across the Tennessee Valley Region are feeling the impact of increased gang violence. Law enforcement officials hope that by tackling the issue now they can avoid even more draconian measures years down the road when the gangs would have had the chance to become even more entrenched.

The deal is the latest in a series of moves by Chattanooga to battle a growing problem with gang violence. Earlier this year, the Tennessee General Assembly beefed up the state’s existing laws regarding RICO (Racketeer-Influenced Corrupt Organizations) which are meant to permit more flexibility in defining what is a gang in the state. The new legislation broadens the definition to include participation in any ongoing criminal conspiracy.

Officials have grown tired of geography complicating police investigations and took steps to minimize the impact of state lines. For instance, if a conspiracy is found to exist in Tennessee but members later flee to Georgia, which agency is in charge of the prosecution? The fact is even with the recent pact the answer is not crystal clear. Responsibility could fall to either state; the location of witnesses, criminal evidence, experts, etc., all play a role in deciding where the prosecution occurs. Other factors include where the greater crime occurred and which state offers the most severe penalties.

The two counties started their partnership with the sheriff’s offices because the sheriffs’ jurisdictions cover both counties. However, this is just the first step in a much larger process of cooperation and coordination. As the program gains traction the goal is to expand it to include municipalities and even the prosecutors offices of both counties.

See: “Battling gangs across TN/GA state lines,” by Gordon Boyd, published at WRCBTV.com.

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RICO gang legislation passes Tennessee House

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RICO gang legislation passes Tennessee House

Rep. Vince Dean (East Ridge, TN)

by Lee Davis


Some believe the recently passed gang legislation is a substantive bill and the bill’s sponsor, Representative Vince Dean (R-East Ridge), puts it this way: “It’s kind of like going from a screwdriver to an electric drill.” 


Others question the wisdom of attacking street crime with a complicated statute that has had limited success in the federal criminal justice system. It is hard enough to get a violent gang related case to trial now, with jury trial dates routinely more than a year after the crime.  Adding this legislation will slow the system down. RICO cases are labor intensive, expensive and require significantly more resources to investigate, prosecute and ultimately defend in court. That is the opinion of several veteran trial attorneys--including former prosecutors and defense attorneys. 


Other critics of the legislation point out that there are already laws on the books for every violent crime that the new law purports to target. And lastly, the US Attorney's office has the resources, the experience and the joint cooperation of federal and local law enforcement to prosecute RICO cases with existing federal laws. 


Some law enforcement officers believe that Tennessee’s version of the federal RICO (Racketeer-Influenced-Corrupt-Organizations) Act could make a dent in gang activity by defining the gangs themselves as criminal enterprises, and making membership a crime in itself.


Chattanooga law enforcement is divided according to a report in the Times-Free Press, Chattanooga Police Sgt. Todd Royval oversees the Crime Suppression Unit, which tracks gang activity. He said he’s not sure a state RICO statute is needed to address the gang problem in the city.

Federal RICO laws should be enough, he said. “A RICO case is a very labor intensive and expensive case to investigate, and we would have to involve other state and federal agencies for assistance,” Royval said. “It would be easier and more cost effective to use the current federal statute for RICO. A good RICO case would probably include defendants from outside of Hamilton County and possibly into other states, so I would be inclined to start a federal RICO case instead of a state RICO case.” 

Chattanooga Police Capt. Edwin McPherson oversees the special investigations unit, which includes Royval’s group. He said the law is needed. “I think that it will work for us in certain situations for people deserving of a stiffer penalty for the crimes they are committing,” he said. “I really think that it is something we can use as leverage on gang bangers who want to go out here and commit crimes as a group or organization.”

The new bill would permit police and prosecutors to charge anyone found to be a gang member or gang leader. This is given a very broad definition and includes anyone who commits, coerces, conspires with or hires somebody else to commit violent crimes such as murder, rape and assault; or profits from the proceeds of burglaries, drug sales, or gun sales.


“Without RICO, certain felony convictions would draw prison sentences of eight to 12 years,” says Boyd Patterson, a former-prosecutor turned gangs initiative co-czar in Chattanooga. “With RICO, the penalty jumps to 12 to 20 years,” a substantial difference if you’re on the wrong end of the new sentencing structure.


Federal RICO cases often take three to five years to make and to prosecute and can be very expensive and laborious processes. Patterson says that “We may have two or three cases against two or three folks. If our goal is a dozen gang members, it’s gonna take that much longer.” The new legislation will mean that when the police do bring charges they can level them against the entire gang, rather than putting people away piecemeal.


Co-sponsor Senator Bo Watson (R-Hixson) says legislators objected to toughening penalties for repeat offenders. “It’s a matter of cost,” he says. “A greater cost of incarceration, and that draws the fiscal note up to where that really wasn’t a piece of legislation we could move this year.”


Supporters have estimated that the cost of longer sentences will already add $109,000 to the yearly corrections budget. Had the backers pushed for even more stringent penalties Senator Watson says the total cost of incarceration could have increased by $1.4 million.


Governor Haslam is expected to sign the bill; and, it will become law on July 1.


Sources: 
-“Police Chief: ‘There’s a lot more bite to this law’,” by Gordon Boyd, published at WRCBTV.com.
-HB2868


Earlier:
Prosecutor’s Note Questioning Witnesses’ Credibility Leads to a Murderer’s Appeal
Gov. Haslam allows evolution bill to become TN law

HB 2869 and the Costs of Incarceration

By Jay Perry

A previously discussed proposed bill in the Tennessee legislature related to gangs moved on to the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.   The bill (HB 2869/SB 3004) however was recently estimated by the Fiscal Review Committee of having a financial impact of $1.92 million over 10 years.  The Fiscal Note contains a few enlightening projections that merit review.

The Note estimates that the cost of incarceration per offender in the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) is $61.36 per day.  For the sake of comparison, an eight hour day of work payed at minimum wage would cost $58 per day.  The proposed bill would create an E felony which is statistically served in 1.28 years post-conviction (the maximum is 2 years).  Thus, each conviction for the proposed gang offense would cost a projected $28,687.

In making the estimations the Committee estimated that the proposed additional gang offense would only be added to three current crimes: aggravated assault, robbery, and aggravated burglary.  They estimate that for those offense, three (3) percent involves gang activity.  It is unclear why they chose only these three offenses for the estimates, most notably they did not include aggravated robbery.

The Note also indicates that 25.5% of offenders will re-offend within one year of their release.  A recent Pew Center study calculated the national recidivism rate (3 year return to prison rate) at 43.3% based on 2004 data.  Another recent study calculated that approximately 2.7% of all adults in the United States of America have served a prison sentence (state or federal).  The number of adults with "prison experience" was 5.6  million which is the approximate population of Denmark.  According to U.S. Bureau of Justice statistics, at the end of 2010 2,266,800 adults were incarcerated with another 4,933,667 on probation or parole.  This is the highest incarceration rate of any nation in the world.

Other Bureau of Justice statistics also demonstrate that the cost of the criminal justice system is increasing at a rapid rate.  From 1982-2006 for example, the direct expenditures spent on police rose 420%.  The increase is 660% for corrections and 503% on judicial costs over the same time period.  

It remains to be whether what effect the above mentioned budgetary calculations will have on passage of HB 2869/SB 3004.  More importantly though, it remains to be seen whether the State of Tennessee or the U.S. as a whole can continue to bear the costs of such a continued high rate of incarceration.

New Tennessee Legislation sought to combat gang problem

Local, state, and federal officials held a press conference in Chattanooga yesterday to announce the formation of the Chattanooga Area Gang Enforcement Team ("CAGE").  This team was created to address the recent outbreak in gang-related crime in the city and embraces both outreach and suppression efforts.  Among the options announced was the introduction of new laws including one that would create a criminal offense for being a gang member.  This bill (HB 2869) has just been introduced in the legislature and reads as follows:


(a)  It shall be unlawful for any person to actively participate in any criminal street gang, as defined by § 40-35-121(a) with knowledge that its members engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity as defined in § 40-35-121(a), and to willfully promote, further, or assist in any felonious criminal conduct by members of that gang.  

(b)  A violation of this section is a Class E Felony.  Any sentence imposed 
shall be served consecutively to the sentence for any other offense that is based 
in whole or in part on the same factual allegations, unless the sentencing judge 
or magistrate specifically orders the sentences for the offenses arising out of the 
same facts to be served concurrently.

It will be interesting if this law is passed to see how it is utilized by the police.  Will it be a stand along charge, or will it be added in addition to other crimes?  The provision requiring consecutive sentencing is important because it would have the effect of extending the total sentence if there were other crimes arising out of the same circumstance.  All pending bills in the Tennessee legislature can be tracked here.