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8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This concurrent resolution urges state and local governments to work together to reduce
11 gang activity.
12 Highlighted Provisions:
13 This resolution:
14 ▸ urges state and local government agencies, through a comprehensive, collaborative,
15 and community-wide approach, to work together to reduce gang activity in targeted
16 neighborhoods by incorporating a broad spectrum of research-based interventions to
17 address the range of personal, family, cultural, and community factors that
18 contribute to juvenile delinquency and gang activity;
19 ▸ urges communities, civil rights groups, media, elected officials, gang prevention
20 specialists, educational organizations, cultural organizations, law enforcement
21 organizations, the community, and active gang members to work towards mediating
22 conflict and suppressing gang violence; and
23 ▸ acknowledges that sports, arts, academics, targeted counseling, and employment
24 programs are means to enhance the future of the community and counteract gang
25 recruitment.
26 Special Clauses:
27 None
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29 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
30 WHEREAS, Utah has seen increasing incidents of gang-related violence and homicides
31 in recent years;
32 WHEREAS, increasing gang violence is a concern for all Utahns;
33 WHEREAS, Utah law enforcement agencies have reported that gang members are
34 actively recruiting younger members;
35 WHEREAS, the great potential of adults, teens, and youth is harmed if they fall prey to
36 gang recruitment and intimidation;
37 WHEREAS, gang activity jeopardizes the civil rights, safety, and well-being of all
38 members of the community, whether or not individuals are associated with gangs;
39 WHEREAS, gang activity ruins lives, destroys families, targets vulnerable youth, can
40 take the lives of innocent victims unaffiliated with gang activity, and poses a real and present
41 danger to public safety;
42 WHEREAS, the most effective way to address gang violence is through a
43 comprehensive, collaborative, and community-wide approach;
44 WHEREAS, gang activity can be reduced in targeted neighborhoods by incorporating a
45 broad spectrum of research-based interventions to address the range of personal, family, and
46 community factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency and gang activity;
47 WHEREAS, such research-based intervention prevention efforts add immeasurably to
48 the health and safety of our communities;
49 WHEREAS, the Utah State Board of Education has established a Gang Prevention and
50 Intervention Program in schools designed to help students at-risk for gang involvement stay in
51 school;
52 WHEREAS, while schools are uniquely placed in our communities to be a center for
53 gang prevention activity, gang prevention efforts cannot fall to our schools alone;
54 WHEREAS, the most effective and successful models for gang prevention efforts
55 involve the combined efforts of students, educators, law enforcement, families, and the general
56 public; and
57 WHEREAS, local, state, and federal resources should be coordinated to enhance
58 current practices in prevention, intervention, and suppression to provide immunization against
59 delinquency, youth violence, and gang membership for children in the years immediately
60 before the prime ages for introduction into gangs and delinquent behavior:
61 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
62 Governor concurring therein, strongly urges state and local government agencies, through a
63 comprehensive, collaborative, and community-wide approach, to work together to reduce gang
64 activity in targeted neighborhoods by incorporating a broad spectrum of research-based
65 interventions to address the range of personal, family, cultural, and community factors that
66 contribute to juvenile delinquency and gang activity.
67 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urges
68 communities, civil rights groups, media, elected officials, gang prevention specialists,
69 educational organizations, cultural organizations, law enforcement organizations, the
70 community, and active gang members to work towards mediating conflict and suppressing
71 gang violence.
72 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor acknowledge that
73 sports, arts, academics, targeted counseling, and employment programs are means to enhance
74 the future of the community and counteract gang recruitment.
75 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Utah League
76 of Cities and Towns, the Utah Association of Counties, the Utah Department of Public Safety,
77 the State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, the Utah State Board of Education, the
78 Utah Department of Health, and the Utah Department of Human Services.