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Prepared Remarks of Attorney General

Alberto R. Gonzales
at the Noble Training Conference
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA
July 30, 2007
Good morning.

On Friday I had the opportunity to visit the Abraham Lincoln Museum in


Springfield, Illinois. As much as it is a commemoration of one man’s rise from
humble beginnings, the museum is also a tribute to public service. I was inspired to
see there, in one place, depictions of all that Lincoln did … and all of the obstacles
he overcame … to afford equal opportunity to all Americans.

Lincoln understood that there is no more powerful force on earth than the dreams of
men -- but that without fair opportunity, hopes and dreams may never be realized.
And just the same, we know today that if people live in fear for their safety, they
will not be able to reach their dreams.

Our charge, like Lincoln’s, is to create opportunity -- equal opportunity -- by


keeping people safe, so they can nourish their hopes, and fulfill their dreams.

We are at a moment in our Nation's history in which we enjoy great blessings, but
also face great challenges. In most neighborhoods, our citizens’ dreams are
completely reachable. A healthy economy and historically low crime rates mean that
most American children are growing up safely in the best environment that freedom
has to offer.

But some of you have come here from cities where crime remains a stubborn and
persistent problem. You see every day the effects of drugs, and gangs, and violence.
You walk every day down streets where innocent children are at risk, and where
fear keeps their dreams out of reach.

There is no single answer or approach to address all of the unique challenges caused
by crime. The details vary from city to city, and even from neighborhood to
neighborhood.

That is why local law-enforcement officials bear the primary burden in fighting
local crime. But the federal government has specialized expertise and resources that
can help. We have the means to collect and disseminate best practices and training.
And we can offer the extra weight of federal prosecution when appropriate.

For example, working with state and local authorities outside of Washington, D.C. -
- including Chief Melvin High of Prince George's County, Maryland – we were able
to bring federal racketeering charges against several members of the violent gang
MS-13. We established at trial that Oscar Velasquez and others conspired to operate
a criminal enterprise through a pattern of activity including assault, kidnapping,
robbery, and seven murders in Maryland and Virginia. And last week Velasquez
was sentenced to 37 years in prison.

This use of federal RICO laws is an innovative approach to fighting criminals with
tough penalties that may be unavailable in the state system. We're using some of the
same tools we used to put Mafia leaders behind bars, because we recognize that
gangs like MS-13 pose a similar threat.

To try to identify more ways we can help, I sent DOJ officials to 18 cities across the
country last fall to talk with law enforcement leaders and others in the community –
including NOBLE members. We learned that every community faces unique
challenges and problems.

What may be the top concern for the police chief in Albany, New York, may not be
as big a problem for the chief in Albany, Georgia.

Despite the local nature of the crime problem, however, a few themes emerged from
our visits. We heard that loosely organized street gangs are a major concern in
many cities. We heard that the prevalence of guns in the hands of criminals is a
common threat – not only to the community, but also to the brave men and women
of law enforcement who seek to bring those armed offenders to justice. And we
heard a great deal of concern about the level of violence committed by kids.

Many law enforcement officials reported that offenders appear to be younger and
younger, and their crimes are becoming more and more violent. Chiefs told us they
saw a lack of positive influence in the lives of young people, including a lack of
parental involvement and the negative influence of popular culture that glamorizes
violence and gang membership.

Now, some of these are not issues that the Department of Justice can fix through
heightened enforcement or by using federal tools. In some cases we must help
communities work on prevention and offer positive alternatives to crime, violence,
and gang membership. But in other cases there's more the Department can do
directly to help local governments fight crime in their communities.

For example, through our Project Safe Neighborhoods program, we can screen
criminal cases to ensure that significant gun crimes are prosecuted in the jurisdiction
that offers the most appropriate sentence. Often, the federal system, with its strong
penalties, will be the right forum. The federal system also often provides pre-trial
detention for offenders who are a danger to the community.

These federal prosecutions can be very effective against members of loosely-


organized street gangs, and that’s why I extended Project Safe Neighborhoods last
year to include gang crime as well. Since 2001 we have committed more than $1.7
billion to federal, state and local efforts to fight gun crime and gang violence under
PSN. We've hired new prosecutors, provided training, done research and community
outreach, and developed new tools for prevention and deterrence. In the past six
years we've brought more than twice as many firearms prosecutions as were brought
in the previous six years.

And we've provided grants of $2.5 million each to 10 cities to implement the
Department’s Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative, focusing on prevention,
enforcement and prisoner re-entry.

We are proud of our partnerships with state and local law enforcement, and our
existing efforts to reduce violent crime. But I recognize that effort alone is no
comfort to the good people living in communities that are still tormented by violent
crime.

I know there are places in America that for too long were written off as unlivable …
places where thugs and criminals owned the streets and anyone else unlucky enough
to be there had to fend for themselves.

There were neighborhoods, it was said, that even the police wouldn't go into. We
should never accept that. To concede even a single neighborhood is to forfeit the
hopes of some poor single mother and the dreams of her children.

I want to work with you to do more to make our neighborhoods safer. Recently I
announced a number of new programs and efforts to build on the best ideas we've
seen around the country.

-We've been conducting integrated takedowns and fugitive sweeps in a number of


cities over the past few weeks, and there will be more in the weeks ahead.

-Under our successful Violent Crime Impact Team initiative, more than 2,000 gang
members, drug dealers, felons in possession of firearms and other criminals were
arrested on local, state or federal charges in 2006. And we recently expanded to an
additional four cities, bringing the total number of these teams to 29.

-Our Safe Streets Task Forces combine the efforts of over 800 FBI agents and 1,200
other federal, state and local officers to disrupt and dismantle violent gangs, and
target serious violent criminals throughout the nation. We now have more than 180
of them across the country, including a new one in Orlando, Florida we added just
last month.

The Department of Justice is proud to stand side-by-side with our law enforcement
partners at all levels who are fighting for the safety of our neighborhoods every day.

And we also stand in support of the partners who I believe may be the most
important of all – the ones at the community centers, the synagogues, churches and
mosques, and the kitchen tables of the homes in any given neighborhood.

Somewhere in a poor urban neighborhood is a child who has the potential to do


great things like President Lincoln. All he needs, all she needs, is the opportunity to
grow and learn. Many of you have spent your entire career keeping our kids off
drugs and out of gangs. I will be with you.

Thank you for your service. May God bless all of you in your important mission,
and may He continue to richly bless the United States of America.

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