2017 Republican gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie on Thursdayreiterated his commitment to combat gang violence in Virginia, pledging $1.5 million in funding for the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force. The announcement follows a Washington Post report that there are more than 2,000 gang members from 80 gangs located in Fairfax County alone, including a shocking 1:1 ratio between MS-13 and Fairfax County Police. The funding pledge builds on the detailed public safety plan Gillespie released in July.
The Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force was founded in 2003 through the leadership of former Congressman Frank Wolf. The grant was for $3 million annually and continued until 2012. Since 2012, the budget for the Task Force has been $325,000 annually. It is paid entirely by participating localities. When federal funding was eliminated, the Task Force stopped paying the salaries of detectives working for the task force, meaning localities have absorbed those costs. The Task Force eliminated almost all outreach, education, and treatment programs as a result of the loss of federal funds. Aside from one-time grants from the Virginia Attorney General for various activities, no state funding has been provided to the Task Force. As governor, Gillespie will work with legislative leaders to amend the budget to provide $1.5 million to meet local matches in Northern Virginia and other parts of the Commonwealth who are being impacted by gang violence. He will continue to work alongside Congresswoman Barbara Comstock to secure federal funding to fight gangs in Northern Virginia. In July 2017, Gillespie participated in a ride-along with the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force in the Sterling area of Loudoun County.
“The first duty of government is to keep our people and our communities safe,” said Gillespie. “It is time that we worked together on the federal, state, and local level to take on this serious public safety threat and ensure that all Virginians are safe and secure. Funding the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force and gang eradication programs across the state will be a top priority for me as governor, and I will work closely with all our law enforcement departments and agencies and elected officials at every level to ensure we finally rid Virginia of violent gangs, including MS-13.”
Republican Nominee for Attorney General John Adams said, “A top priority of the Attorney General must be ensuring the safety of Virginians. That means getting serious about the dramatic rise in violent crime and gang activity we are seeing in communities around Virginia. As a former federal prosecutor, I know how to bring federal, state and local law enforcement together to get criminals out of our neighborhoods. We have to get serious about gang activity and rising crime in Virginia, and as attorney general I will work with Ed and our law enforcement officials to make our communities safe again.”
Former Congressman Frank Wolf added, “In Congress I advocated for funding for the Northern Virginia Regional Task Force. I was proud to help secure the necessary funds throughout my tenure. I am pleased to see Ed Gillespie, Congresswoman Comstock and members of our General Assembly step up in support of funding this important program. The 80+ identified gangs in Northern Virginia will continue to grow and menace families if we do not stop them. Our law enforcement, together with programs aimed at prevention, will make our communities safer. We must put an end to this gang violence that is terrorizing our communities.”
Delegate Dave Albo said, “A number of years ago we noticed the growth in criminal street gangs in Virginia. The Republicans in the House and Senate lead the charge to make Virginia’s anti-gang laws the toughest in the United States. We looked at all the laws in the United States and took the ones that worked and made them our own. We also wrote new laws, such as making event the recruitment of a person into a gang a felony and giving mandatory prison time for gang crimes near schools. These are some of the toughest anti-gang laws in the U.S. The laws are in place, now we need the enforcement, which is why the defunding of the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force has been a big hit in our efforts to fight gangs.”
“Gangs like MS-13 are a growing public safety threat in the Commonwealth of Virginia and Ed Gillespie is the only candidate in this race who has put forth substantive and specific plans to combat criminal gangs,” said Delegate Scott Lingamfelter. “I welcome Ed’s proposal to fund the Northern Virginia Regional Task Force, which will provide essential assistance to our local police and Sheriffs in fighting gangs in our region. As Chairman of the House Appropriations Sub-Committee on Public Safety, I will work with my colleagues to secure the funding we need to get the job done. Failure in the effort is simply not an option.”
Delegate Jackson Miller added, “Virginia is blessed with brave men and women who sacrifice tremendously each day to keep us safe, and they deserve strong working partners at every level of government who make public service a top priority. I know that Ed, Jill, and John are the best candidates to keep Virginians safe, and I look forward to working with them.”
“Human trafficking has become the second fastest growing crime in the nation, and Northern Virginia is not immune to these disgusting offenders,” said Delegate Tim Hugo. “Gangs like MS-13 prey on our most vulnerable, and experts believe human trafficking may soon surpass drug trafficking as their most lucrative business. We must do more to combat this scourge, and Ed’s pledge to the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force exemplifies his commitment to keeping all Virginians safe.”
“Once again, Ed is making it clear he is the only candidate with a plan to ensure Virginians’ safety,” said Delegate Jim LeMunyon. “The plan he released in July to attack gang violence in Virginia is thoughtful, detailed and appropriately ambitious, but this pledge leaves no question he will get the job done. We need a leader who will take action to protect our families and communities, reward our law enforcement and make necessary reforms. That’s Ed.”
“The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has always made public safety a priority, but we need stronger cooperation at the state and federal level to protect our neighborhoods from the influx of gangs,” said Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity. “What you are seeing from Ed here today is exactly what you will see from Ed over the next four years: a leader who is bringing together elected officials at every level to do what is in the best interest of Virginians. He is the right person to lead the Commonwealth, and he is determined to eradicate this serious public safety issue.”
Background
Fox News reported yesterday, “Combating the barbaric MS-13 gang is no easy task in one wealthy Virginia county where the group’s membership is nearly equal to the number of cops trying to rein them in… In affluent Fairfax County, Va., there were nearly 1,500 members, according to a 2015 police intelligence report. The report said there were about 2,000 members representing 80 different gangs in the county, however, 70 percent of the members were affiliated with MS-13, a police spokesperson told the Washington Post. That means there were about 1,400 gang members affiliated with MS-13 in the county… Still, the number of Fairfax County police officers on the ground fighting MS-13 and other gangs is just slightly higher… According to the 2015 report, the county’s police department had 1,722 employees, of which about 1,240 are officers on patrol and part of the organized crime and gang units combined.” (Fox News, 10/25/17)
# # #