Bipartisan legislation recently re-introduced in the U.S. Senate would require the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to resume annual reports to Congress on local, national and transnational criminal gang activity trends.
The reports were discontinued in 2009 and 2012.
The Gang Activity Reporting Act would require the attorney general in conjunction with the agencies to report on gang activity, reporting, investigation and prosecution no later than 150 days after the enactment of the bill. The report would then be required annually by the last day of the fiscal year.
The report would be submitted to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and House Committee on the Judiciary. It would detail the growth of local, national, and transnational gangs during the 10-fiscal-year period preceding the date of the report. Information would include gang membership changes and trends; the tools, methods, or networks gangs are using to commit certain crimes; how the agencies are tracking gang growth and activity; the federal resources allocated; gang enforcement statistics; the data collection procedures utilized; and any changes to data collection procedures.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) re-introduced the bill.