Will come to order. Without objection that shares authorized to declare recesses of the subcommittee at any time. Let me say that we are to vote between 10 45 and 10 50. I will not make an Opening Statement but put my Opening Statement into the record. I will ask every other member to allow us to the witnesses so that they all are able to get their testimony in before we have to leave to go and vote. So without objection all Opening Statements will be placed into the record at this time. We have a very distinguished panel this morning, and i would beginning by swearing in our witnesses before introducing them. Would you all please rise and raise your right hand . [witnesses were sworn in] let the record show that all of the witnesses have answered in the affirmative. I will give an abbreviated introduction for all of the witnesses so that we can hear them and get to as many questions as possible. The first witness is Kenneth Blanco who is the acting assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division of the department of justice. The second witness is mr. Mark met vanek who is aboard advisoy member for the illinois chapter of the Midwest Gang Investigators Association. The third witness is captain chris marks in Los Angeles County sheriff department, and our fourth witness is dr. Gary slutkin who is the fount of cure violence, a Nongovernment Organization based in chicago. We will now proceed under the fiveminute rule and mr. Blanco, you are first. Thank you. Good morning, mr. Chairman, Ranking Member jackson lee and members of the subcommittee. It is a pleasure to appear before you this morning to discuss the department of justice efforts to combat Gang Violence. Violent crime is on the rise in many parts of america. Gang violence, increasing headlines new cycles every day in its frequency and its effect in the communities and its effect on innocent people who get caught in the crossfire. There are approximately 1. 4 million members of 33,000 gangs operating across the country. All of them use violence to boost their illegal money making activities, protect their territories, intimidate their rifles and enhance their status and fulfill their missions. Too many of our citizens live in fear of these violent criminals. All americans deserve to be free from violence and safe in their homes, schools, jobs and neighborhoods. This is why it is a top lawyer of the department of justice under the leadership of the attorney general sessions to reduce Violent Crime in america including in related violence. Reducing crime requires that we balance strong Law Enforcement. With defective prevention measures we must take the violent offenders off the street and fort gangs efforts to recruit vulnerable youth. To achieve the first of these twin aims the department relies on the expertise of its federal prosecutors and Law Enforcement agents including the Criminal Division organized crime and gang section, a narcotic and dangers of drug section, the u. S. Attorneys offices as well as its Law Enforcement agencies like the atf, fbi, dea and u. S. Marshals service, and other Law Enforcement partners such as the use immigration and customs enforcement, Homeland Security services, hsin state local and tribal Law Enforcement partners. Federal prosecutors and Law Enforcement partners lead investigations and prosecutions of criminal gangs of regional, national and International Significance such as the aryan brotherhood of texas, the gangster disciples, and the ms13, to name just a few. Prosecutors and investigators have prioritize Violent Crime and are working to identify the most violent offenders in their districts and to ensure that individuals are prosecuted fully and sentenced appropriately, including under applicable federalstate and, guidelines and significant penalties under the law. Many gangster shave it dangerous and Illegal Drugs to generate income to support their criminal activities. And with the Drug Distribution comes violence. Thus when appropriate federal prosecutors also seek to charge gang members and the foreign kingpins who supply them with drug offenses. None of these investigations and prosecutions would be possible without the daily sacrifice of the enforcement officers to investigate these criminals. Specialized task forces comprise a federal, state, local and tribal Law Enforcement officers such as the fbi, state street task force, hsis Operation Command if you shield and those funded by the organized crime and Drug Enforcement task force is program are hard at work in the areas with highs concentration of drugs and Gang Violence. Law enforcement efforts to arrest and incarcerate violent gang members have a Significant Impact on the quality of life in our communities. But enforcement alone will not in the gang membership and Gang Violence. We must also support gang intervention and gang prevention programs. Many such programs were funded by the department grantmaking components including the office of Justice Programs and the office of Community Oriented policing services, cops. For example, all gps office of juvenile justice and liquids a prevention and beer of justice assistance jointly fund the National Gang center which provides comprehensive resources, training and strategic tools to those in the field of Law Enforcement and criminal justice. As well as to the Community Organizations that prevent Gang Violence can reduce the gang involvement and to present gang related crime. These are just but a few examples of the departments continued commitment to supporting our federal, state, local and tribal enforcement partners and ending the scourge of Gang Violence in our communities. Thank you and i look forward to answering your questions. Thank you very much, mr. Blanco. I forgot to ask, asking in this consent of the witnesses written statements be placed in the record in full. Mr. Vanek. Thank you mr. Chairman, Ranking Member and members were invited me today to speak about gangs in our communities. It is an honor and privilege to be today. I curse upon the board for the Midwest Gang Investigators Association illinois chapter. Midwest gang investigators was formed in 1987 and is an organization with over 2000 members representing 12 states throughout the midwest. It is collaborative associations mission is to develop and recommend strategy to prevent and control gang crime administer professional training as well as assist, just a professional educators, probation parole and public regarding gangs in a committees. For the last 17 years ive been applied as a lawenforcement officer in in the midwest with extensive experience in investigate street gangs in both the state and federal level. Street gangs today are different than the gangs of the past 30 years. Resume street gangs are more violent, more technological savvy, glorified. Street gangs have increased the prominence over juveniles and drug addicts in the daytoday operation took social media, the internet and television explosion of the gangster rap culture has glorified the lifestyle to juveniles. An africanamerican game has become the norm in the street gang life with no longer a strict hierarchy. Presently gangs of actions that number into the hundreds. In chicago one gang is over 200 factions operating in the city and dozens more in the metropolitan area. In many suburban areas every black has its own faction of what is being called the hybrid gang. Hybrid gang consists of Younger Generation of gang members, gang members of different racial, ethnic groups and gang members that were or are from different gangs. These have no hierarchy or no symbolic association with more than one gang. The hispanic gangs of large remained under control of a strict hierarchy. The hispanic gangs are committed to the codes of colors and territory and loyalty to the gang. The hispanic and still abide by the people folks from the late 1970s. Gang members prior an individual cannot help themselves by getting them addicted to certain drug and that we can provide them with that drug. Gang members have become a a staple for supply fentanyl and carfentanil in the streets. A quarter of the milligram per fentanyl can kill you almost instantly. Carfentanil is 10,000 times powerful than morphine and 100 times more stronger than fentanyl. The Younger Generation are more tech savvy than ever before. The internet has made enormous it easier for gang members to reach a Larger Customer base and selling of strickland. At any time i can go on the internet or social media and within seconds interact with a gang member to purchase any type of drug i wish. I have personally visited these types of crimes and it is becoming chilling to extent denounce a variety of drugs available to be purchased as well as weapons. The cause of Gang Violence stems from factors such as fighting over selling drugs, comments made a social media, rap song lyrics that each gang priest about the rivals and hispanic gangs fighting over colors and territory. Gang members that they can violence within the communities to a higher level than ever before. Juveniles and innocent bystanders are being shot and killed more than ever. Gang members you targeting of rival gangs damages as a worthy target as targeting the interview gang member themselves. In illinois, an individual shot in either victim or witness makes a positive identification of that offender, the victim does not wish to prosecute, the offender is not charged with the offense. Often the offender is not charged with any crime. Another hindrance is getting overworked and resource train prosecutors to prove the charges based on the facts and matters of the case rather than what is believed a judge or jury will view on. The biggest obstacle is getting witnesses to cooperate in any type of gang related investigation. Law enforcement does not have the immediate Resources Available to relocate or provide assistance to witnesses. Without assistance or incentive stock we expect witnesses to come forward and place their lives and families in harms way . There are technical logical dances a can help Law Enforcement. Ammunition when fired leaves a unique fingerprint type mark. Requiring samples from all semiautomatics are fully automatic firearms entered into the system would provide Law Enforcement investigators with new immediately that would allow Law Enforcement to be able to stem the proliferation of guns from purchasers to street gang member. Mr. Chairman, and Ranking Member jackson lee, thank you for inviting me to testify today. Lawn for the cannot be the sole answer producing Gang Violence. Law enforcement is only a part of the solution. Prosecutors and judges must be held accountable as well as Law Enforcement is with the rise in Gang Violence. Law enforcement, the judicial system, government and social and economic programs and Committee Involvement are essential to reducing Gang Violence. Not one entity can solve it alone or take credit. It must be accorded effort on all parties. I look forward to answering questions you might have about gangs and a 40 worked with members of the subcommittee to ensure its success in reducing Gang Violence. Thank you. Thank you. Captain marks. Chairman sensenbrenner, Ranking Member jackson lee, disinvestment of the subcommittee, on behalf of the major canisters of america, los angeles kent sheriff jim mcdonald and all the partners who comprise the Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task force thank you for and by me to testify on street gang members and sex trafficking. The Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task force combines the resources of local, state and federal Law Enforcement with the Prosecutorial Authority of the los angeles District Attorney of u. S. Attorneys office with a truly victim centered approach. The combination of resources include the Los Angeles County department of children and family services, Los Angeles County probation department, California Department of corrections at a Nonprofit Coalition against slavery and trafficking are all colocated in the same office, literally sitting next to each other. Our colocation model breaks down the previously established silos between agencies and brings to get assistance of discipline to address the victims needs through a victim centered, informed approach. The task force employs originally strategy that crosses jurisdictional boundaries to identify and rescue victims of sex trafficking, while aggressively pursuing traffickers and buyers. For generations criminal street gangs have pursued and have succeeded in criminal enterprise. However the street gangs who struggle it operated their enterprise within an established territory. Their willingness to commit crimes out of their geographical areas was limited to violence against rival gangs and property crimes. For the past several years gangs of move beyond their territorial boundaries and travel throughout the state in teams or as crews as a note to commit residential burglaries and robberies. Los angeles gangs began utilizing a flocking tactic. Flocking criminal street gang members from a single day or multiple gangs and sometimes even rival gangs joined together, traveled throughout the southland and commit residential burglaries by forcing entry into house in overwhelming numbers and in less than a minute or two commit the crime. Now criminal street gang members are proliferating in the illegal sex trafficking market. Gang members have realized a lucrative opportunity sex trafficking offers throughout Los Angeles County. The majority of cases that we handle, the traffickers are a gang member or an affiliate of a gang. The crime of traffic and commercial sexual exploit her children presents a relatively low risk of arrest for the gang member engaged in sex trafficking to previous illegal enterprises such as illegal narcotics, weapons and stolen property placed the process it in immediate threat of arrest due to them or possession of such contraband. For sex traffickers being in the presence of a commercial sexual exporter child is not a crime. To add to that complexity of this issue the commercial sexual exporter child victim, does not want to cooperate because of that strong trauma bond they have with the trafficker. An additional motive in fact, of to pursue sex trafficking is the fact narcotics and weapons of property can be sold once and as we all know, sex Trafficking Victims can be so multiple times a day everyday of the week. In Los Angeles County and throughout california gang members operate sex Trafficking Victims both independently and for the benefit of the gang and frequently gang members will travel to any community to recruit sex Trafficking Victims and they will also travel to any community to sell the Trafficking Victims either online, on the street or in a motel without fear of retaliation or violating another gangs territory. In certain geographically claimed areas of los angeles some gangs require the sick Trafficking Victims to pay a tactic in order to work battery. The practice of taxing as a means of gaining money for the benefit of a gang and is a struggle been employed against Small Businesses. The tax for sex workers has not been uniformly adopted throughout los angeles or california. Using his affiliation to demonstrate his willingness and ability as a criminal to be a capable of committing violence to protect them. Once recruited the gang member exits control over the Trafficking Victim through physical, psychological abuse and an atmosphere of dependency. I want to thank the subcommittee and the staff for affording me the opportunity to testify before you today. Thank you, captain marks. Doctor. Chairman sensenbrenner, r. Ranking member, distinguished members. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. Im dr. Gary slutkin. Director or care violence, rated 12th in the world and ranked first among organizations devoted to reducing violence. Worked for the World Health Organization where i learned the tools of working on epidemics, mostly in africa itch returned to the nuss 1995 and began working on violence in this country. We discovered that new Research Shows that violence is not what we thought. Its an epidemic problem like other Health Epidemics but isnt being managed that way. We have also learned there are new methods that work that can help that have a big impact. These methods are being greatly underutilized, the main thing about violence is to see the persons and groups doing this process which can be reversed. We have to shake some of our old ideas. Dozens of studies show that violence is predictably acquired as a contagious problem through brain messenger systems and pathwayses that follows comingy following peers. The definitive evidence is in the institute of medicine report of 2013. Violence spreads among individuals and groups and families even suicides and extremist recruitment happens in this way. The violence in the u. S. And latin america is falling very basic epidemic pat persons like patterns we took advantage of this first in chicago in the year 2000 when we tried standard endemmake control method in a pilot in West Garfield Park the mow Violent Community in the country. We hired and trained epidemic control workers who we called intruders, behavior change agents, outreach workers. Got a 67 drop in that should shootings and killings in the first year. We have four more replications, since then there have been several independent evacuations in the work and spread to 25 cities in the u. S. As well as in latin america. These resulters are obtains by Health Workers similar to those used for other epidemics. Health departments or other Government Agencies supervise this work, and new york city, baltimore and kansas city the health death runs. In hon duesor, a pastor, and el salvador, partnership with save she children. The result is 25 to 50 drop thursday shootings and killings, and 70 to 100 er seen when there are enough workers, 40 to 70 has been sheen in chicago, 30 to 50 drops in baltimore, and 60 mrs. In juarez, mexico, and 88 in hon tour hundred door russ honduras. Several communities have gone for zero for a year to two years. Some communities include cherry mill in baltimore, yonkers in new york. This is what you aim for in epidemic control. When i was working a collar epidemic in cholera epidemic we aimed to get rid of it, like for ebola. Many accomplishments in Public Health with these measures, in which many disease are no longer with us. A few last things. Chicago has gone up and down in relation to the Public Health work. Theres a 20page report on this on our web site. The ups and downs in chicago have mostly been related to thes and up downs in the state of illinois budget which, as you know, was without a budget for the last two years. When pure violence lost 13 of 14 cites in 2013 that was exactly when the violence began to go up. One site that remained has continued to go down. Last, the stream of unoccupied children and others from latin t ten America Latin america are fleeing violence. This solution, Public Health methods, is an entirely nonpolitical and free of prior controversy, solution, which has been underout utilized by prior administration. Suggest we change that. Understanding violence as a contagious epidemic is reverse able and could save tens of thousands. Law enforcement has been asked to do way too much and being blamed too much and we can help. Thank you. Thank you very much, dr. Slutkin. The chair will revert to what he did during his previous chairmanship and that is recognize members under the fiveminute rule in the order in which they appear alternately between the majority and the minority parties. I would ask members to keep their questioning to five minutes, and in case the bill rings early, i will withhold my questions to see if we have time after all the other members ask questions. So, the gentleman from texas, mr. Poe, is recognized for five minutes. I tank the chairman and thank youal for being here inch my other lives i i was prosecutor and a criminal court judge for 22 years so i want to address my questions to specifically the scourge of Human Trafficking that captain marks you mentioned and mr. Vanek you mentioned as well. The average age i understand is for Trafficking Victim is 13. Thats a female. Is that correct . Captain marks . That is published in many articles and studies. What we see at the Los Angeles Task force, generally the age we encounter them is 15, 16 and 17. Okay. As you said, trafficking, sex trafficking, sex victims, is lucrative because the victims unfortunately are abused and used multiple times a day, some cases 20, 25 times, a day. The risk of apprehension is less and until recently the punishment has been less for capturing the traffickers. The new legislation that congress has passed now not only goes after the trafficker but goes after the buyer, who ought to be in jail, the consumer, and helps rescue victims of crime and restores them back to some dignity. Explain to me so that its very clear to anyone, but start with captain marks, how prevalent is human sex trafficking in the gang culture. Well, in preparation for todays testimony, yesterday i asked one of my crime analysts to scour through Different Social Media sites and pull up recent ads that i could use as talking points. One of the ads she pulled up was a gang member as a pimp who was booking for girls to recruit. Within an hour of conversation with an undercover deputy sheriff, we had made an agreement, posing as an underage girl to meet him and go to work for him and we arrested him a couple hours after meeting with him. Its frighteningly prevalent. Literally the more we look, the more we find. Every time we go online and advertise either as an underage girl, we get all kinds of reactions and interactions from people wanting to be sex traffickers for those girls. Mr. Benedict, want to comment on that . I couldnt agree more. With the use of social media and the internet its becoming increasingly easier for gang members to reach out and connect with anyone, any female that could be from the suburbs or even in their own neighborhood. Its just as simple as just going on your cell phone, which everybody has now, and placing an ad. To your knowledge have you seen ads placed on back paige that have been used to further the criminal conduct of human sex trafficking . Yes. Backpage, facebook, craigslist, all of those are utilized. And my question really is, help me understand how prevalent this problem is. I know ive heard anecdotalitily its easy to recruit and get these girls into sex slavery. How prevalent is it . Its basically an everyday occurrence. You will have a younger female that has no means no ways about providing for themselves. Its an everyday occurrence in these highcrime gang areas and the look for options and a lot of times the option is getting into the sex trafficking and their connection to the gang member. Foreign gangs, nothing operating in the United States, ms13 a perfect example. In the immigrant community, how prevalent is this sex trafficking of immigrants that have come into the United States . Captain marks . Yes, sir. The commercial Sexual Exploitation of children is basically a domestic problem for us with gang members. The girls that are recruiting are american citizens. Where we see foreign victims is generally when we get into elicit massage businesses. To answer your question its a homegrown problem and we have a huge vulnerable population. The road the victims take once they become a commercially exploited victim is usually a lifetime of abuse and makes so very vulnerable population. Thank you, yield back. Gentlewoman from texas, miss jackson lee. Let me think mr. Conyers and in goodlamp to their attention to this good work i have generated of the time i have had the privilege of serving as a Ranking Member. Thank mr. Sensenbrenner for her years of commitment and dedication to these issues and look forward to driving solutions. My level of frustration is high because it is long overdue for holistic criminal Justice Reform and let me thank the witnesses. Mr. Blanco, very quickly, we are seeking to reauthorize the juvenile block grant, which as you know, the tool that the doj has working with judges, juveniles which we are trying to emphasize best practices. Would that be helpful to you, using that block grant reauthorization . Madam congressperson, im not familiar with that block grant but i can tell you that i know that the attorney general is interesting in using all kinds of ideas in order to bet their community and save our streets and protect our citizens and victims but i cant specifically answer that question. No problem. Well take that as a yes. Thank you very much. Let me ask the good doctor, thank you so very much, and for the other witnesses, im going to allow my colleagues to pointedly ask you questions but ill thank you. Doctor, im frustrated. You have given me an opportunity to focus in on several questions. First id like to lay the groundwork, mr. Blanco said that juveniles are used, being used as pawns to carry out the bad deeds of gang leaders. There is the crux. In your statement you indicated violence goes from brain to brain. From 12yearold brain to 13yearold brain, 134yearold brain back to 14 and on. Focus on the reality of us using your program and the potential of it having major impact. My first point is, have you ever been embraced by the department of justice that a tool that could be used across the country . Yes, we have been funds by the department of justice and regularly are you now funded . Yes, threw partnership for and the victims of crime. Where are you using that funding. Multiple cities. I think about 20 cities. We also just been asked to present at their next forum. Would you be kind enough to provide us im not sure if its in your testimony the list of cities and results of the cities . Yes. Samples are in the written testimony and more can be provided. And if we were to expand your opportunities through funding, you could expand to other cities and you could present results. Yes, absolutely. Wed be reporting to the committee as well as whatever funders. I just want to add, this is additive to Law Enforcement. Nothing except synergy here and why we have been able to get this good result. Geoff my an example. Articulate, even though rates in your statement, what you did in chicago because chicagos image, there is nothing good happening in chicago. Help me with cure violence and how it cures and helps. Give me the abc. Its primarily by higher intruders and outreach workers, new categories of workers, people who have credibility and access and trust with the population. The population that is about to do a shooting tonight or today, we have access to them and can cool them down. These workers are very highly select explode super selected and super trained. They know how to cool someone down, buy time and shift their thinking. Give me an example of worker. A worker dish. No name but age, race. The workers are a little bit older than those doing the shooting, and frequently they come from the same lifestyle and the same background so thats why they have the credibility and trust. And this is the way we work in Public Health. We use sex worker former sex worker to reach former sex workers and moms to reach moms, et cetera. People have that kind of access and trust and therefore theyre not at risk, themselves. Are they africanamerican, hispanic. Africanamerican. So you use the indigenous all epidemics are managed from the insideout, not the outsidein. You see the crime gone down. Yes, absolutely. Thank you very much. The e. The gentleman from florida, mr. Rutherford. Thank you, mr. Chairman and thank you, panel, for being here this morning to discuss issues that are certainly affecting every major city in the United States, and mr. I want to start with you and mr. Vanek. I want to shift to prosecution. Can you discuss a little bit the challenges that were facing in the typical gang prosecution under rico . Certainly, sir. Thats one of our most important tools on the federal level to attack these gangs, and both international and domestic. Some of the challenges are the challenges just mentioned earlier. That is the safety of the victims and the safety of witnesses and putting those individuals in places where we can utilize them and they feel safe. That probably is our the majority of our challenges. Can use the reek e rico statute and the other statutes lets not forgetter our narcotics statutes as well as was mentioned early. In many situations if we dont have a witness or victim that can come forward we use other crime which we know we can prosecutor them and get them for those crimes. Those as far as i can see maybe my Law Enforcement colleagues can say differently ing really our challenges but is is a very effective tool on the federal level to take attack gangs. Captain marks mr. Vanek, first, if you watch im particularly interested in the difficulties that may be created by now the gangs have moved into this music nexus. Does that impact on proving the criminal enterprise . It certainly helps. It is not the nail in the consecutive coffin per se but helps listening to lyricking hour how theyre talking. Tip crazy clues in the song and we span out from that and investigate those crimes and see if we can connect them to a rico statute. Captain marks . One of our partners on our grant is the u. S. Attorneys office and we have a very good relationship. The u. S. Attorney is on our task force. The challenge we have with sex traffic, rico statutes are phenomenal tools against gangs but a lot of times those are longdrawnout investigations. Generally sex trafficking investigations start out very small, one victim, one pimp and then only after time it turns into 11, 13 victims, and we cant allow that conduct to continue if were compelled to make an arrest right away to get the dangerous criminal off the street, which prohibit us from pursuing a rico act where we need the investigation to grow over a per longer period of time. And mr. Vanek, the challenge we have with flipping can you talk a little more about that and how that may be impacting the rico prosecutions as well . Sure. Thank you. When you are trying to get someone to cooperate in a murder investigation, or a rico investigation, where theyre going to be putting themselves basically out there for you, it is difficult to put you have to put yourselves in their shoes. Theyre still living in that area. Theyre still still have friend. Their whole world will be eventually turned upsidedown. To provide them with the safety and understanding that we will i guarantee that well take care of them throughout the process because rico statutes, rico investigations take a long time. Were protecting them and their families, well give them a sense of ease and will make more people want to come forward. But are these flipping cases not more where individuals i understand the safety piece, mr. Blanco mention earlier and thats a huge issue that has to be addressed. But there are those who are flipping theyre being bought off, basically, by rival gangs or whoever may be testifying against. What about that issue . That happens a lot. Can we prosecute for that . Do we need additional legislation to help fight that somehow or identify that . I would say yes, any addition legislation on that to help that cause would be greatly suspected. Those are investigated but you need witnesses, you need some sort of probably audio Video Evidence of actual threats being assailed where that usually a oneonone type of thing. Now more and more with social media, those theyre being documented. Thank you very much. My time has run out. Gentwoman from california, miss bass. Thank you very much, mr. Chair, and the Ranking Member for holding this hearing today. I was very excited to hear about this hearing because to me it signaled what i hope is an indication that we actually will look back at history over the last couple of decades and consider doing something differently, because what we have done over the last 30 years is we have come up with so many laws, gang enhancements, to incarcerate people and i dont think we have necessarily spent much time looking at the root causes as to why people get involved in gangs. And maybe thats a hearing we could do in the future. I come from los angeles. Im very proud of our city and our county. Im very glad that captain marks is here today. Think there were ill ask you a couple of questions because i want you to highlight the involvement that the Sheriffs Department has with the communities, and each of you mentioned that it cant be solved alone by Law Enforcement and we have relied too much on Law Enforcement win. Lock people up. They come home and what we dont realize is then we have communitieses that have an overconcentration of people who go in and out of prison, which actually kind of continues the cycle of violence and always we want to save money, thats not exactly the way to do it. And so i am hoping that this is an indication well actually look back at the last 20 or 30 years, see what we have learned, and try to do something different. I also want to put you on notice, captain marks you can tell the sheriff this dish invited my colleague over there on the other side of the aisle, steve chabot, i invited him to los angeles because i want him to see how we have got been the work in l. A. Differently. Someone mentioned gang intervention workers issue think you mentioned that, mr. Slutkin, and thats something we have used in los angeles, and i know the captain knows, that can play both ways. We know that theres great examples of that but its not a panacea because sometimes the folks are still involved in the life, but we have definitely been able to make a difference. So, i spent 14 years working in the middle of South Central at the height of the crack cocaine, crip and blood crisis, and we were able to make a difference there. The situation has improved. We still have our problems. Its morphed now into sect trafficking. Wasnt sex trafficking, wasnt something we debt with 25 or 26 years ago itch want you mention the whole campaign that was done in los angeles at the county that no child is considered a prostitute, that you guys are not arresting, you guys are detaining and referring to services in terms of the victims. So i wanted you speak a bit about that and then i want to talk to dr. Slutkin. Thank you, madam. That is correct. Sheriff jibbing mcdonnell and the county board of supervisors accommodated a no such thing as a child prostitute campaign. We dont refer to them or arrest them as suspects. We treat them as the victims they are. The board of supervisors has been very supportsive. We have developed a countywide First Responder protocol which provides direction for Law Enforcement that all county departments come together and provide essential services for the crucial first 72 hours the break the bond with the section trafficker and help them get the help anyway need and back on the right track. The prime start node South Central at the height of the crisis was actually funded by the federal government. The government gave us a five, year grant. Now, the organization is now 26 years old because we developed other resources and moved on, but it was completely based on the model of dr. Slutkin that you mentioned. Sometimes we think that these communes are hopeless and we kind of throw in the towel and just arrest everybody, and then we let them out and she cycle continues. You talked about chicago, and chicago is one of those areas that i think we checked the box as being hopeless. Want to notify you could talk just a little bit more about what you think we doing in congress to expand the model youre talking and make improvements. We had a thousand homicides in l. A. At the height of the crisis, and were nowhere near that now. Thank you, congresswoman. First, i think the number one thing to do is to add to whatever it is that youre doing, to funds for, intervention. It can be into the justice budget. They have been able to work with us and our partners, and also in the health budgets. Very small amount would multiply many, many times in times of life savings. The chief of l. A. Copresented with me at the major chiefs meeting and said this is the thing that caused the reduction, despite many other Law Enforcement interventions not making a change over multiple years in l. A. And i want to add that i understand this need, this desire for the prosecutions and the punishment. It not actually affecting the people who are doing it. The people who are dying it do not think that theyre going to be prosecuted. They do not think theyll get caught. They need to be talked to by intervention workers who help them shift their thinking; theyre being lead by peers and we can put peers in there in order to reduce the problem itself. The time of the gentlemanwoman has expired. The gentleman from ohio, mr. Chabot. Thank you, mr. Chairman itch want to apologize for not being here im chairman of the Small Business subcommittee and its tough to be in two places at once. Want to thank mr. Bass for invitation to visit her district and i represent most of the city of cincinnati, and we have our issues there as well, and we would like to learn from the successesow you have had and perhaps we can take those back to any district. Its a matter of coordinating the time. And we have traveled to iraq together before and so, miss bass, consider her a good friend as well as a colleague on this committee. Just a couple quick questions. The first of all, its my understanding that incarcerated gang members are using contraband cell phones in prisons, various prisons to conduct all sorts sorts of illit gang activities outside the prison walls and not just gang members. Adult criminals are doing this as well, including drug traffic, murder, witness intimidation, and on and on. And there have been some cutting edge technological improvements we have now, continuous wave beak cop tech Beacon Technology is any understand offering one technology, and i would just im not sure ill just hope it up whoever would like to take that. Can you discuss that . And if somebody else already asked the question i apologize. Anybody want to talk that on . Happy to take it, congressman. Yes, contrabands cell phones, all kinds of items being smuggled into prison and jails enables and emboldens the gangs in jail and the gangs they deal with outside of the jail. Its not only dangerous for the people on the street, its dangerous for the guards inside the prisons as well. Its a problem were working with, work with state and local partners to make sure we have the ability to reduce that. On many of the wire taps i read federally, when we see theres a cell phone being used in a prison or an area where there are inmate wes make sure we notify our state and local authorities and work with it that way. Its a significant problem were working on. Thank you. Was involved in actually introduced a bill called girls count act, marco rubio introduced in senate. It became law. What it did, on a worldwide basis 50, or so million specially young girls who never got birth certificates and couldnt get government papers and were started because they couldnt identify who these girls were. They were sold off by family. A whole range of horrific stuff. And i know that the gangs here in the United States have been involved in sex trafficking and especially young girls. Do you know if gangs are are they targeting any is this occurring where women are brought into the country, targeted because of their lack of birth certificates or government documentation . Does anybody know if that is something that is occurring . Captain marks . Yes, sir. The criminal street gangs in the United States are targeting homegrown girls. So we have a huge vulnerable population out there that have been victim abuse or neglect their entire lives. Theyre experts at smelling out and finding those girls and targeting those girls. So, all the victims theyre exploiting are domestic females. Can you, thank you. My final question, i have one minute here. I was in guatemala and honduras last year, and we had a real problem on our southern border where unaccompanied young people were coming in and flowing over our borders. What i was told is one of the plan principal problem is is young people were fleeing the gangs and parents sent them, trying to get away from this. Heard a number of news articles where certain cities where we have seen gangs tarring kids targeting kids aggressively to brick them in and intimidating them if they dont get into the gangs. Would somebody like to comment on that . I see you nodding, mr. Blanco. That nails it on the head. Youll see many of these interNational Gangs, for example, ms13, targeting their very own people because theyre vulnerable in their countries issue like el salvador, guatemala and honduras and when theyre here theyre vulnerable because they have family members back in those countries. So they intimidate the young women here and intimidate the families back there its a visual cycle. Were working hard with foreign counterparts and local and domestic Law Enforcement to see what kind of measures we can take to help them. Thank you, mr. Chairman. The gentlemans time is expired. The gentleman from well, mr. The chair yields himself five minutes. Mr. Blanco, as you may know, i am the principal house author of the cara act designed to have a comprehensive response to opioids which passed last year and was signed by president obama. Fentanyl has mushrooming problem and its deadly. And are you seeing street gangs distributing fentanyl and where are they getting it from . Mr. Chairman, yes. And theyre getting it from many different sources. Sometimes gang members get it from rival gangs because it is about making money. Sometimes they are associated with a gang maybe overstays overseas so they have a distribution, and we did a healthcare takedown where we went after Healthcare Professionals and pill clinics to. They get them from there, too. So its across the board. Its a money maker and its canadaly and killing so many young people, and not only young people. Parents, its across the board. Mr. Vanek, you have mentioned the practice of flipping, which is extortion, pure and simple, where it is very difficult to get people to testify for the prostitute i was going to eye prostitution but prosecutor. Is there a way to lock in their testimony to a grand jury which makes it less likely to be flipped, and have prosecutors been able to prove that flipping has occurred, which is a form of obstruction of justice. On the federal level its easier and they take their grand jury very sear seriously. On the state level, even with locking them into a grand jury statement or locking them into a video statement, when it comes to trial and they get on the stand, they flip, and they do not benefit either the prosecution side but theres other ulterior motives like i stated before. Perjury charges on the state level are few and far between for that. As investigators we would loaf would love to see that happened. Something that happens routinely on the state level. I have a number of questions for dr. Slutkin. You give a very interesting scenario, and very comforting success ratios for what you have been doing. I guess the problem that we have is theres been an erosion of personal responsibility in our society, and if you treat Gang Violence as a Public Health problem, murdering someone to me seems a lot different than vomiting uncontrollably when you have the flu. So, stopping the murders has to require increased realization of personal responsibility, and what a murderer actually consists of and thats ending a human life and having untold grief with loved ones and family members. Does your program emphasize personal responsibility as well as all the other things you have testified to . Yes, mr. Chairman, and this is part of the conversation with the individuals that intervention workers have. Theres no objection to what is required if a violent act as occurred, what Law Enforcement needs to do. What were saying is that these workers can talk to someone when theyre thinking about possibly doing something, and thats the talking to them then, allows them the time to cool down, to feel validated, whatever they need to just cool down, because theyre usually upset. Actually not about some of the things being discussed here. Theyre really doing murders about a girlfriend or about money owed to them or about disrespect or Something Like that. We are able to cool them down and say, listen, this doesnt make sense and the event doesnt happen and retaliations dont happen. And the communes get safer. I have two quick questions in the time i have left. You have publicprivate partnerships or do you rely exclusively on money you get from Justice Department. Oh, no. The fund per city or country are variable. In new york city the funds are supplied by the city and the state. Baltimore, its federal government and also foundations. Chicago its been the state. And the Interamerican Development back, usaid, the world banks, others have funded the International Work so its been foundations and Robert Wood Johnson foundation has founds this Justice Department dish should say the Justice Department funded the independent evaluation of chicagos work. Okay. One last question. Is your program in milwaukee we got a big crime problem there. Were not working in milwaukee at this moment as but were in discussions with them. We have been asked to work with them. Who in milwaukee are you talking to . My staff know better. I believe its the Health Department and the trauma hospital centers. Okay. Let me know about that. I certainly will, sir. I will ask the gentlewoman from texas if she wishes a second round. If so she is recognized for five minutes. I would be delighted. Thank you for your accurate simple let me follow the chairmans lines and ask, are you in houston . No. So let me publicly extend an invitation for cure violence to visit and to have us pursue the opportunity. Be happy to. I thank you very much. Let me first of all thank colleagues that were here, chairman, and staff, and thank mr. Lew who had to tip out for another hearing, for his presence here. I want to pursue the line of questioning and make a comment. Thank you for your commitment to the accountability act capacity throws through a series of dollars that Law Enforcement can use in their work and its been very effective. So im not sure your area but make yourself familiar with it because we have modified it include cyber bullying, enter generalization and best practices. Captain, any resources to help you in your work with juveniles in would that be helpful to you from the federal government . It absolutely would were in desat some need to reach out to desperate need to reach out to the population and get on the social media about the dangers on the internet and how kids are being exploited. I want to work hard to get those resources with your member because i believer work should be both promoted and celebrated. Dr. Slutkin, let me ask you a technical question. Please explain the contagion affect as it pertains to braintobrain and how to reverse the impact, i. E. , trauma, anxiety, ptsd, and depression that has occurred in those subjected to regular royce rigorous violence and as you intervene and stop the dear brother mostly from going after x, y, z, does that dear brow cool off in front of you, circling around and catch x, y, z the next day . Thank you. The first part of this is how the contagion occurs. There are cortical neurons in our brain that pick up what we see other people do. This is true for all of us. Violence is especially picked because its so salient. And dope mean and pain pathaways allow to us uncon shousely copy and want to do what others are doing. Mom does what other moms are doing. No one in this room is smoking. Whereas we used to smoke. A third of us were spoking when i was in medical school watching angiograms but the norms have changed. The formed have changed, and now we can get to a person who is about to do use a gun and say, wait a second. What are you thinking and give him a different expectation. So, add on to the these processes, which are described in this book, the effects of trauma you have mentioned. The trauma causes people to be hyperreactive and think everything is against them. All of these things are reversible. In the sort team we short term we cool someone down, theyre on hot. The amygdala is hot. We let them go down to where they can listen to someone weapon validate their res and then reframe them so they can do this. The last question, we now then will stay with that person for six months to two years so he will not circle back tour, calls this babysitting or shadowing so the longterm effect on that person is a stick so he does not relapse, he and his frienders are managed so that they will no longer do this. You made a very point point earlier in your testimony saying people dont think about, im questioning to court, im going to threequarters im going to be incarcerated. Furthest from their mine. Do you think the leadership at the Justice Department let me just be generic. Leadership that wants to emphasize mandatory minimums, taking away prosecutorial discretion so that a judge, a prosecutor may say, this is juvenile it may be obviously a very unfortunate crime but the prosecutor may see another option. Do you think that kind of intervention is important because then you have the opportunity to deal with some of these healing factors youre talking about and a lot of it is braintobrain or emulating Something Else do you think that discretion is important and there is any val knew mandatory minimums . So just to reemphasize, we are completely apolitical. Were health people. I think that the punishment has really been overemphasized and its scientifically not really what is driving the causing of behavior or the changing of behavior. We have to reeducate ourselves how behaviors are actually formed and how theyre actually changed. So any discretion that allows alternatives where people who know how to do behavior change and that can help their person not identity. We see a rap sheet actually as a set on of treated seat of untreated moments that should have been managed in a different way to prevent these courses and theres plenty of data that shows even the highest risk people can be changed. I thank you the chairman for his indulgence and thank the witness for his testimony. This concludes todays hearing and were about ready to vote. Without objection, all members will have five legislative days to smidt written questions for the witnesses and additional materials for the word, and without objection the hearing is is adjourned. Thank you all. Thank you, mr. Chairman. [inaudible discussion] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] we didnt cut our way to surpluses in the 90s. We tax our way to the 9 odd. We had the Clinton Administration and gingrichled house, specifically the senate and the house which was in republicans hands came together to get welfare reform and spending restraint to keep spending flat while the economy grew and spending you think