ANTI-CRIME HYSTERIA IN THE U.S. CONGRESS

Our Opinion: 'Gangbuster' Bill No Way to Fight Gang-Related Crime Wave

It was all too predictable that some members of Congress would respond
to the menace of immigrant gangs in the United States with
headline-grabbing legislation that does little to cure the problem but
looks good in a campaign ad. We refer to the so-called ''Gangbusters''
legislation, HR 1279, approved yesterday in the House of
Representatives, that will almost surely increase prison populations
and the cost of crime-fighting without reducing gang-related crimes.

The bill includes a host of odious provisions. For example, it would
allow 16- and 17-year-olds to be transferred to adult court without
judicial review, and imposes mandatory-minimum sentences regardless of
circumstances. One opponent, U.S. Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-Va.,
characterized this as ``10-year mandatory minimums for second-offense
fist fights.''

Granted, gang members commit far more heinous crimes than fist fights,
but the point is that mandatory minimums have a dragnet effect that
sweeps away both the worst offenders and those with less culpability.
''Adult time for adult crime'' makes for a great slogan. Yet sending
teens to mix with hardened cons is more likely to turn young men into
repeat offenders than if they had been dealt with in the
juvenile-justice system.

The legislation federalizes street crime -- long the province of state
and local police -- and also pays local law-enforcement officers for
routine activities they already perform. ''It's better that it stays
state law -- that's the true conservative position,'' said Rep. Robert
Inglis, R-S.C. Alas, he was the only Republican to vote against the
bill when it was approved in committee.

Opponents believe that this punitive legislation is unneeded, given
anti-Mafia statutes and other laws targeting organized crime. When
egregious offenders are sentenced, prosecutors and judges already have
access to severe penalties. Passage of this bill would ensure only
that less serious offenders receive the same harsh treatment.

In many ways, the legislation mirrors the errors of the anti-drug laws
that increased sentencing and clogged prisons and court dockets
without reducing the actual menace of drugs. Worse, debate in the
House on Wednesday contained an offensive tone that combined
xenophobia with anti-crime hysteria. GOP Rep. Steve King of Iowa,
noting the Hispanic make-up of many gangs, claimed they were
destroying neighborhoods.

``People that cut off hands and arms and heads . . . that's what this
culture has fostered.''

We can only hope that a Senate version combining tough anti-gang
measures with new funding for crime-prevention programs leads to a
more-acceptable compromise bill.

In the end, better policing and better community programs are more
likely to reduce gang crimes than popular slogans.