The state senator for the Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex district, who represents parts of East Somerville, announced Feb. 1 at a State House press conference his program to combat gang violence.

“No one in Massachusetts should ever feel afraid to walk down their street or play in their neighborhood park,” said State Sen. Jarret T. Barrios, D-Somerville, who is the chairman of the public safety and homeland security committee.
“It’s time for a revitalized statewide focus on putting a stop to gang violence that threatens the safety of our neighborhoods,” he said.
Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, who said he supported the senator’s efforts, stood with Barrios in his capacity as a member of the Metro Mayors Coalition, a group of chief executives from Chelsea, Everett, Cambridge, Revere, Medford, Melrose, Boston, Quincy and Somerville.
“I want to acknowledge the tremendous work that’s been done by Senator Barrios,” the mayor said.
“Not only with this legislation but the hearings he held last year and all the work he’s done to bring together people with sometimes divergent views on this issue and to develop enough of a consensus to move forward,” he said.
The senator said after a summer marred by increases in gang violence and the attempted shooting of a gang witness in New Bedford last week, he was joining prosecutors, police and community leaders in unveiling an anti-gang initiative that calls for a renewed statewide effort to strengthen criminal penalties for gang-related activity and more resources to support community outreach to at-risk youth.
His anti-gang initiative, which is laid out in a 22-page report calls for the legislature and governor to strengthen witness protection and gun laws, boost community policing in affected areas, and direct resources to encourage community partnerships between law enforcement and neighborhoods, Barrios said.
The program was developed by Barrios after he spent the last year meeting with law enforcement and community leaders about increases in gang violence, he said.
Barrios said the initiative was praised by urban mayors, prosecuters, and community groups who said it focuses as much on keeping at-risk youth off the streets and out of trouble as it does on giving law enforcement more tools to fight gang violence.
“The battle against gang violence must be a combination of prosecution, protection and prevention, and we need our policy makers to support this multifaceted approach,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley.
“I commend Senator Barrios for researching this critical issue and crafting a proactive blueprint that targets gun offenders, protects witnesses, and diverts children from lives of guns and gangs. I join the senator in urging statewide support of this initiative,” Conley said.
The report specifically calls for the state to move forward on three separate tracks of prosecution, policing and prevention:
o Stronger Prosecution: The report calls for responding to new tactics used by criminals and violent gang members by strengthening victim and witness protection laws and establishing a statewide witness protection program.
o Targeted Policing: The report calls for strengthening penalties up to five years in prison for illegal gun trafficking and illegal possession of a loaded firearm, restoring Community Policing Grants to put police officers back on the streets in gang-impacted cities, and eliminating a backlog in the state’s database tracking guns used in crimes.

o Prevention: The report calls for the creation of a statewide competitive grant program for projects which feature partnerships between local law enforcement and community-based anti-violence organizations seeking to stem gang violence through community partnerships, summer employment, youth leadership development and other activities.
“The key ingredient to successful prevention and intervention is trust between the young person and the adult,” said Angie Rodriguez, Outreach Coordinator at Roca, Inc. which serves at-risk youth in Chelsea, East Boston, Revere and Lynn.
“That starts when the young person knows you are meeting them where they’re at, and you respect them as an individual with potential. Once that trust is established and continues – no matter how rocky the road gets – change is under way. This is when the young person starts holding themselves responsible and starts taking charge of their own life,” she said.
In September, the legislature’s joint committee on public safety held a day-long State House hearing to investigate the state’s response to youth violence and a startling statewide increase in gang-related crimes, Barrios said.
Twenty-one state and local law enforcement officials, community leaders and youth outreach workers testified that more funding and resources need to be provided to anti-gang efforts, he said.
Barrios and State Rep. Stephen Canessa, D-New Bedford, have also filed a companion anti-gang bill based on parts of the report’s recommendations, he said.
The bill would establish a witness protection program, strengthen criminal penalties, and include stay-away orders as a condition of bail in gang-related cases, he said.
Curtatone said, “All of us involved in the coalition have been working for the past year on a set of youth proposals, many of which are included in Senator Barrios’ legislation.”
The mayor said, “All of us share a common goal: to take gangs off our streets.”
Barrios said the committee’s report, entitled “Reducing Gang Violence in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts” can be downloaded in its entirety at www.barrios.org