SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) For the first time in American history, 
more than one in every 100 adults is now incarcer-
ated in prison or jail. 
(2) The United States incarcerates more people 
than any other country in the world with more than 
2,200,000 people behind bars and another 5,000,000 
people on probation or parole. 
(3) The growing prison system is impacting 
every State, with total State spending on incarcer-
ation toppling $44,000,000,000 in 2007, up from 
$10,000,000,000 in 1987. 
(4) Prisons are the fourth-largest State budget 
item, behind, health, education, and transportation. 
(5) With increased prison costs, vital social pro-
grams and services such as education, job creation, 
housing, and healthcare are being cut or eliminated 
to maintain the prison industry. 
(6) From 1982 to 2005, direct expenditures for 
the judicial system increased by 474 percent, includ-
ing an increase of 619 percent for corrections, and 
an increase of 396 percent for police. These in-
creases resulted in hundreds of billions of dollars in 
government spending. 
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(7) Increased spending on the major criminal 
justice functions (including police, corrections, and 
judicial functions) has forced local governments to 
spend more of their general fund expenditures on 
corrections and incarceration. 
(8) The United States incarcerates more people 
than any other country in the world, including 
China, whose population is more than 4 times as 
large. As a result the United States expends large 
sums on corrections and incarceration, while gang 
prevention and intervention resources and program-
ming continue to be under funded. 
(9) The most recent data for national spending 
on juvenile justice is from 1994, and reveals that 
States spent $2,600,000,000 on juvenile justice ex-
penditures. State funded residential settings, such as 
detention 
centers, 
accounted 
for 
percent 
($1,690,000,000) of total juvenile justice expendi-
tures, while delinquency prevention accounted for 
only 8 percent ($208,000,000) of such juvenile jus-
tice expenditures. 
(10) According to the Office of Juvenile Justice 
and Delinquency Prevention, allowing 1 youth to 
leave school for a life of crime and drug abuse costs 
society $1,700,000 to $2,300,000, annually. 
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(11) The State of California leads the world in 
incarceration rates, with more than 175,000 people 
in State prisons and county jails. 
(12) The State of California spends nearly 
$10,000,000,000 a year on incarceration costs, ex-
ceeding the $7,100,000,000 the State spends to fund 
the University of California and California State 
University education systems. 
(13) Law enforcement agencies report that, 
compared to 20 years ago, there are now 6 times as 
many gangs and at least twice the number of gang 
members in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. 
(14) The City of Los Angeles has the largest 
number of alleged gangs and gang members in the 
world, with an estimated 700 gangs and 40,000 
gang members. 
(15) The County of Los Angeles allegedly has 
more than 1,076 gangs and more than 80,000 gang 
members. 
(16) California taxpayers now spend roughly 
$46,000 a year to incarcerate one adult and 
$252,000 a year to incarcerate one youth in State 
facilities. 
(17) Gang and youth violence substantially de-
creases when governments address the root causes of 
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gang violence and adequately fund community-based 
programs and practices. 
(18) Studies continue to prove that community- 
based gang intervention provides long-lasting, cost- 
effective results and opportunities for the youth and 
families most susceptible to gang violence. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 
Congress that, in developing a comprehensive violence re-
duction strategy, the United States must acknowledge and 
address larger, entrenched social conditions and issues 
such as poverty, homelessness, inadequate educational sys-
tems, and limited economic opportunities that give rise to 
gangs and gang violence. 
TITLE I—COMMUNITY-BASED 
GANG INTERVENTION AGENCIES 
SEC. 101. COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION AGEN-
CIES. 
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act 
of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new title: 
‘‘TITLE VI—COMMUNITY-BASED 
GANG INTERVENTION GRANTS 
‘‘SEC. 601. PURPOSE. 
‘‘The purpose of this title is to offer holistic and com-
prehensive understanding and support for the variety of 
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community-based gang intervention activities that focus 
on and engage active and former gang members, their 
close associates, and gang members in and returning from 
confinement. Gang involved youth and their families re-
quire specialized intensive and comprehensive services that 
address the unique issues encountered by youth when they 
become involved with gangs. Community-based gang inter-
vention involves proactive and reactive responses to gang 
activities on several levels, including— 
‘‘(1) the regional level, to promote and coordi-
nate peace truces and cease-fires between groups; 
‘‘(2) the State and local level, including commu-
nity and the juvenile halls, camps, Division of Juve-
nile Justice facilities, county jails, and State prisons; 
and 
‘‘(3) the neighborhood and street level, includ-
ing with active gang members individually. 
‘‘SEC. 602. SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTER-
VENTION AGENCIES. 
‘‘(a) SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTER-
VENTION AGENCIES.—Subject to the availability of appro-
priations, the Administrator shall award grant to eligible 
entities to carry out the activities described in subsection 
(c). 
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