Gov. Glenn Youngkin is taking steps to confront the growing issue of gang violence across the Commonwealth.
He has signed Executive Order 41, establishing a statewide gang and community violence prevention partnership and enforcement strategy. With it, the Youngkin Administration hopes to address gang violence, drug trafficking, human trafficking and gun violence, all while providing support to communities and victims.
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“We are committed to combatting gang recruitment and ending the rise of gang violence across this great Commonwealth and today we are taking all our efforts to combat gangs and gang violence to a whole new level,” said Youngkin. “While we’ve made incredible strides in crime reduction through our Operation Bold Blue Line, Operation Free Virginia, and Operation Ceasefire, we are focused on gang activity prevention because it is a significant contributor to criminal activity across the Commonwealth.”
Law enforcement agencies are currently combating more than 650 identified criminal street gangs and criminal organizations. According to a press release released from the governor’s office, the executive order will:
- Establish a centralized repository for gang-related data, create a gang intelligence task force
- Bolster anti-gang awareness and youth prevention strategies
- Deter criminal gang activity through criminal justice personnel training, enhanced prosecution and investigations
It will also complement other law enforcement coordination initiatives, including Operation Bold Blue Line, Operation Free Virginia and Operation Ceasefire.
“Since these initiatives began, there has been a 34% decrease in murders and a 12% decrease in violent crimes in participating cities,” the press release said. “Combined with Operation Free Virginia, these initiatives have helped remove over 2000 pounds of illegal narcotics that would have a street value of $2.143 billion, including approximately 415 pounds of fentanyl.”
