'Anti-Gang' Bill Heads to Full House to Expand Policing Powers
JACKSON — Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, called the "Mississippi Anti-Gang Act" one of the most significant pieces of legislation the Legislature could pass in 2018. The bill would make "criminal gang activity" a separate offense from any underlying misdemeanor or felony a person is accused of if prosecutors can prove they are gang members.
The new act, a version of an expanded "gang" law that failed last session, would make it easier for law enforcement and prosecutors to label a suspect as a gang member and less challenging to prove he or she is part of a larger conspiracy, thus drawing additional prison times tacked on to time served for specific crimes they might commit. Law enforcement often use the controversial threat of additional charges and prison time as a way to get suspected gang members to testify against other ones.
Jimmy Anthony, a regional vice president of the Mississippi Association of Gang Investigators who has been lobbying for the expanded gang law for at least two sessions now, told lawmakers that gangs are active in all 82 counties in Mississippi.
"The biggest concern we have is how the adult gang members are using our children to commit these crimes because of the opportunity for lesser sentencing, and of course, the older gang members themselves are benefitting," Anthony told the House Judiciary B Committee this morning.
Read more: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2018/jan/26/anti-gang-bill-heads-full-house-expand-policing-po/
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