Gov. Gregoire applauds statewide drop in crime rate

For Immediate Release: May 21, 2008

Governor commends law enforcement at Yakima conference

YAKIMA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today commended the work of law enforcement and peace officers in reducing Washington�s crime rates in 2007 and urged continued statewide efforts to ensure safe communities.

�Public safety is not the job of a few�but of all of us,� said Gregoire, speaking at the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) spring conference in Yakima. �Those in the uniforms are the leaders, but they can�t do it alone. It takes the buy-in of communities, legislators, local governments, state government and the federal government to truly protect Washingtonians.�

Violent crimes were down two percent statewide last year compared with 2006, and property crimes dropped nearly nine percent, according to WASPC�s preliminary crime rate index report for 2007.

Gregoire encouraged continued statewide collaboration and investment on two key public safety issues: gang activity and registered sex offenders.

Gregoire supported state funding this year to create a new online sex offender registry that links all county registries and the state Web site. When launched, the statewide system will ensure Washingtonians have more accurate and timely information about registered sex offenders. The system also will automatically send notices to victims and others in the community through mail and e-mail when a registered sex offender moves into the community.

For the first time, state government is providing local law enforcement funding to conduct in person address verification for every registered sex offender in the state.

In March, Gregoire signed comprehensive gang legislation that sets out community involvement and prevention efforts and:

• Provides funding to WASPC to set up grant programs to fund local law enforcement activities and community graffiti and tagging abatement programs. As part of any grants proposal there will be a community prevention plan;



• Establishes a gang database to help law enforcement in tracking gang activity statewide;



• Creates a new category of crime to punish adults who involve juveniles in a felony offense, and makes any crime that is committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang subject to a sentencing enhancement;



• Imposes a term of community custody upon release from incarceration for any gang member who commits a crime involving a firearm;



• Creates a category of crime that targets criminal street gang tagging and graffiti;



• Allows the state Department of Community Trade and Economic Development to establish a witness assistance program in criminal street gang trials; and



• Directs the state Department of Corrections to study and establish best practices to reduce gang involvement and recruitment among offenders.




�We need to work with communities to intervene to prevent kids from joining gangs in the first place, or help them leave gangs if they�re already in them,� Gregoire said.



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