House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Subscribe to receive notifications of new Co-Sponsorship Memos circulated

House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted:	September 30, 2024 09:33 AM
From:	Representative Craig Williams
To:	All House members
Subject:	Stopping Violent Crime

No one should live in fear of violence, or amid the constant stress and anxiety that an increasingly lawless society creates. But in the past four years, we all have witnessed increasing levels of crime throughout our Commonwealth. Providing for the public’s safety has to be a core function of government. That’s why we are proposing a package of bills targeted at preventing, policing, prosecuting and punishing the most serious, most violent offenders in our state to restore law and order to our communities.
Our constituents describe to us their fear and anxiety about violence, crime, and lawlessness. We believe much of this eroding social order is driven by a relatively small number of hardened criminals. That’s why our bills will be targeted at the gang members, career criminals, and other dangerous offenders who demonstrate disdain for ordered society.
To restore law and order, our plan works in all four stages of law enforcement: Prevention, Policing, Prosecution, and Punishment.

Prevention: Stopping or deterring crime through direct community involvement in law enforcement.
Policing: Equipping trained law enforcement with tools to identify and combat career criminals and street gangs.
Prosecution: Concentrating prosecution toward the worst, most demonstrably violent offenders and supervising those dangerous career criminals who may be more likely to reoffend upon eventual release.
Punishment: Creating uniformity in punishments across the state while guaranteeing that each victim receives the dignity of having their offender serve an independent sentence for their crime.

The progressive approach to crime we have seen for the past several years simply does not work. If progressive politicians are not undermining and defunding the police, then progressive prosecutors are not really prosecuting criminals. Stopping violent crime is one of the most important, fundamental issues facing our state. Please join us in sponsoring these bills to restore basic law and order to Pennsylvania.

Document #1

Description:	Prevention (Rep. C. Williams) Promote and coordinate community “Crime Stopper” programs. “Crime stopper” programs are operating in many, but not all, counties of Pennsylvania.These programs seek community tips to solve crimes.These programs can be particularly effective when not operated by law enforcement itself, but by an independent non-profit organization.This is because some tipsters do not want to be personally involved for fear of community retaliation, but still want to see crimes solved.Operating from an independent entity can provide assurances to tipsters that their identities will not be disclosed to law enforcement. This bill will establish an advisory committee at PCCD to promote the organization and operation of non-profit crime stopper programs, identify and direct funding for rewards, and share best practices across the state for all of the programs to benefit.

Document #2

Description:	Prevention 2. (Rep. Gaydos) Authorize neighborhood watch programs. Communities can organize their own neighborhood watch programs, with the support and assistance of local law enforcement. This bill will create a framework for neighborhood watch programs that will assist participants by connecting them with basic training in what behavior to report to law enforcement, how to avoid bias, and safety measures participants can take. This bill can also provide limited civil immunity to participants who act in good faith.

Document #3

Description:	Investigation (Rep. Rigby) Establish an organized crime/street gang database and participation with other jurisdictions operating similar databases. Gangs throughout Pennsylvania are involved in numerous criminal enterprises, including drug distribution, human trafficking, and more. Gangs' use of violence to control neighborhoods and the criminal activities they engage in, such as drug trafficking and extortion, contribute to the fear and instability in affected communities. This bill will add another tool for law enforcement in combating gang activity by creating a statewide database to track gang activity and membership to be used to prevent, investigate, and solve crimes.

Document #4

Description:	Investigation 2.(Rep. Rigby) Call for entry into interstate compact to share organized crime/street gang information. Numerous other states (and the federal Department of Justice) operate versions of organized crime/street gang databases, but information sharing among states is not uniform. This resolution will call on the Governor to negotiate an interstate compact with other states operating similar databases to require information sharing, and also to provide standards governing the use of information within the databases.

Document #5

Description:	Investigation 3. (Rep. Owlett) Create a new criminal offense of wearing disguise designed to avoid apprehension. Using a mask while committing a crime has long been a tool for avoiding apprehension, but since the normalization of face-concealing masks during COVID this tactic has become commonplace among criminals.This bill will create a specific offense to address this behavior.

Memo Updated: September 30, 2024 09:34 AM