Break the Cycle of Violence Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2671 To build safer, thriving communities, and save lives by investing in effective violence reduction initiatives. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 23, 2019 Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To build safer, thriving communities, and save lives by investing in effective violence reduction initiatives. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Break the Cycle of 4 Violence Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Gun violence is a significant public health 8 and safety concern nationwide and is a leading cause 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2671.IS S2671 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2671 IS of death for people in the United States of nearly all 1 ages. 2 (2) From 2012 to 2017, over 105,000 people in 3 the United States were murdered. Nearly 3⁄4 of these 4 victims were murdered with a gun. Hundreds of 5 thousands more were hospitalized or treated in 6 emergency departments after surviving life-changing 7 gunshot injuries. 8 (3) Gun violence has sharply increased in the 9 United States in recent years. Gun homicide rates 10 spiked by 30 percent between 2014 and 2017, driven 11 by large spikes in violence in some cities in the 12 United States. 13 (4) Shootings, homicides, and group-related vio- 14 lence are disproportionately concentrated in the 15 poorest and most segregated urban areas of the Na- 16 tion, and have an enormously disproportionate im- 17 pact on young people of color in particular. From 18 2012 to 2017, African-American children and teens 19 were 14 times as likely to be shot to death as their 20 White peers. Hispanic children and teens and Native 21 American children and teens were both nearly 3 22 times as likely to be shot to death as their White 23 peers. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2671.IS S2671 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2671 IS (5) African-American men make up just 6 per- 1 cent of the population in the United States, but ac- 2 count for more than 50 percent of all gun homicide 3 victims each year. 4 (6) Violence is responsible for half of all deaths 5 among young African-American men, ages 15 6 through 24, as many as every other cause of death 7 combined. 8 (7) This violence imposes enormous human, so- 9 cial, and economic costs. Nationwide, the annual so- 10 cietal cost of firearm violence was estimated at 11 $229,000,000,000 per year in 2012. Economists es- 12 timate that each firearm homicide generates hun- 13 dreds of thousands of dollars in direct public costs, 14 including medical care and criminal justice expenses. 15 (8) Several evidence-based violence intervention 16 strategies have demonstrated remarkable success at 17 interrupting entrenched cycles of violence, victimiza- 18 tion, and retaliation. These strategies reflect the im- 19 portant fact that in most cities, the vast majority of 20 violence is perpetrated by a relatively small number 21 of identifiable groups or individuals that comprise 22 less than 0.5 percent of the city’s total population. 23 (9) When properly implemented and consist- 24 ently funded, coordinated, evidence-based strategies 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2671.IS S2671 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2671 IS focused on interrupting cycles of violence among in- 1 dividuals at highest risk can produce life-saving and 2 cost-saving results in a short period of time without 3 contributing to mass incarceration. Multiple cities 4 have substantially reduced community violence in re- 5 cent years by implementing such strategies, includ- 6 ing the following: 7 (A) Hospital-based violence intervention 8 programs (referred to in this section as 9 ‘‘HVIP’’), which work to break cycles of vio- 10 lence by providing intensive counseling, peer 11 support, case management, mediation, and so- 12 cial services to patients recovering from gunshot 13 wounds and other violent injuries. Research has 14 shown that violently injured patients are at 15 high risk of retaliating with violence themselves 16 and being revictimized by violence in the near 17 future. Evaluations of HVIPs have found that 18 patients who received HVIP services were 4 19 times less likely to be convicted of a violent 20 crime and roughly 4 times less likely to be sub- 21 sequently reinjured by violence than patients 22 who did not receive HVIP services. 23 (B) Evidence-based street outreach pro- 24 grams, which treat gun violence as a commu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2671.IS S2671 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2671 IS nicable disease and work to interrupt its trans- 1 mission among community members. These 2 public health-centered initiatives use street out- 3 reach workers to build relationships with high- 4 risk individuals in their communities and con- 5 nect them with intensive counseling, mediation, 6 peer support, and social services in order to re- 7 duce their risk of violence. Evaluations have 8 found that these programs are associated with 9 significant reductions in gun violence, with 10 some sites reporting up to 70-percent reduc- 11 tions in homicides or assaults. 12 (C) Strategies, including group violence 13 interventions (referred to in this section as 14 ‘‘GVI’’), which are a form of problem-oriented 15 policing that provides targeted social services 16 and support to individuals at highest risk for 17 involvement in community violence, and a proc- 18 ess for community members to voice a clear de- 19 mand for the violence to stop. This approach 20 coordinates law enforcement, service providers, 21 and community engagement efforts to reduce 22 violence among a small, identifiable segment of 23 the population that is responsible for the vast 24 majority of gun violence in most cities. In one 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2671.IS S2671 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2671 IS evaluation of the GVI program in Boston, re- 1 searchers found a 63-percent reduction in youth 2 homicides and a 25-percent decline in monthly 3 gun assaults across the city. Other studies have 4 found that GVI programs were associated with 5 homicide reductions of up to 60 percent. 6 (10) These strategies are often most effective 7 when local officials and dedicated staff work to co- 8 ordinate stakeholders, relevant public agencies, and 9 service providers. Mayors in cities like Los Angeles 10 and New York have established city departments 11 that are primarily dedicated to violence prevention, 12 and their offices have played a critical role in ensur- 13 ing cross-agency collaboration and information shar- 14 ing. 15 (11) These strategies are also most effective 16 when they receive consistent funding. For example, 17 large cuts in funding for violence prevention pro- 18 grams in Chicago in 2008, 2012, and 2015 through 19 2016 corresponded with large spikes in homicides in 20 those years. Similarly, the city of Stockton, Cali- 21 fornia, saw an increase in homicides after dis- 22 continuing funding for its highly successful GVI pro- 23 gram. When Stockton’s funding was restored, homi- 24 cides decreased. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2671.IS S2671 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2671 IS (12) A national strategy for reducing gun vio- 1 lence must include substantial and targeted Federal 2 funding to expand and replicate the most effective 3 strategies in communities most impacted by violence. 4 (13) At present, however, these strategies are 5 implemented in only a handful of cities and are 6 funded through an unreliable patchwork of discre- 7 tionary grant programs. The current level of Federal 8 funding to support the scaling of these strategies is 9 woefully inadequate. 10 (14) Intentional and sustained investments in 11 evidence-based violence reduction strategies can re- 12 verse recent crime trends, help to heal impacted 13 communities, and reduce the enormous human and 14 financial costs of violence, without contributing to 15 mass incarceration. 16 SEC. 3. COMMUNITY-BASED VIOLENCE INTERVENTION 17 PROGRAM GRANTS. 18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 19 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 20 the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance. 21 (2) ELIGIBLE UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 22 The term ‘‘eligible unit of local government’’ means 23 a unit of local government that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2671.IS S2671 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2671 IS (A) for not less frequently than 2 out of 1 the 3 years preceding the grant application, ex- 2 perienced 20 or more homicides per year and 3 had a homicide rate that was not less than dou- 4 ble the national average; or 5 (B) demonstrates a unique and compelling 6 need for additional resources to address gun 7 and group-related violence within the commu- 8 nity of the unit of local government. 9 (b) GRANTS.—The Director shall award Community- 10 Based Violence Intervention Program grants to support, 11 enhance, and replicate coordinated violence reduction ini- 12 tiatives in units of local government that are dispropor- 13 tionately impacted by gun and group-related violence. 14 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—The Director shall award grants 15 under this section on a competitive basis to— 16 (1) eligible units of local government; and 17 (2) community-based organizations that serve 18 the residents of an eligible unit of local government. 19 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A grant awarded under this 21 section shall be used to implement coordinated vio- 22 lence reduction initiatives, through strategies such 23 as hospital-based violence intervention, evidence- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2671.IS S2671 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2671 IS based street outreach, and group violence interven- 1 tion. 2 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—A coordinated violence 3 reduction initiative implemented using grant funds 4 awarded under this section shall— 5 (A) be primarily focused on providing com- 6 munity-based violence intervention services to 7 the small portion of a grantee’s community who 8 are, regardless of age, identified as having the 9 highest risk of perpetrating or being victimized 10 by gun or group-related violence in the near fu- 11 ture; and 12 (B) use strategies that are evidence-based 13 and have demonstrated effectiveness at reduc- 14 ing violence. 15 (e) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Each applicant 16 for a grant under this section shall submit a grant pro- 17 posal, which shall, at a minimum— 18 (1) describe how the applicant proposes to use 19 the grant to implement a coordinated violence reduc- 20 tion initiative in accordance with this section; 21 (2) describe how the applicant proposes to use 22 the grant to promote or improve coordination be- 23 tween relevant agencies and community organiza- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2671.IS S2671 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2671 IS tions in order to minimize duplication of services 1 and achieve maximum impact; 2 (3) provide evidence indicating that the pro- 3 posed violence reduction initiative would likely re- 4 duce gun and group-related violence; and 5 (4) in the case of a unit of local government ap- 6 plicant, demonstrate strong support within the unit 7 of local government for the proposed violence reduc- 8 tion initiative, such as letters of support from— 9 (A) the mayor or chief executive officer; 10 (B) the chief of police; 11 (C) the local health department director; 12 and 13 (D) the director of one or more commu- 14 nity-based organizations that provide services to 15 individuals at high risk of violence in the area. 16 (f) PRIORITIZATION.—In awarding grants under this 17 section, the Director shall give preference to applicants 18 whose grant proposals demonstrate the greatest likelihood 19 of reducing gun and group-related violence in the commu- 20 nity of the applicant without contributing to mass incar- 21 ceration. 22 (g) GRANT DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 23 section shall be for a 5-year period. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2671.IS S2671 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2671 IS (h) GRANT AWARD.—The amount of funds awarded 1 to an applicant under this section shall be commensurate 2 with the scope of the proposal of the applicant and the 3 demonstrated need for additional resources to effectively 4 reduce gun and group-related violence in the community 5 of the applicant. 6 (i) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIRED.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 8 graphs (2) and (3), the Federal share of each grant 9 awarded under this section shall be 75 percent of 10 the eligible costs incurred by the grant recipient. 11 (2) EXEMPTION FROM REQUIREMENT.—Para- 12 graph (1) shall not apply to a grant awarded to 13 community-based organization under subsection 14 (c)(2). 15 (3) WAIVER.—The Federal share of a grant 16 awarded to a unit of local government under sub- 17 section (c)(1) may be up to 100 percent if the Direc- 18 tor determines there is good cause to waive the Fed- 19 eral share requirement in paragraph (1) of this sub- 20 section. 21 (j) COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS.—Each unit of local 22 government awarded a grant under this section shall dis- 23 tribute not less than 50 percent of the grant funds re- 24 ceived under this section to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2671.IS S2671 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2671 IS (1) one or more community-based organizations 1 that provide services to individuals at high risk of 2 perpetrating or being victimized by violence; or 3 (2) a public agency or department that is not 4 a law enforcement agency, but that is an agency or 5 department primarily dedicated to the prevention of 6 violence or community safety. 7 (k) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 8 on which [Text truncated for display. 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