The House of Representative’s 2007 spending bill for the Justice Department contains $2.5 million in federal funds for the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force.
The money was earmarked by Rep. Frank Wolfe, R-Va. The lawmaker has championed the task force in Congress, working to get federal funding for it each appropriations season since its creation in 2003.
“Everyone involved with these task forces, from the police officers on the street to the intervention workers in the community, are doing an outstanding job, working across jurisdictional boundaries on a daily basis,” Wolfe said.
“They are making progress in dealing with this problem and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude.”
The task force is comprised of officers from the cities of Alexandria, Manassas and Manassas Park, the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William, and the towns of Herndon and Leesburg. Officers from these localities work with federal and state law enforcement officials to reduce gang crimes.
The task force has had success. Since its creation in 2004, gang-related crimes are down slightly, according to crime records.
Also included in the bill is $40 million in grants for other localities to establish gang prevention programs with federal law enforcement agencies.
Though the House has passed the spending bill, the Senate has not yet taken action on it. This funding could be eliminated as the two houses meet to come up with a final bill.
