December 1, 1998

QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY RICHARD A. BROWN WELCOMES 350 LAW ENFORCERS TO FIFTH ANNUAL YOUTH GANG CONFERENCE

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown today welcomed over 350 law enforcement professionals to the Fifth Annual Youth Gang Conference co-hosted by the Queens District Attorney's Office, the New York City Police Department, the Middle Atlantic Great Lakes Organized Crime Law Enforcement Network and the East Coast Gang Investigators Association.

District Attorney Brown said, "The Annual Youth Gang Conference brings together law enforcement professionals from across the county including some of the nation's top experts in the area of youth gang crime to exchange information and discuss strategies aimed at eliminating youth gang violence."

Noting that while crime in Queens County, as well as across the New York metropolitan area, has declined significantly in every major crime category, District Attorney Brown said that, "One type of criminal activity continues to rise -- particularly in our schools -- gang related crime. And that is a matter of continuing concern to us."

The District Attorney said that, "The law enforcement community has been aggressively responding to the problem of gang violence and has developed a widening pool of intelligence with respect to gang-related criminal activity. We have expended substantial resources through the enhancement of our Intelligence Units and the City-wide Anti-Gang Enforcement Unit. The Division of School Safety has also focused on the problem of gang proliferation in an around our schools through its Gang Unit and through increased security measures".

District Attorney Brown continued, "My office -- as well as other prosecutor's offices -- have augmented their capacity to combat gang related crime by assigning prosecutors around the clock to respond to gang-related crimes and to provide assistance whenever and wherever needed. We have been successful in targeting violent gang cases and obtaining substantial state sentences for violent gang criminals. In addition, we have adopted a pro-active stance along with the NYPD's Intelligence Unit and Cage Unit by aggressively interrogating gang members upon their arrest and cultivating informants who have provided us with valuable information resulting in numerous search warrants, seizures and arrests. And, while we've met with considerable success in fighting gang-related crime, it is clear that if we are to continue to enjoy that success and make further inroads into the youth gang problem, we must share our knowledge and our experience and our expertise. We are winning the battle against the gangs, but the war is still raging and this is no time to rest. This annual conference, which has expanded and grown over the years, has proved to be an invaluable resource in the battle against the gangs."

The Fifth Annual Youth Gang Conference will take place over the next two days at the Holiday Inn at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Lectures and discussions on the following topics are scheduled: National Gang Trends, Youth Gangs and School Security, Interview and Interrogation Techniques, Successful Strategies in Gang Prosecutions and individual seminars on the Almighty Latin Kings and Queens Nation Asian Gangs, Bloods and Crips, MS 13 Gangs and Five Percenters, among others.