Bureau Chief:
Assistant District Attorney
Mariela P. Herring
The Gang Violence and Hate Crimes Bureau handles a wide variety of cases that are very often inter-related. The Bureau’s mandate covers violent gang activity, hate crimes, school violence, graffiti and juvenile crimes.
The emergence of gangs styling themselves after Los Angeles's Bloods and Crips has cast the public spotlight on the problem of violent youth gangs. In one case alone, 22 members of these two groups were arrested in Queens and charged with narcotics violations. The arrests were a pro-active assault on the groups designed to nip the gangs in the bud. Much of the raw intelligence on gang activity used to pinpoint the defendants in the narcotics case was supplied by the District Attorney's Gang Violence and Hate Crimes Bureau.
The bureau has long specialized in the prosecution and detection of criminal activities committed by youth gang members, whether those crimes are non-violent acts such as graffiti writing or violent assaults. Gang-related criminal activity accounts for most of its caseload. The gathering of valuable intelligence about gangs and their activities is also a major component of the bureau's work and has led to the detection of trends in gang activities that can be helpful, not only to law enforcement, but to parents, school personnel and others.
One of the biggest trends discerned by gang specialists over the last several years is the increasing proliferation of gangs within schools. The Queens District Attorney's Office is the first prosecutor's office to centralize school violence cases into a specialized unit.
To combat the problem of gang activity and school violence, the Gang Violence and Hate Crimes Bureau has formed a close working relationship with the Division of School Safety of the New York City Police Department as well as with the New York City Police Department's Gang Intelligence Unit. When a gang member is arrested or a violent crime is committed in a school, the case is flagged to the Bureau and special efforts are made to enhance the prosecution.
Efforts are also made to educate the law enforcement community as well as the larger community about telltale signs of gang involvement. Every year the bureau and the NYPD's Gang Intelligence Unit sponsor a forum for over 300 law enforcement personnel at which intelligence and data on emerging gangs is exchanged. Bureau members are also active in speaking to community groups and school administrators about the problem and in exchanging information with precinct-based police officers.
In conducting its work, the bureau maintains a close relationship with the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force, which contacts the bureau whenever a bias-related crime is reported to the police. Assistants work with police as investigations of such incidents progress and provide needed legal support and guidance on investigative strategies.
The bureau has also established contacts with numerous diverse groups to assist in bias prevention efforts, including the New York City Commission of Human Rights.
Juvenile Prosecutions
Juvenile Prosecutions operates within the Gang Violence and Hate Crimes Bureau. The Juvenile Prosecutions Unit is responsible for investigating and prosecuting all juvenile offenders aged 14 and 15 years old who are charged with serious crimes and who are prosecuted as adults. Juvenile Prosecutions also works closely with Family Court which is an integral part of the Juvenile Justice System.
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