Posted on: Wednesday, May 15, 2002

Team effort gets tough with gun violations

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Federal and local law enforcement agencies yesterday announced a team effort to crack down on gun violence in the state.

The goal of Project Safe Neighborhoods is to prosecute people who use a gun in the commission of a crime, as well as felons who possess a weapon, U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said. The program involves federal, state and county prosecutors, police on all islands, and the federal Bureau for Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

"Through this joint partnership, it will be our goal to aggressively remove more of firearm and drug offenders from our neighborhoods, while making these areas safe for our families," Kubo said.

President Bush has authorized $533 million for efforts to reduce gun violence over the next two years. The money will be used to hire more prosecutors and investigators and to promote community outreach.

Honolulu police estimate that more than 1 million guns are registered on O'ahu. One out of every 10 violent crimes in Hawai'i is committed with a gun, Kubo said.

Kubo said the federal government will target people who have demonstrated violence, repeat offenders, illegal aliens and individuals involved in drug trafficking. Emphasis also will be placed on domestic violence offenders, who would face up to 10 years in federal prison if they are caught with a weapon.

Project Safe Neighborhoods will familiarize local authorities with federal laws on gun crimes and sentencing, said ATF spokeswoman April Carroll. Officials on the state and federal levels will confer to determine which agency should prosecute a case.

"In general, although the state firearms laws are very good and somewhat similar to the federal firearms laws, the sentencing is very different in most cases," Carroll said.

A person found guilty of a gun violation on the state level, she said, could receive probation but there is no parole on the federal level.

"They'll look at each case in the scenario of a repeat offender or the particular use of a firearm in a violent crime and look to the federal system for those stiffer sentences to remove those criminals from the street," Carroll said.

Kubo said the project will complement the state's Weed and Seed program, which focuses on drugs and drug-related crimes in communities.