Jason Demond
New member
Budget wrangling delays the launch of gun-crime project here
$784,000 for program is held up as legislators argue over other issues
By Gretchen Schuldt
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Last Updated: Sept. 11, 1999
The state budget battle in Madison has delayed the starting gun for Operation Ceasefire, a proposed Milwaukee-area crackdown on criminals who use guns, officials say.
"I don't think anybody thought we'd be sitting here in September waiting for a budget that was supposed to be done by July 1," U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Schneider said.
The proposed crackdown, which would include a special task force to arrest criminals who use guns and six new prosecutors to ensure they get maximum prison terms, was announced in April with bipartisan support and the backing of law enforcement officials.
Operation Ceasefire is patterned in part after the Project Exile program in Richmond, Va.
About $784,000 to fund the program is included in the proposed state budget, which is going nowhere because of disputes on other issues, officials say.
The bulk of the Operation Ceasefire money is to pay for six new assistant district attorneys to prosecute gun cases. Two of the lawyers are to be sworn in as special assistant U.S. attorneys so they also can work in federal court.
"Obviously, Operation Ceasefire is just one of a number of initiatives being held up by the stalemate," said state Sen. Brian Burke (D-Milwaukee), co-chairman of the Joint Finance Committee. "It's frustrating because most of these initiatives . . . have overwhelming bipartisan support."
Operation Ceasefire funding "is on hold with a lot of non-controversial items in the budget," said Steve Baas, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen (R-Town of Brookfield).
"The bad news is, we're stuck" in the budget process, he said. "The good news is, nobody's taken potshots at the proposal."
Under Operation Ceasefire, more people who commit crimes with guns would be prosecuted federally for being a felon in possession of a firearm. That crime carries just a two-year prison sentence in state court, but can bring much more prison time if the offender is prosecuted on the federal level. Also, there is no parole in the federal system.
The number of gun offenders in the Milwaukee area referred to federal court to be prosecuted for being felons in possession of firearms is expected to increase from about a dozen a year to about 80.
In addition, the district attorney's office would toughen sentencing recommendations in gun cases prosecuted on the state level.
District Attorney E. Michael McCann said his office already is recommending jail terms even for first-time gun offenders. However, he added, full implementation of the program by his office depends on getting the resources that Operation Ceasefire will provide.
In addition to focusing on street criminals who use guns, McCann said, "We will focus on what the supply is. It will be non-traditional prosecution. They won't just be prosecutors in court. There will be prosecutors in federal court, there will be prosecutors in state court, but we will also be using this to aggressively, proactively go after the people who are providing firearms to kids, to young people.
"I'm really hoping that because these are predominantly young men being slain, if they can just get by a few more years, they'll live," he said.
Besides the multiagency task force and the prosecutors, Operation Ceasefire is to include a public information campaign to drive home the message that crimes with guns bring long prison sentences.
Richmond's experience showed the public information campaign is an important part of the entire effort, McCann said.
Schneider said officials already are working to put together a media advisory committee to assist with the public information campaign. He said he also is meeting regularly with other law enforcement officials, including McCann and Mark Murray, chief of the local office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, to plan for the day Operation Ceasefire can be launched.
"We aren't just sitting back and waiting for the budget to be passed," he said.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/sep99/exilsid12091199a.asp
------------------
ACCEPT NOTHING LESS THAN FULL VICTORY!"
General Dwight D. Eisenhower-- June 6,1944
------------------------
http://www.homestead.com/gunrights/Guns_and_Gunrights.html
ICQ no. 46780559
$784,000 for program is held up as legislators argue over other issues
By Gretchen Schuldt
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Last Updated: Sept. 11, 1999
The state budget battle in Madison has delayed the starting gun for Operation Ceasefire, a proposed Milwaukee-area crackdown on criminals who use guns, officials say.
"I don't think anybody thought we'd be sitting here in September waiting for a budget that was supposed to be done by July 1," U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Schneider said.
The proposed crackdown, which would include a special task force to arrest criminals who use guns and six new prosecutors to ensure they get maximum prison terms, was announced in April with bipartisan support and the backing of law enforcement officials.
Operation Ceasefire is patterned in part after the Project Exile program in Richmond, Va.
About $784,000 to fund the program is included in the proposed state budget, which is going nowhere because of disputes on other issues, officials say.
The bulk of the Operation Ceasefire money is to pay for six new assistant district attorneys to prosecute gun cases. Two of the lawyers are to be sworn in as special assistant U.S. attorneys so they also can work in federal court.
"Obviously, Operation Ceasefire is just one of a number of initiatives being held up by the stalemate," said state Sen. Brian Burke (D-Milwaukee), co-chairman of the Joint Finance Committee. "It's frustrating because most of these initiatives . . . have overwhelming bipartisan support."
Operation Ceasefire funding "is on hold with a lot of non-controversial items in the budget," said Steve Baas, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen (R-Town of Brookfield).
"The bad news is, we're stuck" in the budget process, he said. "The good news is, nobody's taken potshots at the proposal."
Under Operation Ceasefire, more people who commit crimes with guns would be prosecuted federally for being a felon in possession of a firearm. That crime carries just a two-year prison sentence in state court, but can bring much more prison time if the offender is prosecuted on the federal level. Also, there is no parole in the federal system.
The number of gun offenders in the Milwaukee area referred to federal court to be prosecuted for being felons in possession of firearms is expected to increase from about a dozen a year to about 80.
In addition, the district attorney's office would toughen sentencing recommendations in gun cases prosecuted on the state level.
District Attorney E. Michael McCann said his office already is recommending jail terms even for first-time gun offenders. However, he added, full implementation of the program by his office depends on getting the resources that Operation Ceasefire will provide.
In addition to focusing on street criminals who use guns, McCann said, "We will focus on what the supply is. It will be non-traditional prosecution. They won't just be prosecutors in court. There will be prosecutors in federal court, there will be prosecutors in state court, but we will also be using this to aggressively, proactively go after the people who are providing firearms to kids, to young people.
"I'm really hoping that because these are predominantly young men being slain, if they can just get by a few more years, they'll live," he said.
Besides the multiagency task force and the prosecutors, Operation Ceasefire is to include a public information campaign to drive home the message that crimes with guns bring long prison sentences.
Richmond's experience showed the public information campaign is an important part of the entire effort, McCann said.
Schneider said officials already are working to put together a media advisory committee to assist with the public information campaign. He said he also is meeting regularly with other law enforcement officials, including McCann and Mark Murray, chief of the local office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, to plan for the day Operation Ceasefire can be launched.
"We aren't just sitting back and waiting for the budget to be passed," he said.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/sep99/exilsid12091199a.asp
------------------
ACCEPT NOTHING LESS THAN FULL VICTORY!"
General Dwight D. Eisenhower-- June 6,1944
------------------------
http://www.homestead.com/gunrights/Guns_and_Gunrights.html
ICQ no. 46780559