People involved in criminal gangs could face an array of new penalties under a sweeping bill passed yesterday by state legislators.
It is the first time that North Carolina has defined a specific crime for what the bill calls a "pattern of criminal street-gang activity."
The bill also creates a number of new felony violations for acts associated with gangs.
For instance, encouraging someone to join a gang or preventing someone from leaving a gang would be added to the books as new felonies.
Penalties are harsher for people who are leaders of gangs and for those who recruit minors to join gangs. People under 18 who are convicted under the bill would get the chance to have some gang-related convictions expunged from their records.
And the bill defines a new felony for drive-by shootings and other types of shootings.
"We are going after those individuals who are kingpins, those individuals who are the leaders, the organizers of the gang. But we are also showing some sensitivity to those who are youthful offenders. It's a balanced approach," said Sen. Malcolm Graham, D-Mecklenburg, one of the chief supporters of the legislation.
The bill passed overwhelmingly in both chambers.
Some observers have criticized the bill as being too focused on punitive measures, rather than prevention.
Instead of putting more 16- and 17-year-olds in prison, the state should expand programs to provide them alternatives to becoming involved in gangs, said Rob Schofield, the director of research and policy development at N.C. Policy Watch, an advocacy group in Raleigh.
Schofield also criticized the vague and, at times, circuitous language that the bill uses to define "gang" and "gang activity."
"It sounds to me that maybe your grandma's illegal bingo game might be a gang," he said.
Estimates vary about the extent of gangs in North Carolina. A report earlier this year from the Governor's Crime Commission said that there are more than 14,500 gang members across the state.
For years, many mayors and local law-enforcement officials have urged the state legislature to pass comprehensive gang legislation. Gang violence has also emerged as a key issue in several 2008 political campaigns in North Carolina. In particular, Pat McCrory, the mayor of Charlotte and the Republican nominee for governor, has made cracking down on gangs a major feature of his campaign.
Two recent high-profile killings of students have also added urgency to the issue, although neither killing has been confirmed to be gang-related. Eve Carson, the student body president at UNC Chapel Hill, was killed in March, and Abhijit Mahato, a graduate student at Duke University, was killed in January.
Before yesterday, both chambers of the legislature had separately approved earlier versions of anti-gang legislation. Yesterday's bill was a compromise version. It is now headed to Gov. Mike Easley for his signature.
In addition to the bill that passed yesterday, the 2008-09 state budget recently approved by the legislature contains $10 million for local programs aimed at gang prevention. Easley has not signed the budget.
■ James Romoser can be reached at 919-210-6794 or at jromoser@wsjournal.com.
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