OFFICIALS BACK BILL TO INCREASE HATE CRIME SPECIALIZATION UNITS.Byline: Phillip W. Browne Staff Writer Reacting to the racist shooting rampage in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , state legislators, district attorneys and religious leaders threw support behind a bill Monday that would earmark earmark taking a piece out of the edge or center of the ear with a punch as an identification mark. The shape of the mark may be registerable under local legislation. $5 million to add and train hate crime prosecutors. Under AB 741, the money would be used to assign individual prosecutors to handle every stage of a hate crime case. In small counties plagued by hate crimes, the money could be used to establish hate crime prosecution units and training. ``Hate crimes are an assault on an entire community - they injure every one of us,'' Assemblyman as·sem·bly·man n. A man who is a member of a legislative assembly. assemblyman Noun pl -men a member of a legislative assembly Noun 1. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, said after a news conference to rally support for the legislation. ``That's why we all must work together to combat crimes of hate.'' Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. District Attorney Gil Garcetti Gilbert "Gil" Garcetti (b. August 5, 1941) served as Los Angeles County's 39th District Attorney for two terms, from 1992 until November 7, 2000. Background Gil Garcetti received a bachelor's degree in Management from the University of Southern California and a Juris also urged bipartisan support for the bill, authored by Assemblyman Rod Pacheco Rod Pacheco (born 1959) is a U.S. Latino Republican politician. Currently the Riverside County, California District Attorney, he had served in the California State Assembly from 1996-2002. He served as Republican leader from November 5 1998-April 6 1999. , R-Riverside. ``This funding could significantly help the Los Angeles County DA's office expand its hate crime prosecution unit,'' said Jim Provenza, Garcetti's legislative liaison in Sacramento. ``Our five DAs in the unit now are overworked. We have one-third of the state's population in Los Angeles and a proportionate amount of hate crimes. ``We definitely need this funding.'' Pacheco said the arson fires at three synagogues in Sacramento this year, the killing of two gay men in Redding Redding, city (1990 pop. 66,462), seat of Shasta co., N central Calif., on the Sacramento River; inc. 1872. A principal tourist center for a mountain and lake region, it also has lumbering, food-processing, and diverse manufacturing. and, most recently, the Valley shooting rampage are the types of ``horrors'' that inspired the legislation. ``As racial acts of violence continue, we must better equip our police and prosecutors, ensuring these criminals are punished to the fullest extent of the law,'' Pacheco said. Provenza said the success in such legislation in the past is an indication that the funding is necessary. ``This bill really addresses the fact that you can better prosecute cases with a specialized DA,'' Provenza said. ``It has worked dramatically on sex crimes and domestic violence. There's no question it will work here.'' |
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