mr. chairman , i rise against this h.r. 1279 , the gang deterrence and community prosecution act of 2005 . 
i strongly believe in cooperation between federal and state law enforcement to deter gang activities . 
however , this bill takes the wrong approach by imposing mandatory sentences , trying juveniles as adults and expanding the death sentence to new offenses . 
i , myself , can appreciate the destruction that gang violence can impose on a community . 
in chicago alone , there are estimated to be 70 , 000 to 100 , 000 gang members -- compared with about 13 , 000 chicago police officers . 
several `` super gangs '' dominate : the gangster disciples , the black disciples , the vice lords , the black p stones , the mickey cobras , the latin kings , the spanish cobras , the maniac latin disciples , and the satan disciples . 
each of these gangs controlled large amounts of territory and have wreaked havoc on the chicago community . 
nevertheless , prevention and intervention is the key in deterring juvenile crime and gang activities , not discriminatory mandatory sentencing or unfettered prosecutorial discretion . 
study after study have shown that trying juveniles as adults does not reduce crime but increases crime , including violent crime . 
in addition , a better approach , as opposed to this ill-advised approach , would be to focus our energy on more programs for at risk youth such as head start , job corps and family focused intervention programs . 
again , i rise against h.r. 1279 , and urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same . 
