Bill Text: HI SCR197 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Weed and Seed; Crime Prevention

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-19 - Referred to PSM/JDL, WAM. [SCR197 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2013-SCR197-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	197
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

uRGING THE STATE OF HAWAII TO establish A PERMANENT STATEWIDE WEED AND SEED initiative AS a state agency.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the Weed and Seed Program is a robust, beneficial, and comprehensive multi-agency approach to law enforcement, crime prevention, and community revitalization, defining its mission as the aim to "reclaim, restore and rebuild" communities through community policing, drug treatment programs, and neighborhood restoration; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Weed and Seed Program works with local law enforcement to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity in targeted neighborhoods by "weeding out" the criminal elements in plagued communities with police officers working closely with community residents to prevent violent and drug related crimes; and

 

     WHEREAS, "seeding" the community involves collaboration among various human services organizations, community groups, and businesses to implement prevention, intervention, and treatment of neighborhood revitalization projects, programs, and activities; and

 

     WHEREAS, "Weed and Seed" is recognized as a brand name in Hawaii, having been established in the islands in 1998, after its national initiation in 1991; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Attorney's Office administers the Weed and Seed Program in partnership with the Young Men's Christian Association of Honolulu and involves collaborative efforts among agencies of all levels of government, social service agencies, private businesses, faith-based organizations,  schools, nonprofit organizations, and residents; and

 

     WHEREAS, statistical reports have shown a decrease in crime following Weed and Seed initiatives in the areas of Kalihi-Palama, Chinatown, Downtown Honolulu, Ala Moana, Sheridan, McCully, Waipahu, and Ewa Beach; and

 

     WHEREAS, drug abuse and crime remain significant social obstacles throughout the State, including many regions where no Weed and Seed program has been implemented due to the region's remoteness or relative affluence; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature appropriated $336,000 for the Weed and Seed Program for fiscal year 2012-2013; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is urged to consider establishing the Weed and Seed Program initiative as a permanent program by no later than fiscal year 2014-2015; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State of Hawaii is requested to establish the Weed and Seed Program as a state agency within Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, in contrast to its current nonprofit status, and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State is requested to expand Weed and Seed Program initiatives in their current seminal zones of Kalihi-Palama, Chinatown, Downtown Honolulu, Ala Moana, Sheridan, McCully, Waipahu, and Ewa Beach to encompass the State in its entirety; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to submit a report to the Legislature on a Weed and Seed Program implementation plan and any budgetary requirements not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2014 Regular Session; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, the Governor, the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations who in turn is requested to transmit copies of this Concurrent Resolution to all community care providers involved in the administration of any Weed and Seed Program, the Chief of Police of the Police Department of

each county, and the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Young Men's Christian Association of Honolulu.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Weed and Seed; Crime Prevention