Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus
10/02/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/02/2024 14:00
Rigby Legislation Calls for Cooperation Among Members of Law Enforcement in Tackling Violent Crime
Oct. 02, 2024
HARRISBURG - State Rep. Jim Rigby (R-Cambria/Somerset) is preparing to introduce two pieces of legislation designed to encourage cooperation among municipalities and states in an effort to stem the tide of violent crime. His bills are among several being authored by state House Republicans, who are focusing on criminal prevention, policing, prosecution and punishment.
"Information is power, and the sharing of information can be a very powerful tool when it comes to confronting violent crime," Rigby said. "The bills I'll be offering call for a more coordinated effort that will expand the availability of details about criminal activity and make more members of law enforcement aware of who's on their streets and how to stop them."
Rigby's first piece of legislation would create a statewide organized crime/street gang database that encourages individual jurisdictions to work together and share information.
"There are larger police departments across Pennsylvania that have already established a bank of information on perpetrators and incidents of violent crime," said Rigby, who is a former chief of police. "Smaller departments simply don't have the resources to do that and creating a database which they can quickly access makes that information readily available on a wider scale."
The second bill would call on Gov. Josh Shapiro to negotiate an interstate compact with other states which operate similar databases to require information sharing.
"Sharing of information about criminal activity already exists across the country but only among states that enter into agreements to do so," added Rigby. "It's imperative that Pennsylvania become a participant in this nationwide database to empower our police departments, large and small, with the tools they need to prevent, investigate, and solve crimes.
"These gangs and offenders often move about, which makes them tougher to monitor. In the Johnstown area, our local law enforcement has seen them migrate in from Philadelphia and New Jersey," said Rigby. "It's no secret that police academies are seeing fewer enrollees, and smaller towns are relying more and more on the Pennsylvania State Police for assistance. The officers and detectives in all jurisdictions, regardless of size, need to have access to every tool available if we want to get serious about combatting violent crime."
Questions about this or any state government issue should be directed to Rigby's Cresson office at 814-886-1055, his Ferndale office at 814-536-9818, or his Somerset County office at 1-814-509-6942.
Representative Jim Rigby
71st Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Scott B. Little
717.260.6137 (office), 717.497.5967 (cell)
[email protected]
RepJimRigby.com / Facebook.com/RepJimRigby
"Information is power, and the sharing of information can be a very powerful tool when it comes to confronting violent crime," Rigby said. "The bills I'll be offering call for a more coordinated effort that will expand the availability of details about criminal activity and make more members of law enforcement aware of who's on their streets and how to stop them."
Rigby's first piece of legislation would create a statewide organized crime/street gang database that encourages individual jurisdictions to work together and share information.
"There are larger police departments across Pennsylvania that have already established a bank of information on perpetrators and incidents of violent crime," said Rigby, who is a former chief of police. "Smaller departments simply don't have the resources to do that and creating a database which they can quickly access makes that information readily available on a wider scale."
The second bill would call on Gov. Josh Shapiro to negotiate an interstate compact with other states which operate similar databases to require information sharing.
"Sharing of information about criminal activity already exists across the country but only among states that enter into agreements to do so," added Rigby. "It's imperative that Pennsylvania become a participant in this nationwide database to empower our police departments, large and small, with the tools they need to prevent, investigate, and solve crimes.
"These gangs and offenders often move about, which makes them tougher to monitor. In the Johnstown area, our local law enforcement has seen them migrate in from Philadelphia and New Jersey," said Rigby. "It's no secret that police academies are seeing fewer enrollees, and smaller towns are relying more and more on the Pennsylvania State Police for assistance. The officers and detectives in all jurisdictions, regardless of size, need to have access to every tool available if we want to get serious about combatting violent crime."
Questions about this or any state government issue should be directed to Rigby's Cresson office at 814-886-1055, his Ferndale office at 814-536-9818, or his Somerset County office at 1-814-509-6942.
Representative Jim Rigby
71st Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Scott B. Little
717.260.6137 (office), 717.497.5967 (cell)
[email protected]
RepJimRigby.com / Facebook.com/RepJimRigby
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