As a child growing up in Pacoima, Congressman Cárdenas saw firsthand the effects gangs have on our community. Having that background, he has made gang prevention and juvenile justice a top priority, with a proven track record of enacting legislation to keep our kids safe.

This problem in our community cannot be alleviated by sending out more police officers and arresting more juveniles; we need to stop this problem before it starts. Throughout his career, Congressman Cárdenas has met with police officers, community leaders and justice officials to develop the nation’s first comprehensive “Community-Based Gang Intervention Model.” This model laid out a new way for the city to combat gang violence without always resorting to arrests and has been implemented in cities throughout the country.  The Congressman has introduced legislation based on this model for the federal level.

In 2000, as a California State Assemblyman, Congressman Cárdenas co-authored and passed AB 1913, the Schiff-Cárdenas Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act, which has provided local communities with approximately $120 million per year, the single, largest appropriation of state funds for youth crime prevention in the history of the United States. This bill was designed to counter-balance rising incarceration costs and has provided over a billion dollars for youth development services and programming helping to drastically reduce juvenile crime throughout the state of California.

These gang prevention and intervention services are needed in every community. Congressman Cárdenas will work to ensure that they are provided.