Suffolk County Official Suggests Creating Gang Registry
HUNTINGTON STATION, N.Y. (WCBS 880/AP) -- Suffolk County officials on Long Island are calling for a new police outpost in Huntington Station following a string of violent crime there.
LISTEN: WCBS 880's Mike Xirinachs reports
A committee voted 4-to-1 for the substation on Wednesday. County Executive Steve Levy says he also will hire 150 more police officers and will consider creating a gang registry.
Levy believes a gang registry would be an important crime fighting tool in the battle against growing problems of gang violence in the area.
"We're talking about the hardened members who have a long criminal rap sheet," Levy said. "That's an important tool that can help out the police department and our prosecutors as well."
The registry would work much like a sex offender registry, Levy explained, allowing law enforcement officials to monitor and control movements of violent gang members.
Levy said 90 percent of the county has seen a reduction in crime, but it remains high in Huntington Station, North Amityville and North Bellport.
In the latest incident on Tuesday, one man was shot dead and three others were wounded during a gathering outside a house in Huntington Station. In July, a 16-year-old was shot in the leg in a school playground there.
The Suffolk Legislature is expected to approve the substation bill.
