Senate OKs easing restrictions on gang members who steer clear of crime for 5 years. The bill goes next to the Assembly.
By Patrick McGreevy
June 26, 2009
Reporting from Sacramento -- A key strategy in Los Angeles' battle against street gangs -- the use of court injunctions -- has come under attack by state lawmakers who are moving to strictly limit it.
The state Senate has approved a measure that would allow suspected gang members who do not commit a crime for five years to be automatically removed from civil injunctions unless prosecutors can show they remain a public threat.
The injunctions, which cover 66 gangs and more than 11,000 people in Los Angeles, allow tough penalties if those named are found loitering together, wearing gang attire, flashing gang signs, possessing alcohol, acting in an intimidating manner or possessing spray-paint cans of the type used in graffiti.
"We are not taking away a tool. We are just saying it needs to be used carefully," said state Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood). "Right now you have no limit at all. You have people who have been under injunctions for 20 years. There is no offramp."
Wright wrote the measure, which was approved over the objections of Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo and is under consideration by the state Assembly.
Wright said there are residents of city housing projects in Los Angeles who were included in injunctions because they live next to and associate with active gang members, even though they have never been convicted of a crime. An injunction, Wright said, has hampered the ability of some young men to get jobs, because it is discovered when employers conduct background checks.