A
AnAmericanCitizen
Guest
When is congress going to pass specific laws for rounding up and deporting illegal
alien gang members?.....AAC
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Cities sue gangs in bid to stop violence By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer
Sun Jul 29, 1:50 PM ET
FORT WORTH, Texas - Fed up with deadly drive-by shootings, incessant drug dealing and
graffiti, cities nationwide are trying a different tactic to combat gangs: They're
suing them.
Fort Worth and San Francisco are among the latest to file lawsuits against gang
members, asking courts for injunctions barring them from hanging out together on
street corners, in cars or anywhere else in certain areas.
The injunctions are aimed at disrupting gang activity before it can escalate. They
also give police legal reasons to stop and question gang members, who often are found
with drugs or weapons, authorities said. In some cases, they don't allow gang members
to even talk to people passing in cars or to carry spray paint.
"It is another tool," said Kevin Rousseau, a Tarrant County assistant prosecutor in
Fort Worth, which recently filed its first civil injunction against a gang. "This is
more of a proactive approach."
But critics say such lawsuits go too far, limiting otherwise lawful activities and
unfairly targeting minority youth.
"If you're barring people from talking in the streets, it's difficult to tell if
they're gang members or if they're people discussing issues," said Peter Bibring, an
attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. "And it's
all the more troubling because it doesn't seem to be effective."
Civil injunctions were first filed against gang members in the 1980s in the Los
Angeles area, a breeding ground for gangs including some of the country's most
notorious, such as the Crips and 18th Street.
The Los Angeles city attorney's suit in 1987 against the Playboy Gangster Crips
covered the entire city but was scaled back after a judge deemed it too broad.
Chicago tried to target gangs by enacting an anti-loitering ordinance in 1992 but the
U.S. Supreme Court struck it down in 1999, saying it gave police the authority to
arrest without cause.
Since then, cities have used injunctions to target specific gangs or gang members,
and so far that strategy has withstood court challenges.
Los Angeles now has 33 permanent injunctions involving 50 gangs, and studies have
shown they do reduce crime, said Jonathan Diamond, a spokesman for the Los Angeles
City Attorney's Office.
The injunctions prohibit gang members from associating with each other, carrying
weapons, possessing drugs, committing crimes and displaying gang symbols in a safety
zone
alien gang members?.....AAC
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Cities sue gangs in bid to stop violence By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer
Sun Jul 29, 1:50 PM ET
FORT WORTH, Texas - Fed up with deadly drive-by shootings, incessant drug dealing and
graffiti, cities nationwide are trying a different tactic to combat gangs: They're
suing them.
Fort Worth and San Francisco are among the latest to file lawsuits against gang
members, asking courts for injunctions barring them from hanging out together on
street corners, in cars or anywhere else in certain areas.
The injunctions are aimed at disrupting gang activity before it can escalate. They
also give police legal reasons to stop and question gang members, who often are found
with drugs or weapons, authorities said. In some cases, they don't allow gang members
to even talk to people passing in cars or to carry spray paint.
"It is another tool," said Kevin Rousseau, a Tarrant County assistant prosecutor in
Fort Worth, which recently filed its first civil injunction against a gang. "This is
more of a proactive approach."
But critics say such lawsuits go too far, limiting otherwise lawful activities and
unfairly targeting minority youth.
"If you're barring people from talking in the streets, it's difficult to tell if
they're gang members or if they're people discussing issues," said Peter Bibring, an
attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. "And it's
all the more troubling because it doesn't seem to be effective."
Civil injunctions were first filed against gang members in the 1980s in the Los
Angeles area, a breeding ground for gangs including some of the country's most
notorious, such as the Crips and 18th Street.
The Los Angeles city attorney's suit in 1987 against the Playboy Gangster Crips
covered the entire city but was scaled back after a judge deemed it too broad.
Chicago tried to target gangs by enacting an anti-loitering ordinance in 1992 but the
U.S. Supreme Court struck it down in 1999, saying it gave police the authority to
arrest without cause.
Since then, cities have used injunctions to target specific gangs or gang members,
and so far that strategy has withstood court challenges.
Los Angeles now has 33 permanent injunctions involving 50 gangs, and studies have
shown they do reduce crime, said Jonathan Diamond, a spokesman for the Los Angeles
City Attorney's Office.
The injunctions prohibit gang members from associating with each other, carrying
weapons, possessing drugs, committing crimes and displaying gang symbols in a safety
zone