During a recent Santa Maria City Council meeting, several members from the public came out to speak about the need for a gang injunction. I couldn’t agree more.
Since the California State Supreme Court upheld the use of gang injunctions in 1997, many cities have adopted this powerful tool. So, what exactly is a gang injunction? It is a legal document that puts gang members on notice that certain conduct will not be tolerated, such as wearing gang clothing, showing gang signs, intimidating or harassing the public, defacing property with graffiti, carrying weapons, using/selling drugs and/or alcohol, speaking with other gang members, etc. Those arrested for violating the injunction are given stiffer sentences, and illegal aliens are arrested are deported. It also delineates a safety zone based upon the highest percentage of crime in any given area. The city of San Juan Capistrano has a 4.2-mile safety zone where gang members are prohibited from congregating.
Cities where gang injunctions have been implemented report that gang-related crimes have been dramatically reduced. In fact, overall, gang injunctions are so effective that the city of Los Angeles alone has 40 gang injunctions covering 60 gangs, and the number of gang injunctions is on the rise.
Now that we know gang injunctions are legal, it begs the question why Santa Maria hasn’t adopted one a long time ago. One would think with the increased gang violence, our city officials would be anxious to utilize such a legal remedy in order to keep its citizens safe.
This article appears in Dec 3-10, 2009.