Gang Injunctions: A Civil Tool to Fight a Criminal Problem

By Jennifer Petrusis

It is a rare community in California that has not been affected by gang violence. More and more, residents of impacted communities are demanding that their local government agencies use whatever tools necessary to reduce the stranglehold a gang's dangerous activities can have on the community. In addition to traditional law enforcement efforts, there is a civil tool that has proven to be effective in preventing and combating gang violence – the gang injunction.

What is a gang injunction?

A gang injunction is a civil court order enjoining a criminal street gang and its members from engaging, within a defined geographic location, in certain behavior such as associating in public, trespassing, possessing weapons and violating curfew. Gang injunctions have been used in California since the early 1980's, but have become increasingly popular in the wake of rising gang violence. In the Los Angeles area alone, there are approximately forty gang injunctions covering seventy gangs.

How to obtain a gang injunction

A gang injunction is obtained through a civil lawsuit brought in the name of the People of the State of California by the City Attorney or the District Attorney of the area impacted by the gang's activities. The defendant in the lawsuit is the gang itself, which is sued as an unincorporated association. Even though individual gang members are usually not named as defendants in the lawsuit, the injunction will bind all members of the defendant gang.

To obtain a gang injunction, the City Attorney or District Attorney must establish that the gang's activities conducted within the defined geographic location constitute a public nuisance because they unreasonably interfere with the community's comfortable enjoyment of life or property. The City Attorney or District Attorney, working with the city's law enforcement agency, will collect, review and organize evidence of recent nuisance activities by the gang's active and admitted members. Helpful evidence includes arrest reports, conviction records, field interview notes, witness declarations, and photographs.

Shortly after filing the complaint for injunction, the City Attorney or District Attorney will apply for a preliminary injunction. If granted, the preliminary injunction will enjoin the nuisance activities of the gang members until the court issues a permanent injunction at the conclusion of the civil case.

Scope of the gang injunction

The gang injunction is only effective inside the geographic area defined in the injunction, which is usually referred to as the Safety Zone. The location and size of the Safety Zone will depend largely on the turf claimed by the gang and the gang's area of influence. The exact prohibitions contained in the gang injunction will vary given the type of activities and crimes committed by the defendant gang. Typical prohibitions include:

  1. Do Not Associate: Standing, sitting, running, walking, driving, gathering, or appearing anywhere in public view or any place accessible to the public, with any other known member of the defendant gang. However, this prohibition has the following exceptions: (1) when gang members are inside a school attending class or on school business; (2) when gang members are inside a church; or (3) when gang members are in a classroom attending a licensed gang or drug intervention program.
  2. Do Not Intimidate: Confronting, intimidating, annoying, harassing, threatening, challenging, provoking, assaulting, or battering any person within the Safety Zone.
  3. Do Not Trespass: Being present on or in any property, or running through any property not open to the general public, except (1) with the prior written consent of the owner, or (2) in the presence of and with the voluntary consent of the owner.
  4. Do Not Block Access: Obstructing, impeding, or blocking the free passage of any vehicle or any person on any street, walkway, sidewalk, driveway, alleyway, building entrance, or other area of public access.
  5. Obey Curfew: If under 18 years of age, being in or upon public property, or in a public place, between 8:00 p.m. on any day and 5:00 a.m. of the following day. If 18 years of age or older, being in or upon public property, or in a public place, between 10:00 p.m. on any day and 5:00 a.m. of the following day. This prohibition typically contains exceptions for school classes, school activities, employment, and emergency situations.

Implementing the gang injunction

Before the injunction can be enforced against a particular gang member, due process requires that the gang member be served with the injunction. The city's law enforcement agency will need to implement a system to keep track of which gang members have received the injunction. Once a gang member has been served, any violation of the injunction's terms is a violation of a court order, which is a misdemeanor pursuant to Penal Code Section 166(a)(4).

In addition to these criminal sanctions, a gang injunction has several practical applications and benefits:

  • It provides law enforcement officers increased opportunities to target suspicious gang activity;
  • It provides the community a break from the gang's constant presence and improves the quality of life for those who live and work in the Safety Zone; and
  • It gives gang members an excuse to leave the gang while saving face.

FOR ADVICE FROM RW&G ON GANG INJUNCTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT JENNIFER PETRUSIS OR ANY OF THE ATTORNEYS IN THE FIRM'S LITIGATION DEPARTMENT

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