Will gang injunctions make Modesto neighborhoods safer?

By Susan Herendeen
sherendeen@modbee.com

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Gang injunctions, though popular with law enforcement and widely used in Southern California, remain controversial in some legal circles.

While Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager argues that restrictions on 20 members of the Deep South Side Norteños will improve the quality of life for residents in south Modesto, Public Defender Tim Bazar thinks the success or failure of the initiative will lie in its implementation.

To supporters, injunctions make neighborhoods safer because gang members can be penalized for actions that otherwise would be legal, such as hanging out in public places, confronting people who disapprove of their lifestyle and wearing clothes meant to show that the gang is a force to be reckoned with.

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The county's top prosecutor hopes the new penalties will convince law-abiding citizens to clean up their neighborhoods and cooperate with the authorities when crimes occur.

"We think this will be an incredibly effective tool," Fladager said.

On the other side, critics worry that gang injunctions can cast too wide a net, criminalizing behavior that is typical among teenagers, but only in minority communities, and lumping small-time delinquents in with hard-core criminals who no longer deserve the benefit of the doubt.

Although Bazar isn't quite in that camp, he sees a downside, particularly because many of the behav- iors banned by gang injunctions already are banned for people who are convicted of gang-related crimes, serve time and are released on probation or parole.

"I've heard other people criticize this approach as a waste of time," Bazar said.

Enforcement unclear

Just how the injunction will be enforced -- and whether it will be embraced by law-abiding residents of a "safety zone" south of the Tuolumne River and west of Crows Landing Road -- remains to be seen.

First, prosecutors must jump through some procedural hoops.

Superior Court Judge John G. Whiteside gave temporary approval to the civil injunction June 12, when he issued an order that gives 20 named defendants a chance to contest the proposal at a hearing Thursday.

If the judge issues a preliminary injunction, the alleged gang members could be arrested and charged with a misdemeanor if they are caught engaging in any of 14 banned behaviors within the safety zone, like being caught with spray paint or tools used for graffiti, acting as a lookout for people selling drugs or being outside after curfew.

Prosecutors said they intend to add additional gang members to the injunction if the restrictions are allowed. Authorities said they have documented 51 Norteños who have allegiances to a neighborhood they call Deep South Side Modesto; they believe the gang has more than 150 members and associates.

Any named gang member could challenge the constitutionality of the injunction or argue that his inclusion is a mistake because he has no gang ties. If prosecutors prevail in court, the injunction and its restrictions become permanent.

People named in a permanent injunction would be subject to the court order indefinitely. They would have to petition the court and prove that they are not gang members to get off the list.

Gang injunctions were first used in Los Angeles in 1987 and now are imposed by communities throughout Southern California. They also have been used in San Francisco and San Jose, the Sacramento area and Fresno.

Deputy District Attorney Marlisa Ferreira, who filed Stanislaus County's injunction, said the constitutional- ity of using public nuisance laws to confront a gang problem was firmly established in 1997, when the California Supreme Court upheld a gang injunction in Santa Clara County.