New Gang Ordinance Seeks to Lock up Gang Members & Anyone Dressed Like a Gang Member
City Passes Overbroad Gang Ordinance
Gang members bent on intimidating others by loitering in public places have been put on notice by the city that they are breaking the law. An ordinance adopted Tuesday empowers the Sheriff's Department to arrest gang members who loiter in public areas with the intent to mark their domain or to conceal illegal acts. "The ordinance will be used as a tool to curb gang activity and gang violence in Santa Clarita," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Pat O'Neill of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station. The Santa Clarita Valley is home to five main criminal street gangs: three in Canyon Country, one in Newhall and one in Val Verde, with roughly 200 gang members in all. A daytime curfew ordinance already on the books -- essentially a truancy measure -- restricts minors from loitering during school hours. The anti-gang law prohibits identified gang members or people associating with gang members from loitering for certain purposes and is not specific to age or time, said City Attorney Joe Montes. "It is specific to intent and activity," he said. A criminal defense attorney questioned why a law prohibiting loitering narrowly focuses on criminal street gangs. "(It) creates all kinds of problems in terms of enforcement," said attorney Tony Zinnante. "How do you identify members of a criminal street gang who may appear to be loitering -- (as) kids with shaved heads who might meet an ethnic or racial profile? [more
]
Gang members bent on intimidating others by loitering in public places have been put on notice by the city that they are breaking the law. An ordinance adopted Tuesday empowers the Sheriff's Department to arrest gang members who loiter in public areas with the intent to mark their domain or to conceal illegal acts. "The ordinance will be used as a tool to curb gang activity and gang violence in Santa Clarita," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Pat O'Neill of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station. The Santa Clarita Valley is home to five main criminal street gangs: three in Canyon Country, one in Newhall and one in Val Verde, with roughly 200 gang members in all. A daytime curfew ordinance already on the books -- essentially a truancy measure -- restricts minors from loitering during school hours. The anti-gang law prohibits identified gang members or people associating with gang members from loitering for certain purposes and is not specific to age or time, said City Attorney Joe Montes. "It is specific to intent and activity," he said. A criminal defense attorney questioned why a law prohibiting loitering narrowly focuses on criminal street gangs. "(It) creates all kinds of problems in terms of enforcement," said attorney Tony Zinnante. "How do you identify members of a criminal street gang who may appear to be loitering -- (as) kids with shaved heads who might meet an ethnic or racial profile? [more
]