Poor youth of color and communities resist ethnic cleansing and neighborhood apartheid by the Po'Lice
 |
|
by Lola Bean and Jewnbug/PNN We are under attack A gang injunction is a restraining order sought by the City Attorney's Office and issued by the court against members of the community labeled by law enforcement as gang members from a particular gang. The current gang injunctions sought by San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera targets 32 community members, including one young woman with child, in the Mission District and 44 of our neighbors in the Western Addition. Through a gang injunction, these pre-selected members of the community are prohibited from engaging in certain activities in certain areas. Currently 60 block area of the Mission district and a 6 block section of the Western Addition have been targeted. Some of these activities are already illegal while other activities are legal. According to a news release issued by City Attorney Dennis Herrera, the injunctions seek to prohibit such activities as loitering, trespassing, intimidation, graffiti vandalism, gang recruitment or retention tactics, displaying gang signs or symbols, or associating with other gang members. The proposed injunctions would additionally prohibit gang members from possessing drugs, graffiti implements, guns, and other dangerous weapons within the proposed zones. This gives the SFPD authority to arrest and prosecute people for such legal and harmless activities as visiting family members and carrying basic school supplies. We are under attack As a child the police Legal action that can lead to jail time can be taken against someone that is accused of violating these restrictions. Since gang injunction violations can be pursued via civil lawsuit, those accused are not allowed certain protections such as the right to an attorney or trial by jury. In cities where injunctions are in place, we can find evidence of such abuses of power. In San Jose, for example, community members faced 6 months in jail or a $1000 fine for engaging in such legal activities as talking to someone inside a car, carrying pens, and climbing a tree. According to Herrera's release, "Violations of such injunctions could be pursued civilly by the City Attorney, for monetary penalties and up to five days in county jail for each violation, or prosecuted criminally by the District Attorney, as a misdemeanor for up to six months in county jail.� Me and my brother The first gang injunctions were used in Los Angeles in the 1980’s. Today, there are 33 injunctions issued against 50 groups that city alone. In San Francisco, the first injunction was issued in 2006 against about two dozen people in the Bay View District identified as the Oakdale Mob. In California, gang injunctions can also be found in San Jose, Burbank, Westminster, Pasadena, Redondo Beach, and Oxnard. Other states issuing injunctions include Texas and Illinois. They are being sold to the public as a way to promote community safety. In San Francisco, Dennis Herrera's claims, " We have a moral obligation...to do everything the law allows to target and disrupt the activities of criminal street gangs before they escalate into still further tragedies. And gang injunctions have proven to be an effective tool for doing exactly that. " We (the people) r under attack But have they really made communities safer? According to the Mission District's La Raza Centro Legal, the gang injunctions: The police threatened me on 30th and Mission A report recently released by the Justice Policy Institute declares, " the billions of dollars spent on traditional gang suppression activities have failed to promote public safety and are often counterproductive. " Gang injunctions do not reduce crime. In many cases, gang injunctions lead to increases in violent crime in the " Safe Zones " as well as in neighboring communities. Co-author of the report, Gang Wars: The Failure of Enforcement Tactics and the Need for Effective Public Safety Strategies , Kevin Pranis states, " Our review of the research found no evidence that gang enforcement strategies have achieved meaningful reductions in violence, but ample proof that science-based social service interventions can curb delinquency. " The experts say La Raza Centro Legal states, "The mission district feels that gang injunctions are an extension of gentrification because it is segregating more people of color out of their communities were they could receive services or interact with community organizations that can provide help to them. We also feel that we have directly been pushed aside from any decision making in this process. Where is the jobs for youth? Where is the money for rehabilitation programs? Why haven't our children's schools been getting more funding? cuz I cant afford Funding is cut in recreation and in school Invest into education Community members have been intentionally left out of the gang injunction process. Organization that have succeeded in curbing violence and uplifting members in their communities are all speaking out against the gang injunctions and demanding that this attack on their communities be stopped. I am the expert Incarcerating youth and giving police authority to harass people in Oakdale, the Western Addition, and the Mission will only increase community fear and violence. The next gang injunction hearing will be on September 18 at 9AM - 400 McAllister in rooms 301 and 302. Please come out and show your support for the community. If you are in need of information and resources, or you are one of the 76 people targeted by Denis Herrera, there are people out there that can help you. You can call Ana Maria Loya from La Raza Centro Legal at 415-575-3500 or Jennifer Leslie from the ACLU at 415-824-8717. |