Southern California’s Focus on Gang Activity

Posted on August 26, 2008
Filed Under Gangs |

Southern California political and law enforcement officials have increasingly focused on gang activity over the last five years, and sweeps of different areas and institutions have become more popular.  A recent three-day sweep of Santa Ana ended with 85 people being arrested by the police, many of whom were alleged gang members.  Police are also working with community groups, such as churches, to encourage members of the community to report crimes to the police and not be intimidated.

 The police have also taken drastic mesaures to be creative with prosecuting gang activity.  For example, tagging (or graffiti) often has ties to gang activity, because the tags are a form of marking territory for each gang.  The LA County Board of Supervisors has approved measures to hold parents and guardians financially responsible for the damage done by taggers. 

The law is designed to shake up parents and guardians who are in denial about their children’s actions, unaware of them or simply don’t care. It is another tool to hold the adults accountable, she said.  Violators will also have to pay fines up to $1,000 and having liens issued against their property. When warranted, the measure also would allow authorities to seek felony vandalism charges in court.

Violence against citizens spured this law and other anti-gang activity by police.  Robert Whitehead of Valinda was shot to death in 2006 after challenging young gang members he caught crossing out another gang’s graffiti on a neighbor’s garage. Last year, Pico Rivera grandmother Maria Hicks was gunned down after she honked her car horn, flashed her car lights and followed a tagger who had defaced a wall.

Written by Joe M

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