Questions raised by this thoughtprovoking volume include. Police and local authorities across england and wales have the. Antigang injunctions create safe zones in neighborhoods once terrorized by gangs. A civil gang injunction or cgi is a type of restraining order issued by courts in the united states prohibiting gang members in particular cities from participating in certain specified activities. The purpose of a gang injunction is designed to eliminate gang activity, which is a public nuisance, caused by the targeted gang. In october of 2006, the superior court of ventura county issued a second permanent gang injunction in oxnard against the southside chiques street gang.
By lori denman it was estimated in a report by the city of oxnard police that there are 2,400 gang members in their city. Oxnard police suspend gang injunctions after recent court. Judges decision sets back enforcement of oxnard gang injunctions. Evaluation of the effectiveness of gang injunctions in california pdf. Colonia chiques gang injunction pdf 15 sep in a verdict issued friday night, luis manuel tapia, leader of the oxnard based colonia chiques street gang and a validated associate of the. Pdf the effects of civil gang injunctions on reported. Members of oxnards largest gangs can challenge injunction. Evaluation of the effectiveness of gang injunc tions in california, journal of. The injunction was upheld in the ventura county superior court and made a permanent law in 2005. Salas, 18, of port hueneme, was challenging his inclusion on an injunction against the southside chiques street gang in oxnard.
Its an ironfisted program that calls upon local, state and federal assistance to combat gang violence as well as provide viable alternatives to gang membership. A gang injunction is obtained by the city attorney or district attorney who asks a judge to declare that a particular gang is a public nuisance and impose permanent restrictions on the targeted individuals daily lives. Due to legal challenges drawing upon civil rights laws, they had to start. The decision to suspend gang injunction enforcement has been a tightly kept secret by the opd. A yearold oxnard man has become the first member of the colonia chiques gang to be sentenced under a controversial court order. In june 2004, the oxnard police department and the ventura county sheriff imposed a gang injunction over a 6. Operation peaceworks opw opw is a gang intervention program funded by a california gang reduction, intervention and prevention calgrip grant from the state of california governors office of gang and youth policy ogyp and administered by california emergency management agency calema. The blythe street gang injunction and its aftermath 1997. The first oxnard gang injunction was issued in 2005, containing the prohibitions mentioned in the applicable california penal code 186. But if an individual breaches the terms of an injunction they can receive up to two years in custody and breaches could be disclosed on a.
Some political activists lobbied against the injunction arguing that it amounted to racial discrimination, that it unconstitutionally banned. Gang injunctions help to prevent gangrelated violence and rehabilitate gang members. It is a civil suit that seeks a court order declaring the gangs public behavior a nuisance and asking for special rules directed toward its activity. Those listed in court orders against the colonia chiques and southside chiques can now optout under. Gang injunctions could be a punishment too far society. To initiate operation peaceworks in the city, oxnard police served a gang injunction on known gang affiliates. Colonia chiques is the largest, most violent criminal street gang in the.
In november 1997, the san diego county district attorneys office began using civil injunctions as a tool to curb gang activity in some neighborhoods. By charles levin, and angelica martinez july 15, 2005. Absent the demagogic rhetoric that accompanied the first gang injunction on the part of the vcda and opd, limited public opposition arose to the southside chiques injunction. A civil gang injunction or cgi is a type of restraining order issued by courts in the united states. Continued efforts by members of a local branch of lulac and the grass roots movement committee on raza rights included more editorial letters in local newspapers and public discussions held over the efficacy of the injunction and the real aims of the city council. A gang injunction is a restraining order against a group. Oxnard is joining the ranks of about 40 other cities nationwide who have sought to curb gang behavior and lifestyles with a simple court order known as a civil injunction.
Oxnard police and ventura county prosecutors are considering seeking a second gang injunction in the city, citing a strong drop in violent crime after they brought a similar legal action last year. Effectiveness of oxnard gang injunctions difficult to measure. Gang injunctions and community participation university. Landlord richard schell was gunned down as he counted his rent receipts. The oxnard police department, however, has stated that the permanent injunction will be enforced only against persons who have been served with a copy of the injunction. The permanent order includes an optout provision, which gives individuals served the opportunity to be eventually dropped from the injunction. The oxnard gang member, 20, receives the maximum penalty. Colonia chiques gang injunction pdf 15 sep in a verdict issued friday night, luis manuel tapia, leader of the oxnardbased colonia chiques street gang and a validated associate of the. Gang injunctions san diego county district attorney. Oxnard gang injunction suspended after recent decisions in.
City council meeting revisits gang injuction the daily nexus. Gang injunction removal petition information thank you for your interest in the gang injunction removal petition process. Oxnard scored one of the early successes with gang member injunctions, a legal strategy which imposed a curfew and physical boundaries, enforced with stiff penalties, for those identified, documented and served after court orders were obtained on each of hundreds of hard core gang members. According to police in this city of 200thousand souls, the injunction is targeting about. Oxnard gang injunction suspended after recent decisions in l. Last month, ventura county superior court judge frederick h. A direct intervention approach to reducing gang violence in the city of oxnard overview.
A recent cgi was issued against an estimated members of oxnards colonia chiques gang, precluding any identified gang member from congregating in a. Before the implementation of the gang injunctions, gang. Over the past two decades, civil gang injunctions have been increasingly instituted in. Oxnard police comments on gang injunctions citizens. New process creates streamlined way to challenge listing on oxnard s gang injunctions. The colonia chiques gang is believed to be responsible for more than 2,000 crimes in oxnard since 1992, while the southside chiques have committed more than 1,000 crimes, officials said. For more than 25 years in california, gang injunctions have increased although their. Injunctions to prevent gangrelated violence and gangrelated drug dealing. Gang injunction becomes reality in oxnard streetgangs. The individual who is subject to a gang injunction, or against whom a gang injunction is being sought, will be referred to as the respondent. Oxnard assistant police chief chuck hookstra said gang crime had already begun to drop significantly since the pursuit of the injunction was announced in late march by police chief art lopez and. How oxnard deals with street gangs citizens journal. Oxnard, california against the colonia chiques gang.
About gang injunctions there are currently 45 active injunctions in the city involving 72 gangs. Injunctions to prevent gangrelated violence and drug dealing activity youth court june 2015 4 breach of injunctions breach of an injunction by a respondent aged 14 to 17 can be dealt with in different ways. Protecting communities with antigang injunctions fact sheet. The lack of crime data localized to the oxnard gang injunction safety zones makes civil orders effectiveness difficult to measure. In the city of oxnard the oxnard police department decided to stop enforcing injunctions stipulations against 368 suspected gang members in late 2017 or early 2018. In june 2004, the oxnard police department and the ventura county sheriff imposed a gang injunction in over a 6. Bysshe released his amended, permanent gang injunction against the colonia chiques. Petitioning for removal from enforcement of an injunction represents a significant step towards creating a healthier, safer, and more productive future. New program succeeds in reducing gang violence in oxnard. The judge in the case decided salas could be kept on the gang. The most recent gang injunction was issued in november 2007 in san marcos, california.
Injunctions can address the neighborhoods gang problem before it reaches the level of felony crime activity. To link to the entire object, paste this link in email, im or document to embed the entire object, paste this html in website to link to this page, paste this link in email, im or document to embed this page, paste this html in website. As barajas notes, gang injunctions in oxnard were issued at a time when afterschool programs were being underfunded and increasing numbers of. It is based on the legal theory that gang activity constitutes a public nuisance that can prevent nongang members of the community from enjoying peace and public order. A gang injunction is a court order issued from a civil court which is directed at a criminal street gang that engages in a pattern of criminal gang activity. The injunction applies only to a defined area of the city of oxnard. The effects of civil gang injunctions on reported violent crime. For example, if an antigang injunction prohibits gang members from congregating in a park or playground, children can now play in the area without fear of bullying, intimidation, violence, or gang recruitment. While the decision was depublished subsequently, leaving the. The second injunction was approved in 2006 against the southside chiques. At the rally, francisco chavo romero, an organizer with union del barrio and colectivo todo poder al pueblo in oxnard, said the injunctions inclusion of 300 unspecified individuals makes it capable of unfairly targeting minors who are not already being served with an injunction.
Injunctions to prevent gangrelated violence and drug. Oxnard polices decision about the injunctions, which restrict behaviors of alleged gang members, was announced. Petition for removal from gang injunction enforcement this form is for use by a person who has been served with a san diego county gang injunction and who wants the opportunity to demonstrate that he or she s hould not be restrained by the gang injunction because he or she no longer is, or never was, a gang member. The police force or local authority applying for a gang injunction will be referred to as the applicant. Pdf evaluation of the effectiveness of gang injunctions in. A cgi is a preliminary or permanent court order, an injunction, issued in a civil case against a criminal street gang and its members to enjoin prohibit certain behavior within a defined safety zonewhich may include associating.
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