Civil injunctions another tool in fight against gangs

POSTED ON Friday, August 21, 2009 AT 04:01PM

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Civil injunctions another tool in fight against gangs

Yakima Herald-Republic Editorial Board

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This editorial appears in the Yakima Herald-Republic on Aug. 23, 2009.

Last week's seizure in Yakima by law enforcement authorities of an extensive weapons cache only adds to the sense of fear and loathing gang violence has created this summer.

Here's just a glimpse of what was taken during the drug-related arrest: a MAC-11 machine-gun pistol, several AK-47s, homemade silencers, shortened AR-15 rifles and shotguns. The total: 33 guns. Don't forget the three pipe bombs and a bag full of rolled-up $100 bills totaling thousands of dollars.

Police believe the weapons, and certainly the homemade silencers, could be part of a weapons trade involving gang members -- though those suspected of having the firearms are not part of a gang.

While this weapons seizure is clearly the most sensational of those recently carried out by law enforcement, they underscore this summer's wave of gang violence that, since May, has left at least 19 people wounded in Yakima. Several have been innocent bystanders.

It turns out state Attorney General Rob McKenna was visiting Yakima at the same time police were conducting that weapons seizure. When McKenna spoke at the Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce luncheon, he reminded those in the audience that gang violence is not restricted to Yakima. It's a statewide menace, he pointed out.

In the city of Yakima, officials believe there are at least 500 gang members. Countywide, the numbers rise to 2,000. Nationwide, a district attorney's association claims there are 30,000 gangs with 800,000 members.

Yes, it's a big problem and McKenna came armed with a new way for this state to deal with it: civil injunctions.

An injunction is a court order that seeks to stop individuals or organizations from preventing the general public from enjoying life and property. Popularized in California, an anti-gang civil injunction goes one step further and is directed at criminal street gangs. These gangs can be targeted because they are an identifiable group due to their colors and other signs. The injunction enables police to detain gang members and stop them from associating in a defined area like a neighborhood.

Let's say a homeowner feels threatened by the presence of a nearby gang whose members gather at a street corner near the home. An injunction could be used to clear them out so the homeowner could once again enjoy sitting on his or her porch or front stoop.

It's an intriguing tool to fight potential gang violence. Of course, these injunctions must be directed at gang members whose activities are ongoing and are occurring within a defined location. Members of the gang must also be served first with the injunction before it can be enforced. That may prove to be a tough proposition.

But McKenna vows to push ahead with civil injunctions and prepare a measure for state lawmakers to consider when they reconvene in January. Here, the county prosecutor has already been looking into these California-style injunctions.

While a civil injunction may not have the firepower of those weapons seized several weeks ago, it can provide a different kind of ammunition -- the ability to detain known gang members and get them off the streets.

It's not a cure-all, but it's certainly another means of dampening gang activity and the violence that it spawns. If it leads to reclaiming just one neighborhood, it's worth the effort.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.

Posted by countryvet at 08/21/09 04:20PM Post ID#: #10549

The weapons bust had nothing to do with gang activity.