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Frustrated Cities Take Gangs to Court

Lawsuits requesting injunctions gain popularity in effort to preempt violence

By Heather McPherson,  Newser User

Posted Jul 30, 2007 1:00 PM CDT
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(Newser) – San Francisco, Fort Worth, and other cities are suing gangs in an effort to curb violence, winning injunctions forbidding members to ride in cars together and even talk to each other on the street. Courts have struck down citywide measures after critics argued they unfairly target minorities, but injunctions against specific gangs or members have held up, the AP reports.

LA pioneered the tactic in the '80s and now has dozens of permanent injunctions in place; a city official says studies have demonstrated their effectiveness at dissolving criminal associations. Law enforcement counts on the laws to disrupt activity before trouble can start and give police more leeway to stop and question known gang members. "It's another tool," says a prosecutor.

Edward Palacios is arrested after he was stopped and found to have outstanding arrest warrants by the Fort Worth Police Gang Unit during a patrol of a area frequented by gang members in Fort Worth, Texas, Wednesday, July 4, 2007. According to the police officers, Palacios is a known gang...
Edward Palacios is arrested after he was stopped and found to have outstanding arrest warrants by the Fort Worth Police Gang Unit during a patrol of a area frequented by gang members in Fort Worth, Texas,...   (Associated Press)
A sanitation worker walks by graffiti.
A sanitation worker walks by graffiti.   (Getty Images)
A gang member in prison.
A gang member in prison.   (KRT Photos)
Graffiti
Graffiti   (Getty Images)
Los Angeles graffiti
Los Angeles graffiti   (Getty Images)
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A gang injunction in Wichita Falls, Texas, leads to a jail sentence
Times Record News (Wichita Falls)

 
San Francisco • crime • gangs • Los Angeles • violence • lawsuit • Fort Worth • Wichita Falls • permanent injunctions • gang violence

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