Los Angeles prosecutors on Monday announced an overhaul of a controversial gang injunction program, responding to years of criticism that the system makes it nearly impossible for people who turn their lives around or are mistakenly placed on the list to get out from under a court order.
The city attorney agreed to change the process after City Council members and community leaders complained that not one of the 11,000 people named in gang injunctions during the last two decades has ever been able to get off the list.
The injunctions against 50 gangs are a cornerstone of the city's battle against street gangs, and the changes come as authorities launch a crackdown in response to a spike in gang crimes last year.
Prosecutors obtain injunctions from courts, prohibiting those named -- under threat of criminal prosecution -- from loitering in public with others named in injunctions, possessing or using alcohol, disobeying gang-imposed curfews and trespassing.
Critics, however, say the injunctions have also hurt people who have wanted to leave gang life, making it hard to get jobs.
In some neighborhoods, where gang ties are broad and deep, injunctions mean brothers can't ride in the family car together to work, and classmates can't walk to school together without violating the court order.
In response, City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo said Monday that he has created a new, formal system under which someone can have their name removed from an injunction through a hearing with top administrators from his office.
Delgadillo also dropped a requirement demanding that anyone who wants to be delisted first publicly renounce membership in the gang in which he or she allegedly was involved. None have -- partly in fear of retaliation by gang members.
Under the new rules, officials will establish an independent review process by prosecutors to examine the evidence against each person proposed to be targeted by an injunction.
"We listened to community and civil rights leaders, and took their concerns to heart," Delgadillo said.
The changes won praise from those who have argued that the injunction rules can be unfair to certain communities where gang ties run deep.
"It is important we do not criminalize communities, especially communities of color," said John Mack, president of the Los Angeles Police Commission and former head of the Urban League in Los Angeles.
