For the first time ever, the Los Angeles city attorney's office has removed a former gang member from one of its numerous gang injunctions, which cover more than 11,000 people.
City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo, accompanied by several council members, said Thursday that an ex-gang member had become the first to complete a new gang injunction removal petition process his office has set up. Authorities declined to identify the individual.
About 11,000 members and associates of 57 gangs are subject to court injunctions that bar them from activities as varied as gathering together to carrying something that could be consider a graffiti tool. More than a quarter of the city's gang members are named in various injunctions restraining their behavior.
A person can be subject to the injunction if he or she has admitted gang membership, has been identified by a reliable informant, displays gang tattoos or signs, or is associated or arrested with known gang members.
"The gang injunctions in Los Angeles have been a highly effective tool in bringing a level of safety to our communities," Delgadillo said.
But, he said, city leaders have come to realize in the last few years that the injunctions cannot be a one-way street, and those who reform need a second chance.
"We need an exit ramp for those who want to turn their lives around," he said. "If you're a member of a gang, you'll likely end up dead or in jail. We want you to leave the gang life behind. We can get you out from under injunction."
Civil rights and community activists, particularly in Watts, have long complained that those identified as gang members on the injunctions can never escape the label.
Peter Bibring, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said he was pleased the city had implemented such an appeals process but criticized officials for not acting sooner.
"It is shocking that the city of Los Angeles has been using gang injunctions for over 20 years with thousands of people served and they have only now finally removed someone from an injunction," he said. "Clearly, during those 20 years people have left the gang life behind or they were wrongly identified by police "
City officials said they also were happy that removals were finally occurring.
