MA- Bill bars gangs from 'safety zones'

This sounds all too familiar, is this the start of a new registry?

Initiative seeks fines, jail for loitering in parks, neighborhoods

4-24-2008 Massachusetts:

Gang members seen talking to one another or standing together on public property could be fined or jailed under a new bill being pushed in the Legislature and supported by some prosecutors and Boston police.

more stories like thisThe bill would give broad authority to police and prosecutors to bring civil lawsuits against reputed gangs or their members, forbidding them to hang out together in the neighborhoods and parks that police say they terrorize.

Such a law has been hailed as a successful crime-fighting tool in cities such as Fort Worth, San Diego, and Los Angeles, which has been imposing civil injunctions against gangs such as the Crips and the Bloods since the 1980s.

But the approach has drawn the ire of civil libertarians who say it is too sweeping and violates the constitutional rights of people who have not been charged with any crime and may be wrongly identified as gang members.

Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis, who estimated that Boston has about 2,000 gang members, said he believes the injunctions would help neighborhoods.

"These groups of kids that hang around together that sell drugs, that run guns, if you're able to separate them, that's a huge benefit," said Davis, disputing assertions that the measure would violate the rights of some individuals.

"People will argue that not allowing people to stand together in a place is wrong," Davis said. "But no one has a right to commit a criminal conspiracy and hold a community hostage, and that's exactly what happens in some of the areas where gangs are well established."

Under the bill, suspected gang members would be barred from parks, neighborhoods, and other areas designated as "safety zones," and police could order groups of three or more gang members found there to leave. The restriction, which would not extend to church or school events, would also impose a 10 p.m. curfew on gang members.

Police said the theory behind the measure is that disrupting gangs will reduce crime and restore peace to neighborhoods plagued by violence. The legal enforcement tool would be civil injunctions against identified gangs and gang members who have been involved in a "pattern of criminal activity."

Gang members would face criminal contempt charges, fines, and possible jail time if they violate the order barring them from congregating in certain areas. They would have 10 days to challenge the injunction in court.

Gang members would be identified by police, based on prior convictions or intelligence linking them to gangs, according to law enforcement officials.

The bill, which was sent to the House Ways and Means Committee this month, has the support of numerous politicians, including Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston and House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi. ..more.. by Maria Cramer and Shelley Murphy