Cities Sue Gangs in Bid to Stop Violence
From ABC News
Fed up with deadly drive-by shootings, incessant drug dealing and graffiti, cities nationwide are trying a different tactic to combat gangs: They’re suing them.Fort Worth and San Francisco are among the latest to file lawsuits against gang members, asking courts for injunctions barring them from hanging out together on street corners, in cars or anywhere else in certain areas.
The injunctions are aimed at disrupting gang activity before it can escalate. They also give police legal reasons to stop and question gang members, who often are found with drugs or weapons, authorities said. In some cases, they don’t allow gang members to even talk to people passing in cars or to carry spray paint.
“It is another tool,” said Kevin Rousseau, a Tarrant County assistant prosecutor in Fort Worth, which recently filed its first civil injunction against a gang. “This is more of a proactive approach.”
But critics say such lawsuits go too far, limiting otherwise lawful activities and unfairly targeting minority youth.
I’m confused; did we run out of jail space? How do you file a lawsuit against a gang?
So I guess the old tried and true tactic of a policemen approaching a group of thugs and saying “Get your ass away from here or we will throw your ass in jail” is obsolete? (another typo, thanks!)
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