Monrovia’s Anti-Gang Injunction Bid Moves Forward
By Monrovia Weekly
Published: Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
A Superior Court Judge has set Dec. 18 for a hearing aimed at issuing a preliminary injunction against two Monrovia gangs.
Judge David Yaffee of Los Angeles Superior Court set the hearing date during a court proceeding on Tuesday, October 20.
The injunction is being sought by the City of Monrovia and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office against 21 specifically-named members of the Du-Roc Crips gang and 17 members of the Monrovia Nuevo Varrio gang. They, and other members of both gangs, were served with court papers and hearing notices by police and sheriff’s deputies in two operations on October 14 and 21.
The permanent injunction, if ultimately granted by the Court, will specify that identified members of the two gangs cannot congregate in public, drink alcohol, unlawfully possess weapons or cause graffiti inside of, or within 100 yards of, a “safety zone” that covers specific portions of the City and adjacent unincorporated County area – from Mountain Avenue on the east to Fifth Avenue on the west, and from Live Oak Avenue on the south to Foothill Boulevard on the north.
Violation of the injunction will be a misdemeanor, the same as any violation of a court order.
Mayor Mary Ann Lutz called the petition for an injunction, “another major step in our long-term strategy to eliminate gang crime and violence from our community.” She stressed that the injunction “…is just one more item on a long list of programs and initiatives that we will use every day to reduce the influence of criminal gangs in our community.”
She also thanked District Attorney Steve Cooley and his staff, along with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, for partnering in the effort.
Councilmember Tom Adams hailed the progress of the initiative. “We’ve been working toward this point for more than a year,” he said, “and I’m hopeful that we’ll have the injunction in place soon. We’re giving our Police Department one more important tool in the fight against gang violence.”
Councilmember Joe Garcia said, “an injunction against gang activity would be targeted to protect the neighborhoods most affected by gangs. It’s going to mean safer and quieter streets, and that’s good news for the folks impacted most by these gangs.”
Councilmember Clarence Shaw also voiced strong support for the initiative, pointing out that safeguards against abuse and a long history of success has made an anti-gang injunction a tool that works, but still protects individual rights.
“This will go a long way toward cleaning up some specific problems in our affected neighborhoods,” he said. “At the same time, it is rightly aimed at individuals and not whole categories of people, and it protects the rights of the individuals involved – it gives them due process and their day in court. I wholeheartedly support this effort to obtain an injunction and I hope it is granted.”
Councilmember Becky Shevlin pointed to the “many other anti-gang programs that the City and community have developed over the years,” saying, “an injunction will be a good step forward, but it does not solve the problem by itself. We have a comprehensive set of programs in place to prevent gang affiliations and to provide alternatives to gangs. This is more than just a police problem, and we’re attacking it with a variety of resources.”
Monrovia Police Chief Roger Johnson said that if an injunction is issued, his department, the Sheriff and District Attorney would evaluate the effectiveness of the injunction continuously and report back to the court periodically. The Monrovia Police Department also would report to the City Council on its impact on crime and gang activities one year after an injunction takes effect.
Chief Johnson said, “We continue to work with our community partners to take a wide approach to gang intervention. From the School District and YMCA to Monrovia’s churches, youth groups and neighborhood organizations, this is a communitywide effort on every front. The injunction is an important part of that overall plan.”
A gang injunction is an order, issued by a judge after a hearing that prohibits specifically identified individuals with proven gang affiliations from engaging in specific gang-related activities in a specific geographical area.
In support of the gang injunction, Monrovia Police, the City Attorney, Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputies and the District Attorney’s Office compiled a long list of crimes that have occurred over time in the City and adjacent County area, tied to the two local gangs, along with a list of individuals who have been convicted of, or are suspected of, involvement in those crimes.
Other activities that police believe contributed to or enabled the criminal involvement of specific individuals were also documented, as was the geographic area in which the crimes and the related activities took place.
The documents regarding the specific individuals’ gang involvement, activities and geographic locations have been submitted to the court. After the Dec. 18 hearing, the judge will rule on whether those specific individuals are to be prohibited from the specified activities within the specified safety zone.
The injunction is being sought by the City of Monrovia and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
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Monrovia is one of several cities currently seeking gang injunctions in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Many communities already have injunctions in place, with several reporting positive results:
• In the City of Los Angeles, with 37 anti-gang injunctions citywide, there is a reported 33% decline in gang membership and a decline in Part One (serious) crimes of between 30% and 50%.
• In Hawaiian Gardens, an injunction against members of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens Gang has resulted in a 24% decrease in crime and a 43% decrease in assaults.
• In Hollywood, an injunction against the 18th Street Gang has resulted in a 50% decrease in Part One crimes.
• In Anaheim, an injunction against the Boys from the Hood Gang has seen a 50% decrease in assaults and a 75% decrease in shots fired.
• In San Juan Capistrano, there has been an 86% decrease in calls for service related to gang activities.
• In San Clemente, there has been a 58% decrease in calls for service related to gang activities.
• In Santa Ana, there has been a 50% decrease in calls for service related to gang activities and a 46% decrease in crime.
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In Monrovia, the gang injunction is just one of many strategies being used against the gangs. There is a long list of enforcement, suppression, intervention and prevention strategies being used daily, aimed at taking gang-affiliated criminals off the streets and diverting youths from joining or associating with criminal gangs. Among the many programs and tools now is use in Monrovia are:
• DAMAGE—Duarte and Monrovia Anti-Gang Enforcement. Ongoing task force composed of Los Angeles County Deputies and Monrovia Police Officers. In 2008 alone, DAMAGE was responsible for more than 400 arrests and 200 weapons being seized. DAMAGE is the backbone of a larger task force.
• The Community Action Policing (CAP) program that was one of the most innovative in the nation when it was established in the mid-1990s (winning an international award) is still operating effectively in our neighborhoods.
• The MAGIC (Monrovia Anti-Gang Intervention Committee) program brings police officers and school counselors together to identify at-risk youths and gang associates and to steer them away from gang affiliations and activities.
• The Monrovia Area Partnership (MAP) program has been working daily in gang-related neighborhoods since 2006 as a direct response to increased criminal activity and has established new and exciting rapport with residents, created new neighborhood resolve, empowered residents to fight back and made great inroads, winning three national awards along the way. Every department in the City is involved along with major components of the community. (Excerpt from a letter recently received from a MAP-area resident: “With joy and hope I report to you that my neighborhood has become quiet and safer. Now the kids come out to play and my neighbors sit with family in their front yards. Some neighbors started walking around the block in the morning or afternoons. Little by little the fear is fading and the sad moments from the past are being forgotten. Most of my neighbors appreciate and notice the difference between how it was and how quiet and safe it feels now.”)
• The High Risk Offenders Program is used to minimize the impact of parolees lining in the community by tracking all parolees released from prison back to Monrovia. A parole agent works alongside Monrovia police officers to monitor the activities and conduct of parolees living here and to direct parolees to job resources and other appropriate opportunities to assist them in making a successful transition back into the community. Those who fail in this and return to crime are vigorously prosecuted.
• A Gun Bounty Program offers anonymous informants a $100 reward for informing police about people carrying guns in public places. Several bounties have been paid and many weapons have been taken off the street as a result of this program.
• Since 1994, Monrovia has enforced a model Truancy Ordinance that has been duplicated by agencies nationwide and in Europe. The program has helped to increase school attendance as well as reduce the number of dropouts. Students are encouraged to stay in school rather than be on the streets where they can involved themselves in gangs and other criminal behavior.
• The Monrovia Youth Alliance, working through the Santa Anita Family YMCA and the Monrovia Ministerial Association, puts experienced gang and youth outreach professionals on the streets, working daily with gang members and at-risk youth to move them away from crime toward productive lives.
• A Drug Awareness Resistance Education (DARE) program has been used in Monrovia schools since 1990 in a partnership between the City and the Monrovia Unified School District. Specially-trained officers instruct Fifth Grade students in drug and gang awareness, anger management and violence alternatives.
• Parenting Classes are offered at no charge by the Police Department in both English and Spanish, promoting a healthy family environment and educating parents to successfully apply learned parenting skills.
• The Formative Years project offers values and life-training to children at very early stages of their education, with parent involvement at every stage.
• The Monrovia Reads and Plays Van takes recreation, library and literacy training directly into at-risk neighborhoods on a daily basis.
• The recently revived Youth Sports Program is providing organized sports for latch-key children after school and serves several hundred youngsters.
• The Youth Employment Service (YES) program provides summer jobs for at-risk youth and is showing great results in lowering school dropouts and sending kids on to higher education.
• The Monrovia Youth Commission brings teenagers together in community service projects.
• The City combats graffiti with the help of a contracted removal company. Graffiti is immediately reported and removed within 24 hours. Incidents of graffiti are reported to the Police Departments Special Enforcement Team, which investigates and prosecutes gang-related graffiti.
• A Community Notification System uses a computerized system to alert residents and businesses by telephone during times of emergency and is used for crime warnings, missing children, etc.
• Neighborhood Watch groups are set up throughout the community and have grown significantly in membership in recent years.
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