October 15, 2007
No, No Norteños
Members of the exclusive Norteño gang in the Mission District got capped with a civil injunction today, barring them from hanging out each other in a 60-square-block area and from loitering after 10 p.m., according to a report in the Chronicle.
Those who are subject to the preliminary injunction...can be arrested in the 60-square-block zone -- and face up to six months in jail -- if they engage in one of a number of restricted activities, including associating together and loitering late at night. Other banned activities include intimidating witnesses, marking graffiti and wearing the Norteño's trademark red.
Wait, they can't even wear their famous shade of crimson? Pft. Whatever. If you have the skin tone to pull off such a bold color, we say go for it. (Because we sure can't, but so totally would if we could.)
Anyway, although these court orders have made rougher neighborhoods safer, like in LA, some critics say that such orders touch upon civil rights infringement, or merely act as an ineffective Band-Aid solution to a larger problem. Still, a wee bit of the Mission just got a little bit safer. For now.
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Red makes me look fat.
Which is why I had no option, but to join the sartorially superior Sureños.
Sur 13!!
Oh now it's on!
I hear the Surenos like San Diego-style burritos, while the Nortenos prefer the inferior Mission style.
What?!? No more intimidating witnesses or graffiti? Seriously, do we need to make it more of a crime to commit crimes?
As for the rest of the injunction, well, it's a good idea. While it really should be supplemented with programs to attack the root of the problem the idea of preventing gang members from associating is a valid one. The issue, as I see it, is one of the degree of evidence required to add someone to the list. The article doesn't really address this and it's a critical factor.
Likewise, enforcement seems like an issue. Police now have to be notified of people on the list who aren't allowed to interact with other people on the list. It just seems like it could be problematic to try to enforce something at that personal of a level and will most likely merely be used if they're picked up due to other crimes to add onto their sentences.