Skip to Content
News

Los Angeles Ordered to Stop Enforcing Gang Injunctions

2:33 PM PDT on March 18, 2018

A federal court has ordered the city of Los Angeles to stop enforcing most of its remaining gang injunctions, marking the end of the controversial practice that critics long called unconstitutional.

The preliminary injunction will end restrictive sanctions for roughly 1,500 people put under gang injunctions without due process by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office, according to the ACLU of Southern California. Because the city did not allow accused individuals the opportunity to defend themselves, the court issued a preliminary holding that the city likely violated the Constitution, the statement said.

RELATED: Alleged L.A. Gang Member, You Are Now Free to Wear that Dodgers Jersey

The ACLU Foundation of Southern California, the Urban Peace Institute, and the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP filed a class action suit on be half of people unconstitutionally subjected to gang injunctions, along with the Youth Justice Coalition, an organization fighting against unjust accusations of gang affiliation.

According to the LAPD’s online site a gang injunction is a restraining order that seeks a court order declaring the gang’s public behavior a nuisance and asking for special rules directed toward its activity. They argue that injunctions can address the neighborhood’s gang problem before it reaches the level of felony crime activity.

The ACLU says that the city has put a number of Angelenos, mostly men of color, under probation-like conditions for years, solely based on arbitrary claims of gang membership. Some of the effects of the injunctions included people being unable to ride in vehicles together to schools or churches, and in some alleged gang territories, being unable to wear blue Dodgers gear.

This decision is historic in confirming what communities of color have said for decades, Youth Justice Coalition’s Kim McGill said in the release. Gang injunctions are prisons without walls. They are overly harsh, serve to cut people off from the opportunities and supports they need to succeed, serve as tools of gentrification and displacement, and criminalize thousands of people for non-criminal acts further enforcing racial and economic discrimination in the implementation of public safety.

See a map of city wide gang injunctions here.

RELATED: LAPD Launches Crime Maps

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

L.A. Spent Over $1.73 Million on These Controversial ‘Anti-Homeless’ Signs. Do They Actually Work?

Earlier this month, a leaked memo from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) suggested that these 41.18 zones rarely led to unhoused people being moved into interim shelter or permanent housing. After being cleared, most 41.18 zones quickly became repopulated.

March 27, 2024

Two New Lowrider-Inspired and Dodger-Blue L.A. TACO Hats Are Now Available!

Wear your L.A. TACO swag and support our inclusive, street-level community journalism!

March 27, 2024

A Morning-Only Taco Pop-Up in Northridge Is Making the Biggest Breakfast Burritos in the San Fernando Valley

What does it take to stand out in Los Angeles's saturated taco climate? Focus on San Fernando Valley-style loaded breakfast tacos, "breakfast quesadillas" with crispy cheese skirts, and the beefiest breakfast burritos Balboa Boulevard has ever seen.

March 26, 2024

The Second Round of TACO MADNESS 2024 Is Now Open for Voting! Meet ‘L.A.’s Sweet 16’ That Advanced

Save the date! Our 15th annual taco tournament is taking place on April 13th at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes near Olvera Street. Pre-sale tickets are now available. Our online tournament starts on Monday. Check out this year's contenders!

March 26, 2024

Meet L.A.’s Queen of Carnitas Succeeding In a Male-Dominated Taco Style

Her Michoacán-style carnitas are so tender, crispy, and sticky, that she's known to sell more than 1,200 pounds on Sundays alone. What sets her apart from other carnitas stars in L.A. is her commitment to making handmade corn tortillas, too. Her story of resilience is the stuff of taquera legends.

March 25, 2024
See all posts