Policing by Injunction: Problem-Oriented Dimensions of Civil Gang Abatement in the State of

435 Pages·2003·20.34 MB·English

by  Edward L. Allan

The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the U.S.
Department of Justice and prepared the following final report:

Document Title: Policing by Injunction: Problem-Oriented
Dimensions of Civil Gang Abatement in the
State of California

Author(s): Edward L. Allan

Document No.: 197138

Date Received: November 2002

Award Number: 2000-IJ-CX-0018

This report has not been published by the U.S. Department of Justice.
To provide better customer service, NCJRS has made this Federally-
funded grant final report available electronically in addition to
traditional paper copies.

Opinions or points of view expressed are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect

the official position or policies of the U.S.

Department of Justice.
POLICING BY INJUNCTION:
PROBLEM-ORIENTED DIMENSIONS OF CIVIL GANG ABATEMENT
IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
(NIJ GRANT# 2000-IJ-CX-0018)
ABSTRACT
Civil gang abatement employs civil injunctions to abate persistent public nuisance
activity by gangs in specific neighborhoods. Civil gang abatement has been promoted as
a problem-oriented response - a proactive, flexible strategy that incorporates community
involvement in the decision to acquire an injunction. This research explored the
dimensions of flexibility and community involvement in the acquisition stage of the
injunction process. Using court records and a survey of the prosecutors from forty-two
California gang injunction initiatives, a taxonomy of initiatives was established, and the
variation in situational characteristics and the degree of community involvement in the
initiatives were analyzed. The use of problem-solving methodology in the acquisition
process was also examined.
The taxonomy of injunction initiatives, which was based on the injunction provisions
requested by prosecutors, provided the strongest evidence of flexibility. The initiatives
were evenly distributed among three categories - high-drug, high-crime, and high-
disorder initiatives. The variation in situational characteristics was relatively strong in
the problem identification and response variables. The analysis variables were weak,
primarily because gangs and neighborhoods with similar characteristics were often
targeted. Prosecutors unanimously believed that the initiatives were effective, primarily
using anecdotal evidence for their assessment. The evidence suggests that problem-
solving methodology was widely used in the acquisition process.
Community involvement in the decision-making process was decidedly weak,
primarily due to the lack of community organizations in gang-plagued
low-profile nature of the initiatives, and the
Approved By:
This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice.
This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view
expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official
position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
a
community participants. However, prosecutors claimed to be responding to the needs of
the community as expressed by citizens through the police and elected officials.
It is concluded that the majority of gang injunction initiatives were a flexible response
to local gang activity, as opposed to the stereotypical responses often found in crime
suppression programs that rely solely on criminal statutes. However, the ideal of the
community as a decision-making partner should be tempered in the highly disorganized
neighborhoods that are vulnerable to gangs. Civil gang abatement may be an appropriate
policy response to neighborhood gang problems for law enforcement agencies seeking to
employ a problem-oriented strategy.
..
11
This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice.
This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view
expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official
position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
. , -.",
POLICING BY INJUNCTION:
PROBLEM-ORIENTED DIMENSIONS OF CIVIL GANG ABATEMENT
IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
(NIJ GRANT# 2000-IJ-CX-0018)
ABSTRACT
Civil gang abatement employs civil injunctions to abate persistent public nuisance
activity by gangs in specific neighborhoods. Civil gang abatement has been promoted as
a problem-oriented response - a proactive, flexible strategy that incorporates community
involvement in the decision to acquire an injunction. This research explored the
dimensions of flexibility and community involvement in the acquisition stage of the
injunction process. Using court records and a survey of the prosecutors from forty-two
California gang injunction initiatives, a taxonomy of initiatives was established, and the
variation in situational characteristics and the degree of community involvement in the
initiatives were analyzed. The use of problem-solving methodology in the acquisition
process was also examined.
The taxonomy of injunction initiatives, which was based on the injunction provisions
requested by prosecutors, provided the strongest evidence of flexibility. The initiatives
were evenly distributed among three categories - high-drug, high-crime, and high-
disorder initiatives. The variation in situational characteristics was relatively strong in
the problem identification and response variables. The analysis variables were weak,
primarily because gangs and neighborhoods with similar characteristics were often
targeted. Prosecutors unanimously believed that the initiatives were effective, primarily
using anecdotal evidence for their assessment. The evidence suggests that problem-
solving methodology was widely used in the acquisition process.
Community involvement in the decision-making process was decidedly weak,
primarily due to the lack of community organizations in gang-plagued neighborhoods, the
low-profile nature of the initiatives, and the concern for gang retaliation against
1
This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice.
This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view
expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official
position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
community participants. However, prosecutors claimed to be responding to the needs of
the community as expressed by citizens through the police and elected officials.
It is concluded that the majority of gang injunction initiatives were a flexible response
to local gang activity, as opposed to the stereotypical responses often found in crime
suppression programs that rely solely on criminal statutes. However, the ideal of the
community as a decision-making partner should be tempered in the highly disorganized
neighborhoods that are vulnerable to gangs. Civil gang abatement may be an appropriate
policy response to neighborhood gang problems for law enforcement agencies seeking to'
employ a problem-oriented strategy.
ii
This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice.
This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view
expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official
position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Policing by Injunction:
Problem-oriented Dimensions of Civil Gang Abatement
in the State of California
Edward L. Allan
COPYRIGHT 2002
This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice.
This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view
expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official
position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
.
-**
POLICING BY INJUNCTION:
PROBLEM-ORIENTED DIMENSIONS OF CIVIL GANG ABATEMENT
IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Edward L. Allan
A Dissertation
Submitted to the University at Albany, State University of New York
in Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
School of Criminal Justice
2002
This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice.
This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view
expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official
position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
a
(Blank Page)
This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice.
This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view
expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official
position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
(Blank Page)
This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice.
This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view
expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official
position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
ABSTRACT
Civil gang abatement employs civil injunctions to abate persistent public nuisance
activity by gangs in specific neighborhoods. Civil gang abatement has been promoted as
a problem-oriented response - a proactive, flexible strategy that incorporates community
involvement in the decision to acquire an injunction. This research explored the
dimensions of flexibility and community involvement in the acquisition stage of the
injunction process. Using court records and a survey of the prosecutors from forty-two
California gang injunction initiatives, a taxonomy of initiatives was established, and the
I
variation in situational characteristics and the degree of community involvement in the
- -
initiatives were analyzed. The use of problem-solving methodology in the acquisition
process was also examined.
The taxonomy of injunction initiatives, which was based on the injunction provisions
requested by prosecutors, provided the strongest evidence of flexibility. The initiatives
were evenly distributed among three categories high-drug, high-crime, and high-
-
disorder initiatives. The variation in situational characteristics was relatively strong in
the problem identification and response variables. The analysis variables were weak,
primarily because gangs and neighborhoods with similar characteristics were often
targeted. Prosecutors unanimously believed that the initiatives were effective, primarily
using anecdotal evidence for their assessment. The evidence suggests that problem-
,,-
I
solving methodology was widely used in the acquisition process.
Community involvement in the decision-making process was decidedly weak,
primarily due to the lack of community organizations in gang-plagued neighborhoods, the
low-profile nature of the initiatives, and the concern for gang retaliation against
community participants. However, prosecutors claimed to be responding to the needs of
the community as expressed by citizens through the police and elected officials. It is
concluded that the majority of gang injunction initiatives were a flexible response to local
V
This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice.
This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view
expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official
position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.