Governor Urges Anti-Gang Legislation

Gov. George Deukmejian, searching for ways to halt gang violence, Saturday urged legislation that would expand use of the death penalty and permit the sentencing of 16-year-olds to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Saying that Los Angeles has more gangs than any other city in the nation, Deukmejian also said he would authorize rewards of up to $10,000 in certain cases for information leading to the arrest and conviction of gang members.

“Turning the tide of gang violence won’t be easy,” the Republican governor said in his weekly radio address. “Three-hundred eighty-seven people were killed in Los Angeles County last year as a result of gang activities, and the death toll this year has already topped 85.”

Deukmejian’s speech came as the Los Angeles Police Department launched a major effort to crack down on gangs. A task force of 1,000 police officers patrolled the streets Friday night, arresting 592 people, and a similar sweep was planned for Saturday night.

The governor’s address also followed a dramatic turnabout in the Assembly last week when, for the first time in a decade, the Democratic-controlled house voted for legislation that would extend the death penalty to murderers of children under age 14 and permit the wiretapping of suspected drug dealers.

But Democrats, responding quickly to the governor’s call for new anti-gang legislation, pointed out that the Legislature has already passed more than 80 such bills since 1984.

“We don’t want to engage in a debate with the governor over who is tougher on gang wars but we want to point out that we have been dealing with this and passing legislation for three or four years now,” said Susan Jetton, press secretary to Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco). “We’re not dragging our feet by any means.”

New Effort on Bills

Deukmejian said he would reintroduce three bills he has pushed in the past that have been rejected by the Legislature.

While not providing many specifics of his proposals, Deukmejian said one measure would permit a jury to impose the death penalty in cases where a witness in a juvenile proceeding has been murdered.

A second bill would allow the sentencing of juveniles as young as 16 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Under current law, such a sentence cannot be imposed on anyone younger than 18.

And the governor called for passage of legislation providing for tougher penalties in drive-by shootings and the forfeiture of vehicles used in such crimes.

Speaker Brown’s office, however, pointed out that Deukmejian signed a similar bill last year that increased the penalty for drive-by crimes by five years. The measure by Assemblywoman Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) also provided for the confiscation of a vehicle used in a drive-by shooting and owned by the perpetrator of the crime.

In addition to his legislative proposals, Deukmejian said he would authorize rewards of up to $10,000 in cases where local law enforcement officials believe that such a reward would help in making an arrest and winning a conviction.

“All too often, victims and witnesses of gang violence are reluctant to provide authorities with information which could lead to the arrest of these criminals,” the governor said in calling for the use of rewards to elicit information.

Citing the recent killings of a Los Angeles teen-ager, an elderly woman in a wheelchair and a 9-year-old boy, Deukmejian likened gang violence to the activities of the Mafia.

“These murders were not committed by youth groups,” he said. “They were committed by organizations of killers, and their victims are the victims of organized crime.”