Move to Ban Gang Members From Parks Dies

An unwieldy proposal to ban gang members from parks and beaches was shelved Monday by a Los Angeles City Council committee, which instead urged police and parks officials to work together to increase security at recreation facilities this summer.

The proposed ordinance, based loosely on a San Fernando city law prohibiting gang members from entering a crime-plagued park, would have barred gang members in Los Angeles with two or more serious crimes on their records from entering any public park, playground or beach.

But on the recommendation of police officials, who deemed the Los Angeles measure unenforceable, the committee agreed that there should simply be a greater focus on park security. The proposal lost momentum in the council last month after police and city attorneys said the measure raised thorny legal issues.

“This isn’t the kind of thing where you can hammer out details,” said Councilman Marvin Braude, chairman of the Public Safety Committee and a proponent of the proposed ordinance. “This is just a situation where the Police Department will distribute its resources with a greater emphasis on parks.”

The cash-strapped Police Department, which gets no new funds for the effort, will basically rely on its existing park safety plan, said Lt. John Dunkin, a department spokesman.

That program, started several years ago, includes training of park employees by police staff and more attention during the summer to 17 parks with a history of criminal complaints, including five in the Valley, Dunkin said.

The list of parks with a history of gang trouble, which includes the Van Nuys, Lanark, Sun Valley, Humphrey and Winnetka recreation centers, probably will be expanded to include most city swimming pools, 15 of which are in the Valley, said Manuel Mollinedo, assistant general manager of the Recreation and Parks Department.

The debate over park safety, which comes against the backdrop of a gang fight that forced police to close part of Venice Beach last month, is scheduled to be taken up by the full council next Tuesday.