Authorities in Dallas Announce New ‘Zero Tolerance’ Policy Against Gangs

The city has a tough new policy on gangs, and Mayor Steve Bartlett summed it up this way Thursday:

“If you join a gang, we’re going to identify you, we’re going to follow you, we’re going to arrest you, we’re going to make a good case against you and we’re going to get you out of that dangerous pattern.”

A recent rash of gang-related murders prompted the tougher approach. Police Chief Ben Click put two warring gangs on notice that they will be the first targets.

Fourteen officers have been on gang patrol. Effective immediately, 60 officers will operate under a “zero tolerance” policy. That means any violation of the law by gang members, regardless of how trivial, will be enforced, Click said.

Certain areas will be saturated with officers to keep gangs from congregating or cruising around schools, officials said.

Any young person caught with a weapon will do a minimum of 30 days in a detention facility. And the city’s new curfew law for teen-agers will be enforced beginning today. Anyone 16 or younger caught out after 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends will be ticketed.