Gang Injunction
The injunction against the 18th Street gang is a huge joke. At best the named gang members will simply set up shop in a new neighborhood, while new members take their place.
This shortsighted legal maneuver is a substitute for facing up to the real problems in the Pico-Union neighborhood; filthy streets, poor sanitation, lack of police foot patrols, substandard schools, lack of youth facilities or day care centers and decaying buildings are just a sample of some of the real problems that need to be addressed. But that takes money, commitment and vision that the current “corporate” government simply doesn’t have.
The approach of “more arrests, more jails” is dead. Our reward for this misguided approach is the further erosion of civil liberties, which I believe are what make America great. Trading civil liberties for a false sense of security is not the way to go.
KENNETH KAHN
Los Angeles
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