BILLS WOULD CLOSE GANG LOOPHOLES PROPOSALS CALL FOR TOUGHER MEASURES ON JUVENILES.

Byline: GIDEON RUBIN

Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- A crime-bill package announced by Republican state lawmakers last week includes provisions that its proponents say would close legal loopholes allowing criminal street gangs to exploit the juvenile justice system.

Juveniles are typically recruited by street gangs for the purpose of committing robberies and burglaries because they face minimal consequences, law enforcement officials say.

Frustration over juvenile crime hit a boiling point within local law enforcement circles last fall during interrogations in the aftermath of a large scale gang-specific Antelope Valley investigation, when videotaped interviews showed smugly defiant juvenile suspects apparently well aware that they faced minimal punishment, Lancaster station Capt. Carl Deely said.

"It was a big joke to them," Deely said.

The crime bill package introduced Wednesday calls for terms of probation to include those released from prison to wear a global positioning system tracking devices. Additionally, the crime bill package provides for tougher sentencing for adults who use children in the commission of crimes.

State Senator George Runner R-Lancaster said the bills will give law enforcement the necessary tools to reduce crime. Runner authored several bills in the package including an omnibus bill that would require an up or down vote on the entire 12-bill package.

"We believe part of the pressures juveniles face is that they have an adult that's using them," Runner said.

Deely believes passage of the crime-bill package is necessary to update antiquated juvenile crime laws.

"There's no relation in the crimes being committed by juveniles in the '50s and '60s to what's going on now," Deely said, noting that many as young as 14 are already "hardened criminals."

Deely said three juveniles arrested on Thanksgiving Day for stealing 19 cars were rearrested three days later for the same crime.

"Unless they've killed somebody, they're putting them back on the streets on probation," Deely said.

"Not only is it frustrating for us, it's frustrating for our community because not only are they putting them back in our community, they're putting them back in our schools."

Runner said he vows to bring the crime bill legislation to the initiative process if it stalls in the Legislature. Runner and his wife, Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster, co- wrote Jessica's Law, which passed by a landslide as Proposition 83 last year.

"It'll pass overwhelmingly by the (initiative process) because people are tired of these terrorists," Deely said. "If people had any idea what little consequence there was for juvenile crime, they'd be marching on Sacramento demanding a change."

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