BRATTON, HAHN BACK NEW LAW CITY COULD MAKE GANG 'HANGING OUT' ILLEGAL.Byline: Mariel Garza Staff Writer Mayor James Hahn For the Iowa politician, see . James Kenneth "Jim" Hahn (born July 3, 1950) is an American politician from the Democratic Party. He was the Deputy City Attorney (1975-1979), City Controller (1981-1985), City Attorney (1985-2001) and Mayor of Los Angeles, California and Police Chief William Bratton joined Tuesday with three City Council members to endorse a proposed law that would seek to head off violence by limiting gang members' ability to congregate. The law would be based on a county ordinance that prohibits loitering Loitering (IPA pronunciation: ['lɔɪtəˌrɪŋ] is an intransitive verb meaning to stand idly, to stop numerous times, or to delay and procrastinate. ``with the intent to intimidate neighborhoods or conceal illegal activities.'' Bratton said the ordinance would be another tool to help his officers fight the growing gang problem. The City Council is set to vote today on whether to ask the City Attorney to draft the law. The American Civic Liberties Union found the concept of the ordinance troubling, saying it is too vague and opens the doors to police harassment Ask a Lawyer Question Country: United States of America State: Nevada I recently moved to nev.from abut have been going back to ca. every 2 to 3 weeks for med. and racial profiling The consideration of race, ethnicity, or national origin by an officer of the law in deciding when and how to intervene in an enforcement capacity. Police officers often profile certain types of individuals who are more likely to perpetrate crimes. . But city leaders say the constitutionality of this type of law has already been tested and that there needs to be a better balance between the rights of victims and of criminals. ``We think the balance shifted too far in earlier years toward the rights of individuals and not about protecting rights of victims and law-abiding citizens,'' Hahn said at a news conference in Boyle Heights. ``They ought to be able to tell the gang members to get off their front lawn and stop blocking their driveway without fear of being intimidated or harassed or retaliated against because they're exercising their basic freedom.'' The motion, initiated by East Los Angeles East Los Angeles, uninc. city (1990 pop. 126,379), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles, in an industrial area. It has a large Mexican-American population. There is a performing arts center and a cultural center. A junior college is there. Councilman Nick Pacheco Lauro "Nick" Pacheco, Jr. is an American attorney, politician, and a member of the Democratic Party. Pacheco served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council (1999-2003). , would eliminate the need to seek cumbersome court injunctions the city has been using in recent years to prevent gang activity. However, Bruce Riordan, deputy chief of the Terrorism and Organized Crime Unit for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , said local loitering laws don't offer much help for federal gang investigations. What has helped tremendously, he said, are court injunctions that limit an identified gang's activities within a geographic area. ``Those are really dynamite,'' Riordan said, `'because they really help us gather reliable intelligence, which is valuable.'' |
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