WILSON TARGETS JUVENILE CRIME\Proposed laws aimed at gangs.Byline: David Bloom David Bloom (May 22, 1963 – April 6, 2003) was an NBC journalist (co-anchor of Weekend Today and reporter) until his sudden death in 2003 at the age of 39. Early life Daily News Staff Writer Vowing a crackdown on juvenile crime, Gov. Pete Wilson For others named Pete Wilson, see . Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American Republican politician from California. Wilson served as the thirty-sixth Governor of California (1991–1999), the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that proposed a sweeping package of laws Tuesday that would let prosecutors charge more juveniles as adults and pushed a bond measure to expand youth detention centers. "If they are old enough to commit violent, vicious crimes, they are old enough to be treated as adults, tried as adults and if convicted, to do adult time," Wilson said during a news conference in Huntington Park Huntington Park, city (1990 pop. 56,065), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential and industrial suburb of Los Angeles; founded 1856, inc. 1906. Its varied manufactures include metal, glass and rubber products and industrial equipment. . Law enforcement officials praised the governor's plan, but critics said it placed too much emphasis on punishment at the expense of prevention and rehabilitation programs. "I never think we're going to be able to build enough jails or execute enough people to stop the problem," said the Rev. Tom Rush of Pacoima, co-chairman of the organization VOICE, or Valley Organized in Community Efforts. VOICE, supported by religious and community leaders 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. , helped found the anti-gang Hope In Youth project that emphasizes preventive programs and intervention to steer young people away from gangs and crime. At the core of the governor's proposal are changes in law aimed at getting tough with youthful gang members and juveniles involved in violent crimes in which a weapon is used. Under the proposed package of laws, prosecutors would have the discretion to try as adults any teen-ager who is 14 or older for about two dozen violent and weapons-related crimes. The proposed laws also require that juveniles found in unlawful possession of a gun be detained until a hearing before a judge, and eliminate probation for juveniles found to have used a firearm during a serious crime. Another anti-gang proposal would create a $2.5 million statewide fund to help communities pay for the enforcement of court injunctions that forbid gang members from associating with each other or participating in gang-related activities in defined areas. Under other provisions of Wilson's package, firearms sales to minors by licensed gun dealers would become a felony crime. Those sales now carry a misdemeanor sentence of a year or less in the county jail. The governor also called for a $150 million bond to expand counties' juvenile facilities, and said he would urge but not make mandatory the expansion of curfew programs by cities throughout the state. While many law enforcement officials and others applauded toughening the way juvenile offenders are treated, some who work closely with youths to keep them out of gangs questioned the lack of preventive measures. Rush and others said early intervention ear·ly intervention n. Abbr. EI A process of assessment and therapy provided to children, especially those younger than age 6, to facilitate normal cognitive and emotional development and to prevent developmental disability or delay. to keep youths out of gangs is just as important as locking up youthful offenders youthful offenders n. under-age people accused of crimes, who are processed through a juvenile court and juvenile detention or prison facilities. In most states a youthful offender is under the age of 18. . What is needed, they said, is a comprehensive plan that augments law enforcement through programs that stabilize families, provide mentors for young people, and offer after-school activities and other interventions. "In order to stop crime, we need to be putting our resources where we can ensure these kids don't become hardened criminals," said Francisco Lobaco, legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . Under Wilson's plan "we're going away from a prevention model," Lobaco said, expressing concern that the package blurs the traditional distinction in California's adult and juvenile justice systems. Wilson's package does include some prevention programs, a state official said, but details were not provided by the governor Tuesday. J.P. Tremblay, assistant director of the state Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, said the governor's proposal would create 20 state-run "academies" for youths at risk of becoming involved in gangs. Those academies would provide the youths with a quality education, Tremblay said, but it has not been determined who would qualify for them or how they would be operated. The governor also expects increases in funding for K-12 education to have a long-term positive effect on gang problems, Tremblay said. Prosecutors, law enforcement officials and other government leaders said Wilson's plan would provide much-needed crime-fighting and legal tools to combat violent juvenile offenders. In particular they said funding for the gang injunction A gang injunction is a court-issued restraining order prohibiting gang members from participating in certain activities. It is based on the legal theory that gang activity constitutes a public nuisance that prevents non-gang members from enjoying peace in their communities. program would allow them to obtain court orders forbidding gang activity in proscribed PROSCRIBED, civil law. Among the Romans, a man was said to be proscribed when a reward was offered for his head; but the term was more usually applied to those who were sentenced to some punishment which carried with it the consequences of civil death. Code, 9; 49. areas. "This is the beginning of community-based prosecutions," said Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti Gilbert "Gil" Garcetti (b. August 5, 1941) served as Los Angeles County's 39th District Attorney for two terms, from 1992 until November 7, 2000. Background Gil Garcetti received a bachelor's degree in Management from the University of Southern California and a Juris . Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . spokesman Lt. Anthony Alba said such an injunction has been successful in combating chronic gang and drug problems in the Blythe Street area of Van Nuys. "It's really helped cut down on open activities" by drug-selling gangs in that neighborhood, Alba said. Wilson said the injunctions would allow prosecutors to forbid gang members from ordinary activities that facilitate criminal behavior. "You can take away their colors and their pagers, you can get them off the pay phones, you can not let them camp out in front of the homes of the people they intimidate," the governor said. CAPTION(S): PHOTO At his news conference in Huntington Park, Gov. Pete Wilson sits with Antonio Izquierdo, whose daughter was killed in a drive-by shooting drive-by shooting Public health A phenomenon in which one or more persons–commonly members of street gangs, open fire à la Al Capone from moving vehicles, often in retaliation for an alleged wrong-doing by a rival gang . Associated Press |
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