Criminal
Mar. 3, 2006
To Care for Society, Gangs Need a Say in Its Policies
The present response to combating gangs and gang violence is ineffectual. Hiring more police officers and stiffening criminal penalties for gang related offenses is akin to mowing one's lawn. Gangsters are, with varying degrees of frequency, taken off the street, but their ranks are invariably replenished with new members, who often go on to commit new offenses.
Konrad Moore
Public Defender, Kern County Public Defender's Office
The present response to combating gangs and gang violence is ineffectual. Hiring more police officers and stiffening criminal penalties for gang related offenses is akin to mowing one's lawn. Gangsters are, with varying degrees of frequency, taken off the street, but their ranks are invariably replenished with new members, who often go on to commit new offenses.
If the cycle and, more pointedly, the connection between gangs and gang violence is to be broken, it won't come from hi...
For only $95 a month (the price of 2 article purchases)
Receive unlimited article access and full access to our archives,
Daily Appellate Report, award winning columns, and our
Verdicts and Settlements.
Or
$795 for an entire year!
Or access this article for $45
(Purchase provides 7-day access to this article. Printing, posting or downloading is not allowed.)
Already a subscriber?
Sign In