| Civil Gang Injunctions have existed since 1987. The City of Oxnard recently implemented a spatially extensive one. The majority of the residents approved the injunction but regretted not being part of the process before the District Attorney's Office and the Oxnard Police Department obtained a court order against the La Colonia Chiques Gang. A small minority of the population completely opposed the injunction and its implementation.;This project focuses on public safety, civil rights, perceptions, and opinions/perspectives. It shows how Oxnard gangs developed from car clubs, describes the history of the La Colonia neighborhood along with recent statistics, and presents the opinions of community members, gang members, and police officers about this injunction.;A good example of a successful injunction in the Los Angeles area was the Redondo Beach Injunction against the North Side Redondo Gang. It showed how the community was involved in the process and the effectiveness of the SARA (Scan, Analyze, Respond, and Assess) model. The District Attorney and the Redondo Beach Police Department brought the community together to achieve a united goal to combat gang violence.;The literature review attempts to establish a rationale based on the Spergel Model, Arnstein's citizen participation ladders, Nye's comment about soft power, Churchman's system approach, Saxton's article on citizen participation, and the works of many other authors.;The core of the research presents the views of activists, elected officials, police officers, and citizens who have argued their positions on civil gang injunctions.;The discussion of findings supports the conclusion that the injunction suffered from defects and could have been implemented differently. This researcher's perspective is unusual because he is a police officer who worked where the gang injunction was implemented. A major conclusion is that it is essential to consider the community involvement when implementing controversial social urban policies such as gang injunctions. |
