City Attorney Herrera has obtained civil injunctions against five violent street gangs that have long plagued San Francisco neighborhoods with their criminal and nuisance conduct. Named in the gang injunctions so far issued by the San Francisco Superior Court are the following:
- The Bayview/Hunters Point-based Oakdale Mob
- The Mission-based Norteño gang
- The Western Addition-based Chopper City gang
- The Western Addition-based Eddy Rock gang
- The Western Addition-based Knock Out Posse gang
Herrera is currently pursuing a new injunction against two more gangs:
- The Visitacion Valley-based Down Below Gangsters
- The Visitacion Valley-based Towerside Gang
The Effectiveness of Civil Gang Injunctions in S.F.
Tracking arrest data since the imposition of each gang injunction, the San Francisco City Attorney's Office has observed a general "cooling off" effect among gang members named in the various injunctions, with markedly fewer arrests citywide following the imposition of injunctions. Since San Francisco's gang injunction program was launched at the end of 2006, 46 percent of identified gang members (43 of 93) have gone without even a single arrest in San Francisco for crimes other than minor violations of the injunction itself. The data also show progressive improvements over time, with only 14 percent of identified gang members (13 of 93) arrested for non-injunction crimes so far in 2010 -- down from 41 percent in 2007.
|
Identified gang members arrested for non-injunction offenses in S.F. |
| Gangs |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
| Oakdale Mob |
7 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
| Chopper City |
n/a |
6 |
7 |
3 |
| Eddy Rock |
n/a |
6 |
2 |
2 |
| Knock Out Posse |
n/a |
2 |
3 |
0 |
| Norteño |
n/a |
9 |
3 |
6 |
| Arrestees |
7 (of 17) |
28 (of 87) |
19 (of 93) |
13 (of 93) |
| Percentages |
41% |
32% |
20% |
14% |
To date, no injunction has resulted in an observable migration of gang-related crime or nuisances to adjacent areas or to different neighborhoods, as evidenced by citywide arrest data and observations by experts from the San Francisco Police Department's Gang Task Force.
In addition to the statistics on the effectiveness of San Francisco's gang injunction program, the following are two independent studies of civil gang injunctions in other California jurisdictions that indicate their effectiveness in helping to abate gang-related violence and nuisance activity.
How to 'Opt-Out' of a Gang Injunction
An agreement among the City Attorney's Office, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area has established an administrative process by which individuals named in civil gang injunctions may petition to "opt out" from the court ordered provisions.
City Attorney Herrera said the opt-out process "both maximizes civil liberties protections for alleged gang members, and ensures the effectiveness of civil gang injunctions to protect San Francisco neighborhoods from violence and nuisance conduct."
Civil Gang Injunction in Visitacion Valley
On Aug. 5, 2010, the San Francisco City Attorney's Office filed suit against two warring criminal street gangs that have terrorized San Francisco's Visitacion Valley for more than three years. The civil complaint filed in Superior Court names the "Down Below Gangsters" and "Towerside" gang as defendants in an action that seeks to prohibit an array of gang-related criminal and nuisance conduct by 41 adult gang members within a proposed "safety zone" covering less than two-tenths of a square mile.
The proposed safety zone is an approximately .18 square mile "L" shaped area bordered by Schwerin Avenue, Visitacion Avenue and Hahn Street, and the Sunnydale Public Housing Development's northern, western and southern borders, the latter of which then proceeds along Velasco Avenue. The safety zone encompasses both known gang turfs together with an adjoining buffer zone between and near the two turf areas.
Key Documents from the Visitacion Valley Gang Injunction Case
- City Attorney news release: "Herrera seeks civil injunction against warring criminal street gangs in Visitacion Valley; Complaint begins process to enjoin 41 members of 'Down Below Gangsters,' 'Towerside' in safety zone encompassing both turfs (Aug. 5, 2010)
- PDF of the Visitacion Valley Gang Injunction Complaint Presskit (Aug. 5, 2010)
- PDF of the Plaintiff's Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Issuance of Preliminary Gang Injunction (Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Parts 1 and 2: Qualifications and General History and Crimes (Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 3: Clothing (Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 4: Tattoos (Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 5: Hand Signs(Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 6: Graffiti(Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 7: Intimidation and Injunction (Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 8: Down Below Gangsters overview (Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 9: DBG members Beard to Calloway (Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 10: DBG members Crawford to Jackson (Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 11: DBG members Jones to Mitchell (Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 12: DBG members Pellette to Rose (Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 13: DBG members Smith to Woodson (Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 14: Towerside overview and members Beasley to Dogan (Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 15: Towerside members Floyd to Johnson (Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 16: Towerside members Johnson to McCroey (Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 17: Towerside members Punzal to Young (Aug. 11, 2010)
- PDF of the Expert Declaration Part 18: Exhibits (Aug. 11, 2010)
Civil Gang Injunction in the Mission
According to the San Francisco Superior Court's Order Granting Preliminary Injunction of October 12, 2007, the Safety Zone enjoining members of the Norteño gang "is defined as an 'L' shaped area generally bordered by 23rd Street to the North (but extending to 21st Street at Alabama Street), Valencia to the West, Cesar Chavez to the South, Potrero Avenue to the East, and extending to encompass La Raza Parl, also known as Potrero Del Sol Park." The map is below:
Civil Gang Injunction in the Western Addition
According to the San Francisco Superior Court's December 18, 2007 Judgment Granting Permanent Injunction against Eddy Rock, Chopper City and Knock Out Posse Gangs, the following are the court-ordered Safety Zones.
The Chopper City and Knock Out Posse Safety Zone "includes that area of San Francisco that is bordered by and includes Ellis Street to the North, Divisadero Street to the West, Turk Street to the South, and Steiner Street to the East." The map is below.
The Eddy Rock Safety Zone "includes that area of San Francisco that is bordered by and includes Ellis Street to the North, Gough Street to the east, Turk Street to the south, and Webster Street to the West." The map is below.
- Download the PDF of the Court's Judgment Granting Permanent Injunction against Eddy Rock, Chopper City and Knock Out Posse (Dec. 18, 2007)
- Download the PDF of the City Attorney's complaint against Eddy Rock, Chopper City and Knock Out Posse (June 21, 2007)
- Download the PDF of the City Attorney's MPAs for Eddy Rock, Chopper City and Knock Out Posse gangs (July 12, 2007)
- Download the PDF of the Expert Declaration of SFPD Officer David Q. Do in Support of Plaintiff's Application for an Order to Show Cause Re: Preliminary Injunction and Preliminary Injunction (3 MB, July 6, 2007)
- Download the PDF of the Expert Declaration of SFPD Officer Reese Burrows in Support of Plaintiff's Applicaton for an Order to Show Cause Re: Preliminary Injunction and Preliminary Injunction (2.6 MB, June 28, 2007)
- Download the PDF of the Declarations of 115 SFPD Officers and SFSD Deputies in Support of Plaintiff's Application for an Order to Show Cause Re: Preliminary Injunction and Preliminary Injunction (88 MB, June 5, 2007)
- Download the PDF of the Court's Order to Show Cause for the Eddy Rock, Chopper City and Knock Out Posse gangs (July 12, 2007)
Civil Gang Injunction in Bayview/Hunters Point
According to the San Francisco Superior Court's March 15, 2007 Judgment Granting Permanent Injunction against the Oakdale Mob, the court-ordered Safety Zone is "located in the City and County of San Francisco, bounded by Griffith Street to the east, Palou Avenue to the south, Ingalls Street to the west, and Navy Road to the north, continuing straight beyond the end of Navy Road to where it would intersect with Ingalls Street, and including both sides of those four boundaries streets." The map is below:
