Charlotte City Council
Community Safety Committee
Meeting Summary June 28, 2007
COMMITTEE AGENDA TOPICS
I.
Subject:
CMPD Plans for Fourth of July
Action:
Information Only
Staff Resource: Keith Parker, Major Harold Medlock, Capt. Jeff Estes
II.
Subject:
Civil Gang Injunction
Action:
Information Only
Staff Resource: Keith Parker, Mark Newbold
COMMITTEE INFORMATION
Present:
Absent:
Time:
Council Members Kinsey, Mitchell, and Foxx
Council members Turner and Dulin
12:10-12:50 p.m.
ATTACHMENTS
1.
Civil Gang Injunction Power Point
Community Safety Committee
Meeting Summary for June 28, 2007
Page 2
DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS
I.
Subject:
CMPD Plans for Fourth of July
Committee Discussion:
CMPD personnel presented their plans for the Forth of July celebration. In addition to
coverage in the Memorial Stadium area where the Red, Hot, and Boom celebration will
be held, CMPD will have a significant presence in Uptown. The only planned activities
Uptown are at restaurants and clubs. Planning has been underway for months and
incorporates lessons learned from last year as well as New Year’s Eve. The philosophy is
to intervene in any identified criminal activity at the earliest stage so there is not an
opportunity for it to escalate.
CMPD will have both static and mobile units in the Uptown area. The Civil Emergency
Unit (CEU) will be on duty; their personnel will be dressed in regular uniforms. Units
from Fire, The Sheriff’s Office and MEDIC will also be present. Behavior that will not
be tolerated includes blocking streets and/or sidewalks, curfew violations, and open
container violations. There will also be aggressive targeting of violent street gangs.
Detectives from the Investigations Division will backfill positions in the patrol divisions
so all divisions will be fully staffed.
Question/Answer:
II.
Subject:
Civil Gang Injunction
Committee Discussion:
Mark Newbold presented the Civil Gang Injunction, a new civil remedy that CMPD
plans
to use in targeting gang activity. The injunction is one response to the Homicide Task
Force’s recommendation to increase enforcement efforts to target the most violent
offenders. A gang injunction would prohibit gang activity at a particular location. It
would prohibit young people from associating with known criminal gang members as
well as prohibiting known criminal gang members from soliciting new members. It can
be used to ban gangs from a particular area known to be their turf. It can also prohibit
behavior that intimidates a neighborhood such as graffiti, displaying gang colors,
breaches of the peace and curfew violations.
Police officers, with some assistance from community members, will collect and
document evidence about gang members and their activities and prepare affidavits in
support of their investigations. A summons and complaint would then be filed in civil
court asserting that the gang’s activities constitute a public nuisance. A preliminary
injunction can be granted that would prohibit the gang from certain behavior at a
particular location. Violation of the injunction puts gang members in contempt of court.
Community Safety Committee
Meeting Summary for June 28, 2007
Page 3
Gang injunctions are currently used by police departments throughout California
including San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Fresno as well as in El Paso, Texas
and departments in Arizona and Illinois. Independent studies have verified substantial
decreases in violent crime in neighborhoods where the injunctions are used.
The injunction does not duplicate a criminal prosecution because it focuses on behavior
that intimidates a neighborhood and does not require that an actual crime occur.
Injunctions can be modified and expanded to fit the circumstances.
CMPD believes that gang injunctions would be useful in Charlotte because gangs are
becoming more turf oriented and the injunctions strike at their ability to maintain their
turf. It would also provide gang members an excuse to leave a gang and prevent young
people from joining gangs. The injunctions would compliment the Gang of One
program. The injunctions will have some impact on officer workload but no additional
funding is needed to implement them.
The Police Attorney will now determine the best legal vehicle to bring an injunction; this
will likely be under General Police Powers to define and abate nuisances as outlined
under the North Carolina General Statutes.
Ray Wilson from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools attended the meeting on behalf of
the Homicide Task Force. He asked how the schools could support this and was told that
the best way is to keep supplying intelligence to police officers. Council member
Mitchell said that School Resource Officers assigned to middle schools are also a good
source of information on gang activity in their schools. Council member Kinsey
expressed her support for the injunctions as another tool against gang activity.
Question/Answer:
Q: Mitchell:
A: Newbold
Q: Kinsey
A: Newbold
Q: Mitchell
A. Newbold
How do we identify the neighborhoods where this
would be used?
Where there are crime hotspots and turf based
gangs.
Is Charlotte the first city on the East Coast to try
this?
Yes.
Does the injunction affect young people who do
nothing more than dress like gang members?
No, the young person would have to be identified as
associating with criminal gang members before
police could seek an injunction.
Two other items on the agenda, door to door solicitations and littering, were postponed because
Community Safety Committee
Meeting Summary for June 28, 2007
Page 4
there was no time during the meeting when a quorum was present.
Keith Parker reminded the Committee that the hotel/motel ordinance public hearing and approval
will be on the July 23 Council agenda. Staff are still working with representatives of the
hotel/motel industry to resolve differences.