I arrived home from the Thanksgiving Day holiday to find my car and several other cars vandalized – a large gang sign scratched into the side of my car. With hundreds of gang members in Santa Barbara, is there anyone who seriously thinks we don’t need a strong gang injunction in our city? The current inadequate proposal only applies to 30 gang members, half of whom are already in jail. This is a farce. This is a fraction of the known gang members reportedly living in Santa Barbara. We urgently need a gang injunction that applies to all gang members and here are some of the things that I feel should be in it:
1. Judges should require that convicted gang members or the “parents” of gang members should make restitution to the victims. In addition, any infraction by a gang member should involve paying a fine that would go into a fund to provide restitution where necessary. The benefit of this is that parents will once again become responsible if they have to pay for the crimes of their miscreants.
2. There should be a curfew – say 10:00 pm. Minors should be doing something productive such as after school sports, a job, a scout troop, or homework, not out roaming the streets looking for trouble.