YHR editorial:Local bills are a first step toward combatting gang violence

This editorial appears in the Jan. 26, 2010, Yakima Herald-Repubiic.

State lawmakers recently got a taste of what too many Yakima Valley residents have been living with for years: the tyranny of gang violence.

At a public hearing to discuss two proposed measures to clamp down on gang activity, several Yakima Valley residents offered compelling testimony about the terror and fear that fill their lives due to the flagrant acts of gun-toting gang members. A high school student told lawmakers about crawling along the floor of her family home in Yakima as gunshots reverberated outside during a shootout between rival gangs. A mother spoke of the tragic death of her 18-year-old son who fell victim to a gang member's bullet in 2008. Her son, the epitome of an innocent victim, never knew the thug who shot him.

Then there was Yakima City Councilwoman Maureen Adkison urging lawmakers to step forward and help cities such as Yakima deal with these dangerous gang members who terrorize neighborhoods.

"Our community has pretty much had it," she said.

That's why it's important lawmakers not only listen to Yakima Valley residents, but also take action. The two bills, which were the focus of the recent hearing in Olympia, extend the authority of forfeiture-of-property statutes and public nuisance laws associated with illegal drug dealing to criminal gang activity. The two bills are sponsored by Reps. Norm Johnson, R-Yakima, and Charles Ross, R-Naches, and enjoy widespread bipartisan backing.

HB 2413 permits civil forfeiture of property if the building or personal property is used in any way to further criminal street gang activity. This activity covers a wide area of misdeeds, from helping to promote the prestige of a gang to exacting revenge and intimidating witnesses who may testify against certain gang members.

And because it's a civil action, a criminal conviction is not required before authorities can seize property. There are also safeguards in the bill to protect ownership rights by requiring hearings before the chief law enforcement officer of the department that seizes the property or an administrative law judge if it's a state agency.

The other bill, HB 2414, creates a criminal street gang-activity nuisance law. If a neighbor lives within a block of a building or apartment unit where gang activity is going on, that neighbor can file a nuisance complaint with law enforcement. After a police investigation determines it's a valid complaint, the matter goes to a Superior Court judge, who holds a hearing. Again, if evidence shows the gang activity has an "adverse effect" on the neighborhood, the judge can order removal of personal property and shut down the building or apartment unit for up to one year.

Opponents of these measures argue they offer only punitive action and do not get at the root of the problem with gangs -- that being poverty, lack of opportunities and drug addiction.

But those are intractable problems that take years to address. Neighborhoods trapped in the vice grip of gang violence can't wait that long. They need tough action now to blunt gang violence, and the two measures sponsored by our 14th District lawmakers provide a means to that end.


* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.