2009 California Penal Code - Section 13826-13826.7 :: Chapter 3.5. Gang Violence Suppression

PENAL CODE
SECTION 13826-13826.7

13826.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) That violent activity by gangs is a serious and growing
problem in the State of California.
   (b) There is an increasing percentage of school age pupils
involved in gang activity.
   (c) There are many schools that serve a disproportionate number of
youth involved in gang activity which are unable to effectively
implement programs designed to prevent youth from becoming involved
in gang activity. There is no statewide funded educational program
developed for this purpose.
   (d) There is evidence that gang involvement among youth begins at
an early age.
   (e) There is evidence that the parents of gang members lack
appropriate parenting skills.
   (f) There is evidence that drug activity is increasing among youth
involved in gang activity.
   (g) There is evidence that gang members have no contact with
positive role models.
   (h) There is evidence that most gang members lack basic
educational skills.
   In enacting this chapter, the Legislature intends to support
increased efforts by district attorneys' offices to prosecute the
perpetrators of gang violence, support increased efforts by local law
enforcement agencies to identify, investigate, and apprehend
perpetrators of gang violence, support increased efforts by county
probation departments to intensively supervise gang members who are
on court-ordered probation, support gang violence prevention and
intervention efforts by school districts and county offices of
education, and support gang violence suppression efforts by
community-based organizations.

13826.1.  (a) There is hereby established in the agency or agencies
designated by the Director of Finance pursuant to Section 13820, the
Gang Violence Suppression Program, a program of financial and
technical assistance for district attorneys' offices, local law
enforcement agencies, county probation departments, school districts,
county offices of education, or any consortium thereof, and
community-based organizations which are primarily engaged in the
suppression of gang violence. All funds appropriated to the agency or
agencies designated by the Director of Finance pursuant to Section
13820 for the purposes of this chapter shall be administered and
disbursed by the executive director of the agency or agencies
designated by the Director of Finance pursuant to Section 13820 in
consultation with the California Council on Criminal Justice, and
shall to the greatest extent feasible be coordinated or consolidated
with federal funds that may be made available for these purposes.
   (b) The executive director is authorized to allocate and award
funds to cities, counties, school districts, county offices of
education, or any consortium thereof, and community-based
organizations in which gang violence suppression programs are
established in substantial compliance with the policies and criteria
set forth in this chapter.
   (c) The allocation and award of funds shall be made on the
application of the district attorney, chief law enforcement officer,
or chief probation officer of the applicant unit of government and
approved by the legislative body, on the application of school
districts, county offices of education, or any consortium thereof, or
on the application of the chief executive of a community-based
organization. All programs funded pursuant to this chapter shall work
cooperatively to ensure the highest quality provision of services
and to reduce unnecessary duplication. Funds disbursed under this
chapter shall not supplant local funds that would, in the absence of
the Gang Violence Suppression Program, be made available to support
the activities set forth in this chapter. Funds awarded under this
program as local assistance grants shall not be subject to review as
specified in Section 10295 of the Public Contract Code.
   (d) The executive director shall prepare and issue written program
and administrative guidelines and procedures for the Gang Violence
Suppression Program, consistent with this chapter. These guidelines
shall set forth the terms and conditions upon which the agency or
agencies designated by the Director of Finance pursuant to Section
13820 is prepared to offer grants of funds pursuant to statutory
authority. The guidelines do not constitute rules, regulations,
orders, or standards of general application.
   (e) Annually, commencing November 1, 1984, the executive director
shall prepare a report to the Legislature describing in detail the
operation of the statewide program and the results obtained by
district attorneys' offices, local law enforcement agencies, county
probation departments, school districts, county offices of education,
or any consortium thereof, and community-based organizations
receiving funds under this chapter and under comparable federally
financed awards.
   (f) Criteria for selection of district attorneys' offices, local
law enforcement agencies, county probation departments, school
districts, county offices of education, or any consortium thereof,
and community-based organizations to receive gang violence
suppression funding shall be developed in consultation with the Gang
Violence Suppression Advisory Committee whose members shall be
appointed by the Executive Director of the agency or agencies
designated by the Director of Finance pursuant to Section 13820,
unless otherwise designated.
   (g) The Gang Violence Suppression Advisory Committee shall be
composed of five district attorneys; two chief probation officers;
two representatives of community-based organizations; three attorneys
primarily engaged in the practice of juvenile criminal defense;
three law enforcement officials with expertise in gang-related
investigations; one member from the California Youth Authority Gang
Task Force nominated by the Director of the California Youth
Authority; one member of the Department of Corrections Law
Enforcement Liaison Unit nominated by the Director of the Department
of Corrections; one member from the Department of Justice nominated
by the Attorney General; the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or
his or her designee; one member of the California School Boards
Association; and one representative of a school program specializing
in the education of the target population identified in this chapter.
   Five members of the Gang Violence Suppression Advisory Committee
appointed by the Executive Director of the agency or agencies
designated by the Director of Finance pursuant to Section 13820 shall
be from rural or predominately suburban counties and shall be
designated by the Executive Director as comprising the Rural Gang
Task Force Subcommittee.
   The Rural Gang Task Force Subcommittee, in coordination with the
Gang Violence Suppression Advisory Committee and the agency or
agencies designated by the Director of Finance pursuant to Section
13820, shall review the Gang Violence Suppression Program
participation requirements and recommend changes in the requirements
which recognize the unique conditions and constraints that exist in
small rural jurisdictions and enhance the ability of small rural
jurisdictions to participate in the Gang Violence Suppression
Program.
   (h) The Director of the agency or agencies designated by the
Director of Finance pursuant to Section 13820 shall designate a staff
member in the Gang Violence Suppression Program to act as the Rural
Gang Prevention Coordinator and to provide technical assistance and
outreach to rural jurisdictions with emerging gang activities. It is
the intent of the Legislature that compliance with this subdivision
not necessitate an additional staff person.
   (i) This section shall be operative January 1, 1994.

13826.11.  (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares the
following:
   (1) There is a greater threat to public safety resulting from
gang- and drug-related activity in and near California's inner
cities.
   (2) Young people, especially at-risk youth, are more vulnerable to
gang- and drug-related activity during the potentially unsupervised
hours between the end of school and the time their parents or
guardians return home from work.
   (3) Without local prevention and treatment efforts, hard drugs
will continue to threaten and destroy families and communities in and
near the inner cities. Drug-related violence may then escalate
dramatically in every community, and thereby burden the criminal
justice system to the point that it cannot function effectively.
   (4) Los Angeles currently leads the nation in the number of gang
members and gang sites, the consumption of drugs, the amount of drugs
confiscated, drug-related violent crimes, and has the greatest
number of young people between 6 and 18 years of age who are "at
risk."
   (5) It is the intent of the Legislature that a pilot program, the
"After School Alternative Program" (ASAP), be established and
implemented within a specified Los Angeles community. This community
program would utilize the public schools, businesses, and community
facilities to provide supportive programs and activities to young
people during the time between the end of school and the return home
of their parents or guardians (from approximately 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.).

13826.15.  (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the
implementation of the Gang Violence Suppression Program, as provided
in this chapter, has made a positive impact in the battle against
crimes committed by gang members in California.
   The Legislature further finds and declares that the program, when
it was originally created in 1981, provided financial and technical
assistance only for district attorneys' offices. Since that time,
however, the provisions of the program have been amended by the
Legislature to enable additional public entities and community-based
organizations to participate in the program. In this respect, the
agency or agencies designated by the Director of Finance pursuant to
Section 13820, pursuant to Section 13826.1, administers funding for
the program by awarding grants to worthy applicants. Therefore, it is
the intent of the Legislature in enacting this measure to assist the
agency or agencies designated by the Director of Finance pursuant to
Section 13820 in setting forth guidelines for this funding.
   (b) The agency or agencies designated by the Director of Finance
pursuant to Section 13820 may give priority to applicants for new
grant awards, as follows:
   (1) First priority may be given to applicants representing
unfunded single components, as specified in Sections 13826.2,
13826.4, 13826.5, 13826.6, and 13826.65, in those counties that
receive Gang Violence Suppression Program funding for some, but not
all, of the program's components. The purpose of establishing this
priority is to provide funding for a full complement of the five Gang
Violence Suppression Program components in those counties that have
less than all five components established.
   (2) Second priority may be given to those applicants that propose
a multiagency, or multijurisdictional single component project,
whereby more than one agency would be funded as a joint project under
the single components specified in Sections 13826.2, 13826.4,
13826.5, 13826.6, and 13826.65, and the funding would be provided
through a single grant award.
   (3) Third priority may be given to applicants that propose
multijurisdictional multicomponent projects, whereby all five Gang
Violence Suppression Program components, as specified in Sections
13826.2, 13826.4, 13826.5, 13826.6, and 13826.65, would be funded in
a county that does not currently receive Gang Violence Suppression
Program funds.
   (4) Fourth priority may be given to those single agency single
component applicants, in counties wherein the program component is
not currently funded.
   (c) The agency or agencies designated by the Director of Finance
pursuant to Section 13820 shall consider the unique needs of, and
circumstances of jurisdiction in, rural and suburban counties when
awarding new grant funds.

13826.2.  Gang violence prosecution units receiving funds under this
chapter shall concentrate enhanced prosecution efforts and resources
upon cases identified under criteria set forth in Section 13826.3.
Enhanced prosecution efforts shall include, but not be limited to:
   (a) "Vertical" prosecutorial representation, whereby the
prosecutor who makes the initial filing or appearance in a
gang-related case will perform all subsequent court appearances on
that particular case through its conclusion, including the sentencing
phase.
   (b) Assignment of highly qualified investigators and prosecutors
to gang-related cases.
   (c) Significant reduction of caseloads for investigators and
prosecutors assigned to gang-related cases.
   (d) Measures taken in coordination with law enforcement agencies
to protect cooperating witnesses from intimidation or retribution at
the hands of gang members or associates.

13826.3.  (a) An individual shall be subject to gang violence
prosecution efforts who is under arrest for the commission or the
attempted commission of any gang-related violent crime where the
individual is (1) a known member of a gang, and (2) has exhibited a
prior criminal background.
   (b) For purposes of this chapter, gang-related means that the
suspect or victim of the crime is a known member of a gang.
   (c) For purposes of this chapter, gang violence prosecution
includes both criminal prosecutions and proceedings in Juvenile Court
in which a petition is filed pursuant to Section 602 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code.

13826.4.  Law enforcement agencies receiving funds under this
chapter shall concentrate enhanced law enforcement efforts and
resources upon cases identified under criteria set forth in Section
13826.3. Enhanced law enforcement criteria efforts shall include, but
not be limited to:
   (a) The formation of a specialized gang violence unit whose staff
shall be composed of the most highly qualified and trained personnel.
   (b) The efforts of the gang violence unit shall include, but not
be limited to:
   (1) Increased efforts to apprehend, prosecute, and convict violent
"hard core" target gang members.
   (2) Increasing the clearance rate of reported crimes which are
targeted as gang related.
   (3) Establishing more positive relations with, and encouraging the
support of local citizens, community-based organizations, business
representatives, and other criminal agencies.
   (4) Aiding and assisting other criminal justice and governmental
agencies in protecting cooperating witnesses from intimidation or
retribution at the hands of gang members and their associates.
   (c) Law enforcement agencies receiving funds under this program
shall maintain a crime analysis capability which provides the
following type of information:
   (1) Identification of active gang members who have exhibited a
prior criminal background.
   (2) Identification of evolving or existing crime patterns that are
gang related.
   (3) Providing investigative leads.
   (4) Maintaining statistical information pertaining to gang related
criminal activity.

13826.5.  County probation departments receiving funding under this
chapter shall strictly enforce court-ordered conditions of probation
for gang members.
   (a) County probation departments supported under the Gang Violence
Suppression Program shall implement the following activities:
   (1) A Gang Violence Intensive Supervision Unit dealing with gang
members shall be established.
   (2) Criteria used to determine which probationer shall be assigned
to the Gang Violence Intensive Supervision Unit shall be approved by
the district attorney having a Gang Violence Prosecution Unit
described in Section 13826.2.
   (3) Probationers whose cases are assigned to the intensive
supervision unit shall be informed of what types of behavior are
prescribed or forbidden. The notice shall be provided in both oral
and written form.
   (4) Probationers whose cases are assigned to the intensive
supervision unit shall be informed, in writing, that all
court-ordered conditions of probation will be strictly enforced.
   (5) Deputy probation officers in the intensive supervision unit
shall have reduced probationer caseloads and shall coordinate their
supervision efforts with law enforcement and prosecution personnel.
The coordination shall include informing law enforcement and
prosecution personnel of the conditions set for probationers and of
the strict enforcement procedures to be implemented.
   (6) Deputy probation officers in the intensive supervision unit
shall coordinate with the district attorney in ensuring that
court-ordered conditions of probation are consistently enforced.
   (7) Intensive supervision unit deputy probation officers shall
coordinate, whenever feasible, with community-based organizations in
seeking to ensure that probationers adhere to their court-ordered
conditions.
   (b) County probation departments may implement the California TEAM
(Together Each Achieves More) Sports Camp Program, as described in
Article 23.5 (commencing with Section 875) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of
Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

13826.6.  For purposes of this chapter, a "community-based"
organization is defined as a nonprofit operation established to serve
gang members, their families, schools, and the community with
programs of community supervision and service that maintain community
participation in the planning, operation, and evaluation of their
programs.
   "Community-based" organization also includes public park and
recreation agencies, public libraries, and public community services
departments that provide gang suppression activities, either alone or
in cooperation with other public agencies or other community-based
organizations.
   (a) Unless funded pursuant to subdivision (c), community-based
organizations supported under the Gang Violence Suppression Program
shall implement the following activities:
   (1) Providing information to law enforcement agencies concerning
gang related activities in the community.
   (2) Providing information to school administrators and staff
concerning gang related activities in the community.
   (3) Providing conflict resolution by means of intervention or
mediation to prevent and limit gang crisis situations.
   (4) Increasing witness cooperation through coordination with local
law enforcement and prosecutors and by education of the community
about the roles of these government agencies and the availability of
witness protection services.
   (b) Community-based organizations funded pursuant to subdivision
(a) shall also implement at least one of the following activities:
   (1) Maintaining a 24-hour public telephone message center for the
receipt of information and to assist individuals seeking services
from the organization.
   (2) Maintaining a "rumor control" public telephone service to
provide accurate and reliable information to concerned citizens.
   (3) Providing technical assistance and training concerning gang
related activities to school staff members, law enforcement
personnel, and community members including parental groups. This
training and assistance shall include coverage of how to prevent and
minimize intergang confrontations.
   (4) Providing recreational activities for gang members or
potential gang members.
   (5) Providing job training and placement services for youth.
   (6) Referring gang members, as needed, to appropriate agencies for
the treatment of health, psychological, and drug-related problems.
   (7) Administration of the Urban Corps Program pursuant to Section
13826.62.
   (8) Mobilizing the community to share joint responsibility with
local criminal justice personnel to prevent and suppress gang
violence.
   (c) Community-based organizations funded under the Gang Violence
Suppression Program for specialized school prevention and
intervention activities shall only be required to implement
activities in the schools which are designed to discourage students
from joining gangs and which offer or encourage students to
participate in alternative programs.
   (d) Community-based organizations funded pursuant to the Gang
Violence Suppression Program as of January 1, 1997, shall receive
preference over public agencies in any future funding awards.

13826.62.  (a) There is hereby established in the agency or agencies
designated by the Director of Finance pursuant to Section 13820, the
Urban Corps Program. The Urban Corps Program is established as an
optional activity under Section 13826.6. Community-based
organizations receiving grants to participate in the Urban Corps
Program shall implement the following activities:
   (1) Identification of publicly and privately administered programs
in the county dealing with the suppression or prevention of criminal
gang activities, or both.
   (2) Maintenance of a listing of programs within the county
identified as dealing with the suppression or prevention of criminal
gang activities, or both.
   (3) Surveying gang suppression and prevention organizations for
the types of services and activities each is engaged in, and
identifying needs among these organizations for resources to provide
services and fulfill their activities.
   (4) Recruitment of volunteers, identification of their skills,
abilities and interests, and matching volunteers with the resources
needs of gang prevention and suppression organizations.
   (5) Establishment of an urban respite program for the purpose of
preventing self-destructive activities and diverting (A) identified
youth gang members, and (B) youths who are at risk of becoming gang
members, for the purposes of reducing or eliminating incentives for
those youths to participate in gang-related crime activities.
   (b) The Urban Corps Program shall operate within the agency or
agencies designated by the Director of Finance pursuant to Section
13820 for two years following the establishment of a contract with a
community-based organization to administer the program.
   (c) This section shall be implemented to the extent that funds are
available to the agency or agencies designated by the Director of
Finance pursuant to Section 13820 for this purpose.

13826.65.  School districts, county offices of education, or any
consortium thereof, receiving funding under this chapter shall
develop or adopt and implement a gang violence prevention curriculum,
provide gang violence prevention and intervention services for
school-aged children, and shall be encouraged to do all of the
following:
   (a) Establish a local steering committee comprised of
representatives of each local program funded under this chapter,
corporations, small businesses, and other appropriate local, county,
and community organization knowledgeable in the area of youth gang
violence.
   (b) Develop and distribute information concerning parent education
and parenting classes, including methods whereby parents may
recognize youth gang involvement.
   (c) Identify and utilize the resources of appropriate
community-based organizations involved in the coordination of after
school activities for school-aged youth.
   (d) Establish contact between positive role models and youth
involved in gang activity through adopt-a-youth programs and similar
programs.
   (e) Incorporate into gang prevention activities references to the
relationship between drug abuse and gang violence.
   (f) Develop partnerships between schools and businesses for the
purpose of enhancing pupil achievement through such methods as
tutorial services, field trips, role modeling, and other supportive
services.
   (g) Develop methods of assuring followup services for children
receiving the initial gang violence prevention and intervention
services.

13826.7.  The agency or agencies designated by the Director of
Finance pursuant to Section 13820 and the California Council on
Criminal Justice are encouraged to utilize any federal funds that may
become available for purposes of this chapter. This chapter becomes
operative only if federal funds are made available for its
implementation.


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