NCJ Number
165319
Date Published
1993
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Efforts by police in southern California to address the juvenile gang problem have overlooked the principle of presuming that a person is innocent until proven guilty and has violated the constitutional rights of free association and equal protection under the law.
Abstract
Police in Fountain Valley have detained and photographed Asian American youths merely on the suspicion that they belong to gangs or are gang associates. Youth in Garden Grove were questioned by police and photographed because they wore baggy clothes, which many police identify with gang members. A protest by a group of Asian Americans led to a modified procedure. Police will now ask youth to sign a card giving their consent to be photographs. However, the Fountain Valley police department have photographs of Asian American youths who have never been arrested and keep them in a gang file containing almost 600 names. The police apparently believe that Asian Americans all look alike and cannot tell males from females. However, no data suggest that mug shots of innocent people will deter crime or reduce gang membership. It appears that Orange County (Calif.) is rapidly becoming the dossier capital of the United States. This practice needs to end. Address from which to obtain further information