Criminal Street Gangs (H 5785, S 0460)

At the request of the Attorney General’s office, the Senate approved legislation imposing additional and mandatory penalties on individuals determined to be part of a “criminal street gang,” up to one extra year in jail for a misdemeanor and up to ten extra years in jail for any felony.  The ACLU testified against the harsh penalties and the legislation’s overly-broad definition of a “criminal street gang” – any group of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, that has an identifiable name or sign, color or symbol.  Further, the legislation did not require a person to be a member of the gang in order to suffer enhanced penalties, just be associated with any person subjectively determined to be a member. As a result, the bill’s greatest impact, the ACLU argued, could be on young people coerced into engaging in criminal conduct on behalf of a gang. The legislation passed the Senate in June, but failed to move out of committee in the House.