ARCHIVES OF LEAD STORIES
September 30, 2004
Anti-loitering plan sparks
controversy
Jeremy Schwab
When gang members tagged houses, cars and generators
in East Boston’s Eagle Hill neighborhood with the spray-painted
symbol of their group this spring, community residents demanded
that something be done.
City Councilor Paul Scapicchio, whose district includes East Boston,
unveiled his solution last week — an ordinance that would
allow Boston police officers to arrest people they believe are
gang members if those people are hanging out on the sidewalk.
Scapicchio said the proposal is necessary to safeguard residents
who are intimidated by groups of young people hanging out on street
corners, as well as to disrupt potential criminal activity.
The proposal drew swift condemnation from some of Scapicchio’s
colleagues, however.
“I think this would create a situation where there could
be a violation of the civil rights of young men in particular,”
said Councilor Chuck Turner. “Because you’ve been
involved in crime before, does that give police officers the right
to say you cannot be in a certain place in a community?”
Turner and others questioned the police department’s accuracy
in deciding who is and is not a gang member.
“They label people gang members by association,” said
Ulric Johnson, founder of Teens Against Gang Violence, a group
that conducts peace and justice education in schools. “I
remember 14 years ago when we started Teens Against Gang Violence,
anybody with a hood and baggy pants was a gang member. We have
some young people who imitate gangs. You have want-to-be’s
and young people who wear the same clothes.”
Scapicchio’s Chief of Staff, Joe Arangio, noted that the
ordinance calls on the police commissioner to figure out how to
enforce it without violating Constitutional rights.
“We don’t want to create a militaristic state or oppressive
environment,” said Arangio. “People have the right
to talk and say, ‘Hi’ to each other on the street
corner. We don’t want to take it away from anybody.”
Arangio also said that the police do not simply target youths
who wear baggy clothes.
“The police are able to determine who are members of a gang,”
he said. “This is like in L.A. with the Crips and Bloods.
The colors they wear or how they wear what they wear identifies
them as a member of one organization or another. It is so obvious
when you drive through, living in East Boston. There are different
things you wear or do that differentiate you from the person next
to you.”
Scapicchio did not consult with the police before crafting the
ordinance, according to Arangio, but the police and the public
will have an opportunity for input once a public hearing is scheduled.
The Boston Police Department could not be reached for comment.
Activists and city councilors objecting to the ordinance said
the city and communities must provide more support services and
start dialogues with youths involved in gangs and youth who simply
hang out on street corners in groups.
“Instead of punishing people for a crime they have not committed,
you should provide resources to young people to have alternatives
to gangs,” said City Councilor Felix Arroyo. “You
need street workers to intervene so you can open a constructive
dialogue.”
The back-and-forth last week was just the opening
salvo of what could be a long campaign to pass the legislation.
Because such an ordinance would require an exemption from existing
state law, Scapicchio had to file it as a home rule petition.
That means not only the City Council and the mayor, but the Legislature
and governor must pass the petition. Governor Mitt Romney recently
signed a similar home rule petition allowing Somerville to enact
a similar anti-gang policy.
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