Students listen to Angela Davis at an anti injunctions rally. Photo by Eric K Arnold.

The city of Oakland is divided over whether gang injunctions will help reduce a long-standing problem of street violence.  Here we report on a grassroots campaign, aiming to stop what many activists say is a problematic policy of racial profiling, that won’t help make the community any safer. Listen to the full segment and watch the three minute video below.

This program is reader supported, thanks to spot.us and is part of our investigation into how and whether gang injunctions effectively fight crime.

Students listen to Angela Davis during a rally against gang Injunctions. Photo by Eric K Arnold courtesy of (cc) Flickr user OaklandLocal.

It’s called a gang injunction.  A controversial crime tool strategy that some people say should be illegal, and others say is a necessary last resort for communities plagued by violence.

On this edition, we go from the birthplace of gang injunctions in Los Angeles, to their newest use in London, England.  Almost 30 years later, communities remain divided about the best way to address youth violence and crime.

This program was crowd-funded on spot.us, a community supported journalism project. 89 individuals contributed micro-donations. At the over $10 level we thank: Annuana Smith, Amy Read, Lyn Headley, Patricia-Anne WinterSun, Maralyn Fisher, Sally Sommer, Renee Feltz, Molly Mitoma, Lauren Cohn, and Panafricanist Sound System. Special thanks to Omnia Foundation, stalwart supporters of our Prison Desk.

Featuring:

Angela Davis, Critical resistance founder; Freddie Hamilton, Oakland police lieutenant; Michael Muscadine, man named in Fruitvale Gang Injunction; Scott Peterson, Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce public policy director; Danielle Rocha, Youth Empowerment School senior; K.E.V., Oakland-based MC; Sagnicthe Salazar, Youth Together organizer; Cesar Cruz, Homies Empowerment program co-founder; Kim McGill, Youth Justice Coalition organizer; Rocio Fierro, attorney for the City of Oakland; Kwame Nitoto, Oakland Parents Together parent education project director; Meriea Jones, Cory Jenkins, Destiny McNeil, Mohammad El-Zafri, Santa Fe Elementary School students; Jonathan Toy, Southwark Council head of community safety; Emeka Egbuonu, youth worker at The Crib; Michael Bailey, young person at The Crib; Russell Higgs, Pembury Estate resident.

*** Segments ***

Gang Injunctions in London 

As part of our investigation into how and whether gang injunctions effectively fight crime, we looked to one of the newest places where the crime fighting strategy is being rolled out: London, England Making Contact reporter Daniel Gordon filed this report from London, where the first gang injunctions went into effect earlier this year. The story explores how economics and race are major factors in how society treats crime in England, just as in the US. And just as in Oakland, CA, many advocates and young people themselves say there are better solutions to be found.

This program is reader supported, thanks to spot.us

The History of Gang Injunction in Los Angeles

Interview with The Youth Justice Coalition’s Kim McGill, about the history of gang injunctions in Los Angeles, and the effect they’ve had on low income neighborhoods and communities of color.

The Battle over Gang Injunctions in Oakland

The city of Oakland is divided over whether gang injunctions will help reduce a long-standing problem of street violence.  Making Contact’s Andrew Stelzer reports on a grassroots campaign, aiming to stop what many activists say is a problematic policy of racial profiling, that won’t help make the community any safer.

For More Information:

Youth Justice Coalition
Critical Resistance
Stop the Injunctions Coalition
Homies Empowerment Program-Oakland, CA
All of Us or None
Youth Together
Homies Unidos
Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
Southwark Council
Spot.us crowd-funded journalism

Articles, Blogs, Reports and Videos:

Map of North Oakland gang Injunction
LAPD map of Gang Injunctions
North Side Oakland injunction report November 2011

Music:

“Colors” by Ice-T

Students listen to Angela Davis during a rally against gang Injunctions. Photo by Eric K Arnold courtesy of (cc) Flickr user OaklandLocal.

As part of our investigation into how and whether gang injunctions effectively fight crime, we looked to one of the newest places where the crime fighting strategy is being rolled out: London, England. Making Contact reporter Daniel Gordon filed this report from London, where the first gang injunctions went into effect earlier this year. The story explores how economics and race are major factors in how society treats crime in England, just as in the US. And just as in Oakland, CA, many advocates and young people themselves say there are better solutions to be found.

This program is reader supported, thanks to spot.us

A Homeless Woman in San Francisco. Credit: Franco Folini via Flickr

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani made so-called ‘quality of life’ policing a worldwide trend. And while it may have temporarily decreased crime, there are harsh consequences for the thousands of innocent people caught up in the frenzy of arrests.

On this edition, the criminalization of homelessness. If it’s illegal to be on a city’s sidewalks, parks and plazas, where else can people go?

—

How ‘Quality of Life’ turned Homeless New Yorkers into Criminals

According to the Coalition for the Homeless, nearly 37,000 homeless people sleep in New York City shelters each night.  Their research concludes that the primary cause of homelessness, particularly among families, is lack of affordable housing.  Rents have always been high in New York; but since 1994, so called ‘Quality of Life’ policing, and business friendly development strategies have delivered a one-two punch that means poor New Yorkers have even fewer options for housing, and often find themselves specifically targeted by the law.  Journalist Sam Lewis volunteered with the homeless led group ‘Picture the Homeless’ over the past two years, recording the voices of New Yorkers without a place to live.  Lewis produced this story for Making Contact, about how those without homes are criminalized, and how they’re organizing to change the city’s ways.

—

San Francisco Bans Sitting or Lying on Sidewalks

San Francisco’s reputation as a home for wayward creatives took a bit hit in November 2010, when voters approved a law which would ban sitting or lying on the sidewalks.  As Making Contact’s Andrew Stelzer reports, the law is not only challenging the identity of the city, but is being criticized as a cruel and ineffective way of dealing with the large homeless population.

—WEB EXCLUSIVES—

Extended interview with Paul Boden

Full Length Interview with Paul Boden, organizer with the Western Regional Advocacy Project, about San Francisco’s Sit-Lie ordinance, & other policies across the country that criminalize the homeless and the poor.

—

S’bu Zikode of the Shack Dwellers movement in South Africa speaks to U.S. based housing activists:

—

Featuring:

Neil Smith, Center for Graduate Studies at the City University of New York Geography and Urbanism professor; Carlton Berkeley, Former NYPD Detective and author of ‘What to do if Stopped by the Police’; Genghis Kallid Muhammad, Gene Rice, Elise Lowe, Picture the Homeless members; Protestors opposing New York’s disorderly conduct law; Melvin Williams, Coalition for the Homeless volunteer; Rob Robinson, National Campaign to Restore housing Rights organizer; Barbara Daughtery, homeless New Yorker; Mark Schuylen, former urban planner; Samuel Warber, street musician; Andy Blue, ‘Sidewalks are for People” campaign organizer; George Gascon, San Francisco Police Chief; John Avalos, San Francisco Supervisor; Jen Vandergriff, San Francisco resident; Jason Lean, homeless San Franciscan; Paul Boden, Western Regional Advocacy Project organizer

For More Information

Bryant Park Corporation
New York, NY

Central Park Conservancy
New York, NY

Civil Sidewalks Campaign
New York, NY

Coalition for the Homeless
New York, NY

National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty
Washington, DC

Picture the Homeless
Bronx, NY

Sidewalks are for People
San Francisco, CA

Times Square Alliance
New York, NY

Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP)
San Francisco, CA

Articles and Books:

Homes Not Handcuffs: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities.

NY Police Commissioner responds to WABC-TV quotas investigation

SB 1070 Protest at The Capitol Building. Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattlocks/

Arizona’s SB 1070 put immigration enforcement in the national spotlight. Soon after Arizona proposed the broadest and strictest immigration law in the country, activists organized mass protests and at least five other states began the process of adopting similar laws. A judge has stopped portions of 1070—for now. But the legal and ideological battles continue.

On this edition, we look at SB 1070 – the law, its intentions and effects, and how it has motivated immigrant communities to become politically active.

Featuring:

Marisa Franco, Right to the City National Lead Organizer; Andrea Christina Mercado, Mujeres Unidas Activas organizing director; John Bouma, attorney for the state of Arizona; Edwin Kneedler, U.S. Deputy Solicitor General; Juana Tello, People Organized to Win Employment Rights organizer; Charlotte Noss, protester; Steven Chan, protester.

For more information:

Arizona Coalition for Migrant Rights
Pheonix, AZ

Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070

Border Action Network
Tucson, AZ

Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project
Florence, AZ

Immigration Policy Center
Washington, D.C.

Mujeres Unidas y Activas
San Francisco, CA

Pew Hispanic Center
Washington, D.C.

Right to the City
Washington, D.C.

Charles Ogletree, Climenko Professor of Law at Harvard Credit: Staff Photo Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard University News Office

When Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr was arrested on the porch of his own house, he may have made some mistakes. But according to his long time friend and lawyer Charles Ogletree, one of them was thinking his class would make up for his race.

On this edition, Professor Ogletree tells the story of the arrest that led to the infamous ‘beer summit’ at the white house. The incident has many lessons, which are detailed in Ogletree’s book, “The Presumption of Guilt: The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Race, Class and Crime in America.”

Recorded at the African American Art & Culture Complex of San Francisco, on October 21st, 2010.

Featuring:

Charles Ogletree, Harvard professor and lawyer for Henry Louis Gates Jr.

For more information:

The African American Art & Culture Complex of San Francisco

Charles Ogletree on Democracy Now

Charles Ogletree at Harvard

Children’s Services of Roxbury

Critical Resistance
Oakland, CA

The October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality
New York, N.Y.

Music:

‘The Squeeze’ – by Gangstarr
’911 is a Joke’ – by Public Enemy

Attendees at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) conference, smoke marijuana in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Russel A. Daniels, File)

In November 2010, Californians went to the polls and narrowly defeated a bill to legalize marijuana. Much of the debate centered on tax revenue and potential job creation. In this show, we examine how the failed war on marijuana has put hundreds of thousands in jail and given them crippling criminal records.  On this edition, we look at the transforming culture that put Prop 19 on the ballot.

Featuring:

Froggy, Los Angeles resident;  Jill Harris, Drug Policy Alliance managing director; Charlie Rangel, New York City Congressman; John Russo, Oakland City Attorney; Jeff Jones, Oaksterdam University Los Angeles campus chancellor; Richard Lee, Oaksterdam founder and Prop 19 bankroller; Tamar Todd, Drug Policy Alliance attorney; Marisa Garcia, former college student who lost financial aid due to marijuana conviction; Bishop Ron Allen, No on 19 spokesperson, Casey Given, Jessica Wong, Jeff Yunis, University of California at Berkeley students; Dan Rush, UFCW Local 5 special operations director; Andrew Dupree, Humboldt Patient Resource Center grow room employee.

For More Information:

Yes on Prop 19

No on Prop 19

California Legislative Analyst Office’s Report on Prop 19

Weed Wars-Sacramento Bee Blog on Prop 19 and Marij

uana Related News

Oaksterdam University

Drug Policy Alliance

Students for a Sensible Drug Policy

ACLU Marijuana Law Reform

NORML-The National Association for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

Incarceration Nation — Marijuana Arrests For Year 2009 Near Record High – Alternet

Educating Voters on California’s Prop 19: the Highs, the Lows, and the Crazies

Stoners Against the Prop. 19Tax Cannabis Initiative

Is Pot Legalization the Gay Marriage of 2012?

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/end-prohibition/0HNSczSS

Music:

Devin the Dude — What we be On

Keak Da Sneak — That Go

The Pack — Vans

In the South American country Bolivia, violent crimes against young women have risen dramatically. Between 2008 and 2009, cases of violence by boyfriends, husbands, and fathers, went up by 10% in the capital, La Paz, alone. Though random attacks against women and sex workers do occur, there is no way to know whether they too have been on the rise. Almost none of these cases have — or are likely — to face justice. But a new law that may pass by the end of 2010, would give a sentence of up to 30 years’ prison for the murder of women – the same sentence given for the murder of men. It’s seen as a revolutionary first step in combating the rising rates of violence, and as one way of gathering data and combating misogyny in this traditional South American country. Ruxandra Guidi has more from La Paz.

A relative of Gladys Apaza, a victim of femicide in El Alto, Bolivia, holds up a photo of Gladys and her deceased nephew, also a victim of murder. Credit: Ruxandra Guidi.

—————————–TRANSCRIPT——————————

(sound of Branez’s office)

GUIDI: Patricia Brañez is a stoic and straight-talking sociologist who focuses on women in a country largely dominated by men. She’s holding a cigarette with one hand, and with the other, leafing through a binder full of numbers and newspaper headlines. She works for the Centro de Informacion y Desarrollo de la Mujer, or CIDEM, Bolivia’s largest women’s rights organization. CIDEM is the only institution to be monitoring cases of femicide, and Brañez says those numbers have been going up steadily since 2004, year after year.

Banez: We’ve determined that in 2009, there were 98 femicidios in our country — and this is only by looking at press clips. We know that the numbers must be much higher — we’re estimating around 160. Most of these cases haven’t been registered by any government institutions; so to us, this clearly means that the Bolivian state and society have come to accept violence against women as the norm.”

GUIDI: But why have the numbers gone up so much in the last year? Brañez doesn’t have the answer. All she knows is that the data is alarming, and that there are plenty of cases in La Paz and the neighboring slum-city of El Alto that can illustrate this.

(sound of door)

Gladys Apaza’s home is in the poor working-class neighborhood of Villa Victoria. A month ago, her father came from work and found the 20 year-old’s body — her little nephew, Fernando, laying dead next to her with another gunshot wound. Her ex-boyfriend Gary, a military officer, admitted to his family that he killed Gladys. But then he fled, and now neither his parents nor the military will reveal his whereabouts. Viviana Apaza is Gladys’ mother, who’s been visibly distraught by the crime since it happened.

Apaza: “I was selling toys at my stand downtown, when I realized that I had 8 missed calls on my cell phone… I answered the last time and my husband said to me — Gladys is dead, Nilo is dead. And I almost died myself. That instant, I left everything and came home. When I got here, our home was full of police officers, journalists, photographers — they told me to go upstairs and didn’t even let me see my kids.”

GUIDI: Viviana Apaza says she can now see the warnings she missed. Gladys had broken up with Gary in January, but he refused to accept it. He’d become extremely possessive and jealous, and repeatedly asked her to hide this from others. He flaunted his military background, and told Gladys he couldn’t marry a girl like her, from a poor family.

Aside from playing these painful scenes over and over in her head, for the last month, Viviana has been consumed by the fact that the family can’t afford a lawyer. On the other hand, Gary’s family has four.

Apaza: “How could it be that 4 lawyers defend a criminal, and we don’t even have one? I am a poor, simple, hard-working woman, and my daughter was too. I once told Gary, ‘There are women that will line up to be with you, because you have a swagger, and a uniform; you’ll even find women that are much better off with my daughter. So why do you insist on being with her?’”

GUIDI: Not all cases of violence against young women are motivated by jealousy and possession, but Gladys’ case is certainly one of many others that have come to the attention of the Bolivian police.

Alvarez: “Fortunately, the Bolivian police forces are doing everything in our power to investigate crimes, no matter whether the victims are rich or poor, powerful or not.”

GUIDI: Colonel Rosalio Alvarez Claros is the chief of the crimes division. Faced with the sharp rise in violent crimes against women, he says machismo must be to blame. But Alvarez can’t explain why the military isn’t helping the police in solving Gladys’ murder.

Alvarez: “We are doing the investigations but haven’t had much success. We’ve contacted the military command to see whether Gary is still active, or his whereabouts — but they won’t comply. Reporter: What have they told you? Alvarez: They haven’t acknowledged our requests, so we don’t know. Reporter: The family fears that the military is covering up the murder. Alvarez: We think it’s pretty obvious that this is what’s going on…”

GUIDI:  The leadership of the Bolivian military is so powerful, that no one can face up to them — not even the Ministry of Justice. But for the last six months, the institution has tried to address this kind of impunity by introducing a new law. It’s called the “Ley de Feminicidio” — and it marks the first time in the history of Bolivia that gender crimes would be prosecutable by up to a 30-year sentence. Irma Campos is in the newly-created gender department, and she says she hopes the new law will change Bolivian society.

Campos: “Typically, we’ve criminalized homicide or murder, but this definition of femicide is new in our country because we wouldn’t give that much importance to the killing of women. So we’re just starting to give it the focus it needs by giving it a name — now when people hear “femicide” — they’re starting to ask ‘femicide, what’s that?’”

GUIDI: Most Bolivians seem puzzled by the term “feminicidio” and the eminent law, especially since no outreach programs have been designed to inform the public about the need for this law, nor its aim. Meanwhile, there are only three women’s resource and legal centers in La Paz and El Alto with more cases of violence than they can handle. Valentina is among those cases — a poor woman in her mid thirties with a violent husband who refuses to grant her a divorce. She’s come to this women’s center to explore the possibility of a lawsuit — the only way out of her abusive marriage. Valentina says she’s skeptical that a feminicidio law will do much to reduce society’s denial of gender violence.

Valentina: “Can you imagine how violent this man is that my life has been at risk many, many times — he could have killed me! And the police wouldn’t do anything… What’s more, I’m not afraid of him anymore, I know how to defend myself. But now I’m onto the third lawsuit and have no chances to win, so what do I have to do now, pay the judge? You know, laws are beautiful, but here in Bolivia, they are not applied, and they don’t make a difference…”

GUIDI: But one bright light in all this is that the rising violence has galvanized the Bolivian press around the issue. The term femicide may be controversial, but most members or parliament seem to feel something needs to be done, so the law is almost sure to pass.

For Making Contact, I’m Ruxandra Guidi, El Alto, Bolivia.

Protestor at Oscar Grant rally. Photo by Geoffrey King http://www.geoffreykingphotography.com/

Who polices the police? Do you or your neighbors have any say in the way your town’s cops and sheriffs do business? For more than 35 years, cities around the country have been creating civilian oversight agencies – trying to make local police and sheriffs accountable to the communities they serve.

On this edition we take a look at the police killing of Oscar Grant in Oakland, and the debate over who gets to decide when an officer has done something wrong.

Featuring:

Barbara Attard, civilian oversight consultant, former San Francisco Office of Citizen Complaints investigator and former Berkeley Police Review Commission Director; Marcel Diallo, artist and victim of police harassment; Rashidah Grinage, PUEBLO Executive Director; Jason Wechter, National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement Board Member; Reginald Lyles, BART consultant and former Berkeley Police Officer; Gary Gee, BART Police Chief; Jesse Sekhon, BART Police Officers Association President; Quintin Mecke, California State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano’s Communications Director; Greg Kaufory, attorney; Omar Osirus, Jan, and Bo, protestors; Daniel Buford, Allen Temple Baptist Church Reverend; Joyce Hicks, San Francisco Office of Citizen Complaints Director and former Oakland’s Citizens Police Review Board Director; Patrick Cacares, Oakland Citizens Police Review Board acting director; Paulette Hogan, tasered Oakland resident who filed complaint with Internal Affairs; Chris Shannon, Oakland Police Lieutenant; Cephus Johnson, Oscar Grant’s uncle; Mark Kroeker, Portland Police Chief.

For more information:

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Police

Berkeley CopWatch

Berkeley Police Review Commission
Berkeley, CA

California State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano
Sacramento, CA

IndyBay –Oscar Grant coverage

Oakland Citizens’ Police Review Board
Oakland, CA

Oakland General Assembly for Justice for Oscar Grant

National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE)
Indianapolis, IN

New Year’s Movement

People United For a Better Oakland (PUEBLO)
Oakland, CA

Portland Copwatch
Portland, OR

San Francisco Office of Citizen Complaints
San Francisco, CA

Articles, Blogs, Films, Reports, Other:

NACOLE list of Civilian Oversight Agencies

US Dept of Justice Report:
Citizen Review of Police: Approaches and Implementation. March 2001

City of Berkeley Police Review Commission 2004 report

Justice for Kendra James Community Information

From Oscar Grant, Where? Seeking Structural Change

Photography by Geoffrey King of the Streets of Oakland after the Mehserle Verdict

Music:

KRS-One – Sound of the Police

A protestor at a January 2009 demonstration against the killing of Oscar Grant by BART Police in Oakland, CA.

Who polices the police? Do you or your neighbors have any say in the way your town’s cops and sheriffs do business? For more than 35 years, cities around the country have been creating civilian oversight agencies – trying to make local police and sheriffs accountable to the communities they serve. On this edition, producer Andrew Stelzer takes a look at the ongoing battle between the people and the police – and the debate over who gets to decide when an officer has done something wrong.

This program was a special collaboration between National Radio Project and Spot.Us, a community funded reporting project. Check out the print version of this story here.

Featuring:

Barbara Attard, civilian oversight consultant, former San Francisco Office of Citizen Complaints investigator and former Berkeley Police Review Commission Director; Marcel Diallo, artist and victim of police harassment; Rashidah Grinage, PUEBLO Executive Director; Jason Wechter, NACOLE Board Member; Reginald Lyles, BART consultant and former Berkeley Police Officer; Gary Gee, BART Police Chief; Jesse Sekhon, BART Police Officers Association President; Quintin Mecke, California State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano’s Communications Director; Greg Kaufory, attorney; Omar Osirus, Jan, and Bo, protestors; Daniel Buford, Allen Temple Baptist Church Reverend; Joyce Hicks, San Francisco Office of Citizen Complaints Director and former Oakland’s Citizens Police Review Board Director; Patrick Cacares, Oakland Citizens Police Review Board acting director; Paulette Hogan, tasered Oakland resident who filed complaint with Internal Affairs; Chris Shannon, Oakland Police Lieutenant; Cephus Johnson, Oscar Grant’s uncle; Mark Kroeker, Portland Police Chief.

For More Information:

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Police
877-679-7000
http://bart.gov/about/police/index.aspx

Berkeley Police Review Commission
1947 Center Street
Berkeley, CA 94704
510-981-4950
prc@cityofberkeley.info
www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/DepartmentHome.aspx?id=10184

California State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano
PO Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249
916-319-2013
http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a13

Justice For Oscar Grant Committee
www.justiceforoscargrant.org

Oakland Citizens’ Police Review Board
City Hall
One Frank Ogawa Plaza, 11th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
510-238-3159
www.oaklandnet.com/government/citizens/homepage.html

National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE)
638 East Vermont Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202
1-866-4NACOLE
www.nacole.org

People United For a Better Oakland (PUEBLO)
1728 Franklin Street
Oakland, CA 94612
510-452-2010
pueblo[at]peopleunited.org
www.peopleunited.org

Portland Copwatch
PO Box 42456
Portland, OR 97242
503-236-3065
www.portlandcopwatch.org

San Francisco Office of Citizen Complaints
25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 700
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-241-7711
www.sfgov.org/site/occ_index.asp

Blogs, Articles, Links:

NACOLE list of Civilian Oversight Agencies
www.nacole.org/media/pdf/NACOLERosterAug07.pdf

US Dept of Justice Report:
Citizen Review of Police: Approaches and Implementation. March 2001

City of Berkeley Police Review Commission 2004 report
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/uploadedFiles/Police_Review_Commission/Level_3_-_General/PRC%202004%20Stat%20Report.pdf

Justice for Kendra James Community Information
http://www.portlandcopwatch.org/james.html