An Innovative Tool to Create Safe Communities

In 2003, the El Paso Police Department, in partnership with the El Paso County Attorney’s Office, implemented a new strategy for dealing with criminal gangs. The Police Department’s Central TACTICAL Gang Operations Unit and Central Patrol initiated the city’s first ever civil gang injunction against thirty-five members and associates of the Barrio Azteca Gang..

Once a source of fear in the community, gang members faced the threat of jail time and fines for violating certain restrictions listed in the injunction. A civil injunction is a lawsuit that, if granted by the court, requires or limits certain actions by the named defendants. In essence, an injunction of this type serves as a protective order for the designated area. “The need for the injunction was evident if you lived in the Safe Community Zone,” County Attorney Jose Rodriguez said, citing drug deals, assaults, robberies and extortion. In this case, the gang injunction covered the area known in El Paso as the “Segundo Barrio,” or as it was referred to in the injunction as the “Safe Community Zone”. “The Aztecas have long sent out a message to other gangs in the city that the Segundo Barrio is their hood and their barrio,” said Sgt. Marylou Carrillo, who headed the Community Response Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) Unit at the time, which is now known as the Tactical Gang Operations Unit that is responsible for addressing gang activity in the area. An injunction can be reinitiated, modified, expanded, and additional gang members can be added if the gang finds new recruits or moves into another area.

Although some of the defendants lived within this zone, the injunction mandated they abide by certain restrictions when in the designated area. The gang injunction applied to 32 of the 35 initial defendants. The remaining three Barrio Azteca members requested a jury trial and as a result the injunction was extended an additional year for them. Among those restrictions, gang members listed in the injunction could not associate with each other, had a 10.00 p.m. curfew, and were prohibited from using cell phones and pagers in public, and were not allowed inside many of the area restaurants and bars which were frequented by the gang and used to facilitate the distribution of narcotics.

The Barrio Azteca Gang, the largest and most active prison gang in the El Paso area, was founded in the mid 1980's. The gang was created primarily to serve as a protective organization and to unite all Hispanic inmates from the El Paso area.  Most of the original members were from the Second Ward (Segundo Barrio) area of El Paso, which is located in the south central region of the city. As the Aztecas grew in numbers, they became involved in the now standard activities of prison gangs: narcotics, extortion, assaults, murders, theft and intimidation. The Aztecas recruit directly from the pool of street gang members who have been arrested or imprisoned; however, also form alliances and intimidate various street-level gangs who have not progressed to the prison system.

Although gang injunctions have been used in California for over twenty years, in Texas, this legal option is still fairly new. In 1995 a Texas law was enacted which allowed a court to enjoin a gang member from engaging in the organized criminal activities of a criminal combination or criminal street gang. In 1998, the City of Austin through the Travis County District Attorney’s Office became the first Texas City to utilize this law when they sought a temporary injunction against members of a local street gang dealing drugs in an apartment complex. The case was dismissed without seeking a Permanent Injunction, but the goal of decreasing criminal activity was achieved.

In 1999, the City of San Antonio through the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office filed a successful civil gang injunction against 38 defendants of two rival street gangs. Since then Bexar County has gone on to file several gang injunctions and prosecuted numerous injunction violations. The San Antonio Police Department and the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office were instrumental in helping El Paso law enforcement officials get the gang injunction off the ground.

El Paso’s gang injunction was unique for Texas in that it was considered the first ever attempts to curb the illegal activities of a confirmed prison-based gang whose illicit criminal operations extended out into the streets. “These residents for years have been terrorized... Nobody in this town should live in fear,” County Attorney Jose Rodriguez said at its inception. A civil injunction allows police to be more proactive. Rather than having to wait until a crime was committed, police arrested identified gang members for committing violations defined in the court order within the "Safe Community Zone" while the injunction was in effect.

If a defendant violates one of the restrictions listed in a Civil Gang Injunction, they are charged under TX. PC. 71.021 “Violation of a Court Order Enjoining Organized Crime”, which is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and/or a $4,000 fine. Under the Civil Practice & Remedies Code, defendants are also subject to a civil contempt charge resulting in up to 30 days in jail and/or a maximum fine of $10,000. Additionally, if a defendant violates any other offense under another section they may be prosecuted for that offense as well.

The following are a sample of just a few of the 35 restrictions that were used in the first injunction initiated in El Paso:

• Associating, standing, sitting, walking, driving, bicycling, gathering or appearing anywhere in public with any other defendants named in the injunction.
   

• Signaling to, or acting as a lookout for other persons to warn of the approach of police officers.
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• Remaining in any one public place under circumstances that would warrant a reasonable person to believe that the purpose of that behavior is to control identifiable areas, intimidate others from entering those areas, or to conceal or engage in illegal activities.
   

• Remaining in a public place between the hours of 10:00p.m. and 6:00a.m.
   

• Using or making words, phrases, physical gestures, or symbols commonly known as gang hand signs.
   

• Engaging in any conduct that violates the laws of the State of Texas or ordinances of the City of El Paso.
   

• Banned from entering various business establishments known to be frequented by Barrio Azteca gang members for the purpose of trafficking narcotics.   

Many residents felt the impact of the initial injunction was extremely successful and believe that initiatives like these truly work at reducing gang activity and violence in any area. “Numerous arrests were made as a result of this injunction and it was a great tool in addressing the ongoing gang and narcotic problems within the Segundo Barrio, which has long been known as the heart of the Barrio Azteca Gang ” said Sgt Carrillo. However, it is important to realize that the success of any injunction lies in the officers working the street and their continuous enforcement efforts throughout the period in which the injunction is in effect, which is normally 2 years. Along with the Central TAC Gang Operations Unit, the El Paso Police Department’s Community Action Team assigned to the “Safe Community Zone” also enhanced the impact of the injunction while being assigned to monitor the area and meet with the residents. Since many of the Barrio Azteca members are drug users and are continuously involved in criminal activity in order to maintain their habit, the implementation of this injunction attributed to a 33 % drop in Burglary of Business, 20 % drop in Robbery, and a 15% drop in Burglary of Autos. Overall crime since the Gang Injunction was granted decreased approximately 12 % within the “Safe Community Zone”. Most importantly, during that period members of the Barrio Azteca Gang seemed to be continually turning against each other upon their arrest. Their organization, although still active throughout El Paso, was altered and created distrust among their membership and many of the initial defendants listed on the injunction have relocated, are incarcerated and/or don’t know whom to trust anymore. It is important to realize that most Civil Gang Injunctions are in effect for only a two-year period; however, El Paso’s 1st Gang Injunction was extended for an additional year and was in effect from 2003 to 2006 due to the defendants who filed an appeal and requested a jury trial. The El Paso Police Department’s Gang Unit, in conjunction with the County Attorney’s Office are currently preparing for a second injunction.

Sgt. Marylou Carrillo

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