Police arresting youths & minorities for breaking curfews, clothing restrictions and spitting on the sidewalk.
East St. Louis - In response to a deadly two days, in which four people under 21 were killed, Mayor Alvin Parks announced Wednesday that a curfew is being enforced effective immediately for the city's youths.
Parks said teens under 17 will be picked up by police if not in school between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. They will be arrested if out after 10 p.m. without a parent.
Other activities also will be restricted, he said, allowing youths only to attend school, after-school programs, church and work unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. He also cautioned male residents against wearing royal blue or bright red clothing commonly associated with gangs. They could get picked up, too.
"There should be no reason for our kids to be running to the store," Parks said. "I know it's extreme, but right now our children are in danger."
"Everybody needs to know where their children are," he said. "In the daytime, school should be in. If anybody's under 17 and not in school, we're going to deal with them. But the Police Department can't do this alone. We just want to make sure these kids are going to school, make sure they're not on the streets."
He said his department will partner with several agencies, including the Illinois State Police, to beef up patrol in areas known for having high crime.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/east-st-louis-officials-institute-youth-curfew-put-limits-on/article_f34ce7e2-081d-11e2-a2e6-001a4bcf6878.html
"GunStat" program targets minorities for minor offenses like jaywalking, spitting on the sidewalk.
Philadelphia has a new harassment program called "GunStat' which identifies hotbeds of gun violence then tracks and targets potential offenders before they commit any crimes.
The police target an ever-expanding list of repeat offenders scooped up by the program,
Started in February, the initiative involves unprecedented collaboration among the police department, the District Attorney's Office, the mayor's and managing director's offices, the city probation department and several federal partners.
"If we can get these people in custody by whatever legal means to stop the violence, that's what we're trying to do," District Attorney Seth Williams said.
Under GunStat, police work with assistant district attorneys who are assigned to regional offices to identify the most violent offenders in the program's small target areas - a two-square-mile section of North Philly and a three-square-mile stretch of Kensington - based on arrests, gang affiliations and probation status.
Police keep close watch on the offenders and stop them for even the most minor offense, such as spitting on the sidewalk, so they can pat them down.
If an arrest is made, officials said, the assigned ADA is notified by the police and requests a higher bail. In some cases, they argue to revoke bail based on the person's record.
About seven months in, authorities are already seeing dramatic results.
Since GunStat started, according to the D.A.'s office, nearly 70 percent of the 473 suspects awaiting trial or a hearing on gun charges are still in custody. Williams said that before GunStat was implemented, most of those defendants would have been released "unless they had a terrible record of failing to appear."
The District Attorney's Office has already expanded the GunStat prosecution model to all six of its divisions, Williams said, but city officials said that they're cautious about letting the overall strategy grow too fast.
http://articles.philly.com/2012-09-27/news/34128336_1_gun-violence-violent-offenders-gun-charges