CALIFORNIA YOUTH INCARCERATION INITIATIVE
On March 7, 2000, Californians voted 62% in favor of the "Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act," or Proposition 21. The passage and implementation of Prop. 21 means the expansion of the Three Strikes Law and the death penalty in California, increased sentences for both young people and adults convicted of certain crimes, and a drastic increase of youth in adult courts and prisons. The ballot measure, initiated by ex-governor Pete Wilson, and backed by corporations such as Chevron, Unocal, Hilton, and PG&E, will mean that youth, and particularly youth of color, will be subject to further police harassment, arrest, and incarceration.
Like past initiatives, such as Prop. 184, which resulted in the Three Strikes Law, and 187, the anti-immigrant initiative, Prop. 21 is about creating a political and economic scapegoat in California, and not about solving problems of safety and security in our communities. Pete Wilson and company caplitalized on the recent school shootings and other infrequent but high-profile incidents of youth violence to push through this initiative. The passage of Prop. 21 simply means more extreme and repressive measures against poor people and people of color in California. The initiative, if/when implemented in the state, will:
·Require youth convicted of "gang-related" offenses to register with police.
·Open juvenile records and dismantle confidentiality rules for young people.
·Deem $400 of property damage a felony, lowering the threshold at which a misdemeanor becomes a felony from $50,000 worth of property damage.
·Allow the prosecutor, rather than a judge, to determine whether a young person will be tried as an adult, and if convicted be sent to an adult prison rather than California Youth Authority or Juvenile Hall.
·Allow police to wire-tap suspected gang members and increase sentences for those determined to be in a "gang."
·Expand the list of offenses that can result in the death penalty, including a murder that is labeled as "gang-related."
Those who are in a Security Housing Unit on a gang validation and many folks who have loved ones in prison understand the use of the term "gang" and what political end is served by the application of this word. We only need to stop for a second and think about the possible repercussions of this initiative, both on the streets and inside the prison walls. If upheld by courts (we expect that there will be a legal challenge), dozens more prisons will needed in California to hold those criminalized and penalized by this bill.
Sixteen-year-olds will end up gang-validated, with indeterminate SHU sentences, and struck out. The human cost of this initiative is well beyond our worst nightmare.
For information about legal updates and organizing to resist the war on youth and mass incarceration in California, please contact California Prison Focus, 2489 Mission Street, #28, San Francisco, CA 94110, or Critical Resistance Youth Force, 1212 Broadway, Suite 1400, Oakland, CA 94612.
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