City Council Takes Aim at Street Gangs

New York, NY —

The City Council will be holding hearings this morning on legislation meant to crack down on street gangs. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

REPORTER: One of the bills under discussion would make it illegal to encourage someone to join a criminal gang, or to discourage them from leaving. Another would criminalize dangerous initiation rites.

Robert Perry of the New York Civil Liberties Union says the police and DA's are already equipped to prosecute gang activity, and that letting officers determine who's in a criminal gang - as opposed to some sort of club - could be too subjective.

But the NYPD is generally supportive of the measures. And the sponsor, Councilman Peter Vallone Junior, says that despite the decline in gang activity, the legislation would address the concerns people have in the wake of several recent high-profile shootings. For WNYC, I'm Arun Venugopal.

REPORTER: The NYPD says gang-motivated crime is down nearly 40 percent this year, compared to last year.