The injunction filed by Weber County prosecutors that the Ogden street gang, Ogden Trece, is a public nuisance has drawn protest from some quarters. Enforcement has been delayed until Sept. 14 by a judge in order to allow the 485-plus-member Trece gang to respond. The American Civil Liberties Union has complained that the injunction -- which would set an 11 p.m. curfew for Trece members, ban gang members from associating with each other, and using or being in the presence of guns, drugs or alcohol --is "vague" and "overbroad."
Nonsense. It's time for common sense to prevail. Street gangs are a public nuisance, and anything law enforcement can legally do is great news for the vast majority of us, who want to live safe lives free of harassment and worse from urban predators.
And Ogden Trece is comprised of urban predators who are bad people and a danger to society. The Ogden-Weber Metro Gang Unit, as well as the Weber County Attorney's Office, in their 200-plus-page injunction, have laid out a strong case against Ogden Trece. The injunction points out that the gang has enagaged in murder, drug dealing, graffiti and loud parties that can serve as kindling for a violent incident. There have been more than 700 case incidents involving Trece gang members in the past three years.
Weber County Attorney Dee Smith summed up what law enforcement is trying to accomplish with the injunction. "This will give law enforcement the ability to keep them (Ogden Trece) from congregating, and from intimidating citizens. They've been running amok for too long."
According to Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner and other local law enforcement professionals, the public nuisance injunction has been used in California to combat street gangs. It seems to us this will be an effective new tool to keep criminal elements off the streets.
Trece, which has had various names, was formed in 1974. There are members of the gang who comprise three generations of street gangsters. That underscores the disconcerting reality that gangs and crime are too entrenched in the culture of some residents.
It is appalling that parents and other potential role models would allow such a legacy to perpetuate beyond a generation.
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