PJLC Presents on Gang Policing to
Anaheim Oversight Commission

The Peace and Justice Law Center (PJLC) presented a community-centered critique of gang policing to the Anaheim Police Department’s Civilian Oversight Commission, outlining why enforcement-heavy strategies often undermine public safety rather than improve it.

Invited by the Commission, PJLC drew on its litigation and policy work to explain how common gang suppression practices—such as gang databases and injunctions—rely on unreliable indicators, disproportionately target people of color, and create long-term barriers to housing, work, and education. These harms, PJLC explained, weaken community trust and can actually increase instability.

PJLC also highlighted proven alternatives focused on harm reduction and community stability, including peace agreements and changes in prison gang dynamics that have reduced violence without aggressive enforcement. These examples show that safety improves when policies are grounded in data and community experience rather than fear-based policing.

PJLC urged the Commission to support better data collection to evaluate what actually works, emphasizing that effective civilian oversight depends on transparency and evidence. The presentation reflects PJLC’s broader strategy of working with oversight bodies to promote policing policies that reduce harm, strengthen trust, and improve public safety.