PJLC Launches Direct Legal Aid Program for People Targeted by Gang Units

The Peace and Justice Law Center (PJLC) has launched a new direct legal aid program to support people targeted by gang suppression policing, marking a significant expansion of PJLC’s work beyond litigation and policy advocacy. Funded through a CalVIP grant, the program is designed as a three-year pilot to test whether targeted legal services can reduce violence by helping people successfully transition out of gang involvement.

Gang suppression practices—such as gang injunctions, arrest warrants, and criminal justice surveillance—often create legal barriers that keep people trapped in cycles of instability. Even when individuals are trying to leave gangs behind, unresolved misdemeanor cases, driver’s license holds, child support arrears, or civil legal problems can push them back toward underground economies and repeated contact with the criminal legal system.

PJLC’s pilot program was designed to serve 162 individuals over three years, maintaining a small, high-touch caseload so attorneys can provide sustained support. Clients typically receive services over a four-month period, with PJLC attorneys addressing the specific legal obstacles standing in the way of stability and desistance.

The program provides a range of legal services that are rarely available to this population, including help navigating misdemeanor arraignments and diversion programs, resolving arrest warrants, seeking removal from gang injunctions, reinstating driver’s licenses, and addressing family law, housing, debt, and immigration-related legal issues. By resolving these barriers, the program aims to help clients stay employed, support their families, and avoid unnecessary incarceration.

This approach reflects a strategic gap PJLC identified in existing violence prevention efforts. While many organizations provide outreach or case management, legal needs are often left unaddressed—despite being a decisive factor in whether someone can successfully leave gang involvement behind. PJLC’s model treats legal support as a form of violence prevention and harm reduction, not simply crisis response.

From the outset, the program was built to be evaluated. PJLC committed to working with an independent outside evaluator to assess outcomes, with success measured primarily by reduced recidivism. Client outcomes will be compared to a control group using court and prosecution data, allowing for a clear, evidence-based assessment of impact.

By launching this pilot, PJLC is testing a scalable model that pairs legal expertise with community-informed outreach. The goal is not only to support individual clients, but to build evidence for a new way of thinking about public safety—one that removes barriers to stability rather than deepening them.