Councilor wants gang members posted online

By: Eric Kahnert, Eyewitness News 4, and Reed Upton, KOB.com
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A city councilor working with the mayor’s office has introduced legislation that would create an online registry of the mug shots of gang members. Councilor Ken Sanchez introduced the bill Monday night. The council will consider it at the next council meeting. Under Sanchez’s proposal, the pictures and names of gang members would be available on line if APD determines someone was involved in a gang related crime. Addresses will not be posted with the pictures and names in order to minimize the possibility of retaliation.

Sanchez says, unlike the sex offenders Website, people on the gang Website could eventually get off of it.

“Young kids make mistakes and hopefully they will take the right path in the future,” he says. “Once they’re on the registry, it’ll be for two years unless they take a prevention program. [Then] they’ll be taken off immediately.”

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Some thoughts from a citizen with eyes open:

So walking with two of your friends on central will get youth entered into an online database next to sex offenders and pets that the city is about to euthanize!! How would you feel if the APD or APS Police entered your kid into this database, branding them as a gangster for two years, maybe the rest of their life?

How does the APD define who is in a gang? Baggy pants? Brown or Black skin? A blue hat?

This humiliating bill didn't pass, but we should count it as a near victory for legalized racial profiling. Call up Mayor Martin "Gentry" Chavez and Councillor Ken Sanchez and let them know that this looks like just another vindictive attack on youth of color by the City government.
You can leave comments for Councillor Ken Sanchez here:
If the idea is to protect the public, we should create an online database of crooked politicians and abusive cops, with their photos and descriptions of their crimes.