Do Police Harrass You and Take Your Photo
Because They Can't
Pronounce Your Name
or Tell You Apart from Other Asians/Latinos?
Did You Know That:
- Asians and Pacific Islanders make up 17.9% of Fountain Valley, 20.6%
of Garden Grove; 22.5% of Westminster, 31.3% of La Palma, and 10.3% of all
of Orange County? Latinos make up 23.4% of Orange County, 64.7% of Santa
Ana, 30.9% of Anaheim, 22.8% of Garden Grove, and 20.9% of Fullerton.
- 29.1% of all Orange County Asians are under 18 years of age. For
Latinos, the percentage is 33.6%. The overall county population of
minors is 589,303, or 24.4%.
- Although only 22.5% of Westminster is Asian or Pacific Islander, of
all 716 suspected gangbangers detained for 'field interviews' in
Westminster under the TARGET program since 1992, 72% (519) have been
Asian. 21% (151) were Latino. Only 6% (46) were white or "others", even
though Westminster is 69.8% white. (Westminster
Police Department. Tri-Agency Resource Gang Enforcement Team. 1993
Year-End Research Report. and 1990 U.S. Census figures.)
- In 1992, 41 of 188 reported hate crimes and incidents in Orange County
targeted Asians or Pacific Islanders.
- A 1993 Westminster police manual, "Asian Gangs in Little Saigon,"
written by detective Mark Nye, warns against Asian girl gangs. It says
groups of Asian girls who "dress up" and don't wear "gang attire" are
really in "disguise." To find out their true gang affiliation, police are
advised to check their cars to see if they
are "gang related vehicles." Also, police are advised to act with caution
since Asian girls can be mistaken for boys.
- At least fifteen complaints by Asian youth have been lodged against
the Fountain Valley Police Department for unlawful detention and
photography.
- Garbage In; Garbage Out: Police databases are full of errors. In
Denver, two thirds of young black males between 12-24 are labelled as gang
members or associates in police files. In Los Angeles County, over 47% of
all blacks aged 21-24 are in the GREAT computer as gang members or associates.
Police refuse to tell AWARE
how many Asians from Orange County are in GREAT.
Community Pressure Ends Mug Books Elsewhere
San Jose: Ted Nguyen spends three months in jail for a crime he did not
commit after being misidentified from a Asian mug book. Vietnamese
American community mobilizes and forces the police to abolish the mug
book.
Philadelphia: Photo sweeps targetting Asian Americans, especially
Southeast Asians, outrages the Asian American and civil liberties
communities. After pressure from Asian Americans United and other
community groups, the police agree to stop any photographing or detaining of
people unless it is in connection with a specific
criminal investigation. Pennsylvania has a state law barring retention of
non-arrest photos of minors.
To return to the AWARE home page, click here: AWARE.