Clergyman

The task of dealing comprehensively with gangs belongs to the city, not to law enforcement.

At its best, an injunction creates a kind of vigilant heat that moves kids toward the light.

We need the disruption of categories that lead us to abandon the difficult, the disagreeable, and the least likely to go very far.

Redemption is possible, and it is the measure of a civilized society.

The truth is this: Brutalized, victimized children invariably will brutalize and victimize when they grow up. Is our only response to this the certain promise that we will penalize them when they do? Or will we commit to keeping our children safe from brutality and victimization?

Don't forget, you are the hero of your own story.

So complex are all the ingredients that cause gang membership that it seems virtually impossible to isolate one solution that can address them all and thereby manufacture a hope for the future upon which these kids can rely.

Kids are different from adults. They are not as developed as far as brain science, controlling impulses, and maturity, and fall prey to all kinds of pressures.

Gang members aren't frightened into acceptable behavior by increased penalties, enhanced punishments, and the promise of new detention facilities.

I always have a funny story at communion time that underscores that no one is perfect, and that communion is not for perfect people but for hungry people.

Ours is a God who waits. So who are we not to?

Children find themselves adrift not because the informational signposts are illegible, but because there is no one around to guide and accompany them.

We are among the handful of countries that has difficulty distinguishing juveniles from adults where crime is concerned. We are convinced that if a child commits an adult crime, that kid is magically transformed into an adult. Consequently, we try juveniles as adults.

I have never seen a hopeful person join a gang.

I would hope that government officials have a healthy respect for the complexity of the gang problem. They should never lose sight of the fact that there are human beings involved. There is no single solution.

Reactive and proactive policing are both necessary. Still, we need to lower expectations that such efforts can ever be responsive to crime.

Gangs are born of a lethal absence of hope, and hope has an address: 130 W. Bruno St. in Los Angeles, CA 90012.

I don't believe in mistakes. Everything belongs, and, as the homies say, 'It's all good.'

We can't get at crime unless we know what language it speaks. Otherwise, we are just suppressing the cough, not curing the disease.

We lose our right to be surprised that California has the highest recidivism rate in the country if we refuse to hire folks who have taken responsibility for their crimes and have done their time.