Ban Gang Recruitment at Schools

Section 1. Section 460.10 of the penal law is amended by adding four new subdivisions 5, 6, 7 and 8 to read as follows:

5. "Criminal street gang" means any ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, having as one of its primary activities the commission of one or more criminal acts, which has an identifiable name or identifying sign or symbol, and whose members individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in criminal street gang activity.

6. "Criminal street gang member" means a person to whom two or more of the following criteria apply:

(a) admits to criminal street gang membership;

(b) is identified as a criminal street gang member by a documented reliable informant;

(c) resides in or frequents a particular criminal street gang's area and adopts its style of dress, its use of hand signals or its tattoos and associates with known criminal street gang members;

(d) has been arrested more than once in the company of known criminal street gang members for offenses which are consistent with usual criminal street gang activity;

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

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(e) is identified as a criminal street gang member by physical evidence, such as photographs or other documentation;

(f) has been stopped in the company of known criminal street gang members four or more times;

(g) has been identified as a criminal street gang member by other law enforcement agencies; or

(h) is identified as a criminal street gang member by a family member.

7. "Criminal street gang activity" means the commission or attempted commission of, or solicitation or conspiracy to commit, two or more criminal acts that:

(a) were committed on separate occasions within a five year period;

(b) are neither isolated incidents, nor so closely related and connected in point of time or circumstance of commission as to constitute a criminal offense or criminal transaction, as such terms are defined in section 40.10 of the criminal procedure law; and

(c) further a criminal street gang by: (i) being related to one another through a common scheme or plan; or (ii) were committed, solicited, requested, importuned or intentionally aided by persons acting with the mental culpability required for the commission of such criminal acts and such person is a member of such criminal street gang.

8. "School grounds" means (a) in or on or within any building, structure, athletic playing field, playground or land contained within the real property boundary line of a public or private elementary, parochial, intermediate, junior high, vocational, or high school, or (b) any area accessible to the public located within one thousand feet of the real property boundary line comprising any such school or any parked automobile or other parked vehicle located within one thousand feet of the real property boundary line comprising any such school. For the purpose of this subdivision, an "accessible area to the public" shall mean sidewalks, streets, parking lots, parks, playgrounds, stores and restaurants.

§ 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 460.65 to read as follows: § 460.65 Criminal street gang recruitment on school grounds.

A person is guilty of criminal street gang recruitment on school grounds when, on school grounds, he or she coerces, solicits, recruits or induces another person to join or remain a member of a criminal street gang, or conspires to do so.

Criminal street gang recruitment on school grounds is a class D felony.

§ 3. The highway law is amended by adding a new section 318 to read as follows:

§ 318. Gang free school zone signs. Any political subdivision of the state having jurisdiction over any highway within school grounds, as defined in subdivision eight of section 460.10 of the penal law, may, upon the request of the appropriate school authority, place, cause to be placed or permit to be placed within the right-of-way of such highway such signs indicating a gang free school zone.

§ 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.