Getting out of gang label

More than 10,000 Angelenos identified as gang members and governed by court injunctions can apply to have their name erased from the city's records, but just 20 have tried and only one has actually succeeded, officials say.Sue Doyle in the Daily News.

Now, a year after city government launched a program allowing people to petition to be removed from the lists, officials are asking why more haven't stepped forward. They had expected more people to try to shed the label of "gang member" and the restrictions of a court injunction.

"We are doing community outreach to get the word out," said Deputy City Attorney Bruce Riordan, who heads the anti-gang effort. "We are doing training to make sure the process is working."