Los Angeles' 300-member Highland Park gang, reputed dealers of methamphetamine, has become the 50th L.A. street gang to face a permanent injunction from the courts intended to limit their operations, the Los Angeles Times reported Feb. 28.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge made permanent the injunction against the gang, allowing police to arrest members found congregating, loitering, trespassing, intimidating residents, or carrying weapons or tools for graffiti. Gang members also are subject to a 10 p.m. curfew and are banned from school zones.

"Highland Park is considered one of the most organized, most profitable and most dangerous gangs in Los Angeles," said Bruce Riordan, head of the gang prosecution program at the Los Angeles city attorney's office. The injunction is part of a broader campaign to crack down on gang violence in northeast Los Angeles. Gang violence rose 14 percent in the city in the past year.

"It's strange that [Los Angeles officials] are celebrating this landmark when there is so much we don't know about the effectiveness of gang injunctions and so many problems that have to be addressed," said Peter Bibring of the American Civil Liberties Union.

But city officials say that the injunctions have led to a 33-percent decline in gang membership in Los Angeles over the last five years.