Policing now,Gentrification Later? The Case of Civil Gang Injunctions in Los Angeles

Abstract

While most research examines how gentrification influences policing, we interrogate the opposite. Specifically, we ask whether intensified policing in a disinvested neighborhood can encourage later gentrification. To explore this, we focus on civil gang injunctions (CGIs) in the City of Los Angeles—a legal tool that targets Black and Latinx neighborhoods by criminalizing alleged gang members’ public presence. Using geospatial methods and a quasi-experimental design, we compare gentrification rates in CGI-impacted neighborhoods with observably similar non-CGI “control” neighborhoods. Our findings show that CGIs can instigate gentrification in neighborhoods with sufficient “White Visibility”—a minor but noticeable number of White residents. In these cases, policing seems to act as a buffer that draws new, higher socioeconomic status residents to disinvested neighborhoods. This article contributes to broader theories of social control and urban transformation by identifying conditions under which criminal justice policies can actively shape neighborhood change.