ONTARIO, Ore. - Ontario police will send letters to people they view as criminal gang members, letting them know they're on to them. If suspected members want to contest the accusation, the letter tells them how.

KGW graphic

The Ontario City Council passed an anti-gang ordinance this month. Police Chief Mike Kee said the notices will go to 25 or 30 people in the Ontario and Nyssa areas.

Gang-related shootings shook the towns this summer. There also has been gang graffiti and vandalism.

The ordinance designates people who admit gang affiliation, participate in a gang ceremony or commit or conspire to commit a gang-related crime.

Those meeting two of the criteria can be designated a gang affiliate by wearing clothes or jewelry unique to a specific gang, using a hand sign or language that indicates gang affiliation or by being in a photo with people who collectively display criminal gang signs or apparel to exhibit solidarity.

An uncontested designation would last four years.

There was some dissent during a September gang forum in Nyssa concerning a similar proposed ordinance covering all of Malheur County.

A self-proclaimed former gang member from Ontario, Stormy Stephens, 24, said the county proposal would make some people feel targeted, profiled, and possibly more resentful of police.

A copy of the ordinance was forwarded to the American Civil Liberties Union for review.

An officer can request gang designation for someone whose conduct took place in Ontario by filling out a form for Kee to review.

Those designated will be notified by mail along with reasons and supporting documentation. The appeal deadline is 14 days.

If the designation sticks, "the record of the person will be updated to reflect criminal gang affiliation designation," the ordinance says.

Kee says the purpose is to boost public safety, not to erode individual rights.

The ordinance does not provide for police action based solely on the designation.

It was not clear if names of designated gang members would be made public.