Ban on Gang Attire at Fair Is Legal, D.A. Says : Law enforcement: Ventura police have not decided whether to impose clothing restrictions.

The Ventura County district attorney’s office has determined that people who wear gang-related attire can legally be excluded from next month’s Ventura County Fair.

But Ventura Police Lt. Steve Bowman, who asked for the legal opinion, said the department has not decided whether it will try to impose gang-related clothing restrictions at the fair, which runs from Aug. 19 through Aug. 30.

“We asked for some clarification, to see if there was something we can do to make sure we have a safe event,” Bowman said, adding that he has not seen the legal opinion.

Ventura police are under contract to provide security at the fair, along with the fair board’s own security forces. Last year, police reported few gang-related incidents.

Art Amelio, the fair’s assistant manager, said he was not aware of the possibility of clothing restrictions at this year’s fair.

“Ventura police have done an excellent job,” he said. “I would interpret what they’re doing now as an effort to continue that.”

Amelio said he believes that police “are trying to find some way to operate within the law . . . . There is certainly lots of potential for the fair to have those problems, given the type of event it is. This is a concern of the fair as well as the police.

“But clearly, everyone wants to operate within the law,” Amelio said.

For dress restrictions to be legally valid, police must be able to show that gang attire creates a “clear and present danger of violence” at the fairgrounds, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Kevin G. DeNoce.

Then, he said, they must provide a dress code that is specific enough “to put the ordinary citizen on notice as to what attire is prohibited,” DeNoce said. “It can’t be vague and overbroad.”

If police decide to adopt such a policy and draft a code that satisfies those elements, DeNoce said, “I think it would be legally upheld” if someone challenged it in court.

Roberta Payan, director of gang prevention for the Ventura Recreation Department, said she doubts that clothing restrictions would prevent violence at the fair.

“A whole lot of kids who dress like that are not gang-active at all,” she said. “It’s the way their peers dress. It’s cool.”

Payan said a more effective way to safeguard fair visitors would be to provide “monitors from different communities who have good rapport” with young people.

“Kids who are gang members can start a fight anywhere they want,” Payan said. “If they can’t get into the fair, they’ll skulk around and wait for people that come out.”