Under the Texas nuisance abatement statute, any property can be closed down by court order if it is being use as a crack house, brothel, gang headquarters, or other base of operations for criminals. The statute works by holding the property owners and managers responsible for what happens on their property. The Attorney General helps law enforcement use nuisance abatement laws to shut down gang hangouts and to keep gang members from publicly assembling in areas where criminal activity is rampant. The Civil Enforcement Section offers local prosecutors help in identifying locales used by prostitutes, drug dealers and gang members. The section is available to work with these local officials to obtain orders from the courts to either shut down these premises or restrain gang members from frequenting them.
Training is also available.
Two highly trained investigators and an experienced prosecutor are available to assist Texas law enforcement officials and prosecutorial personnel with Internet child pornography investigations and prosecutions. While some local law enforcement agencies perform gang awareness training for their community, many agencies' resources are too limited to meet the demand. During the training, significant emphasis is placed on debunking common myths regarding gangs. The target audience is parents and other adults who work with youth - it is not appropriate for presentation to youth. The training, which is based ona database of more than 200 slides, can be tailored to a particular jurisidction and adapted for presentation in tandem with local gang unit officers.