RECRUITMENT OF CHILD INTO GANGS

SB 329 creates a new criminal offense for recruiting children under 18 into criminal street gangs or threatening to coerce a child into joining. It imposes penalties of a fourth-degree felony for targeting children aged 13-18 and a third-degree felony for children under 13. The law directly affects adults who attempt to involve minors in gang activities, with the goal of protecting children from gang recruitment. It defines a "criminal street gang" as a group of three or more people whose primary purpose is committing crimes.