Validation is a legal process in the United States where criminal justice authorities (prison officials,

parole officer A probation or parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probatio ...

s, police officers, or prosecutors) designate that a person is a member of a

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

. Once a person is validated as a gang member, the person is subject to increased sentences, harsher punishments (such as

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

) and more restrictive

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

rules. To validate a person as a gang member, the officials generally must provide evidence of several factors, such as tattoos, photographs, admissions, clothing, etc. The list of criteria for the state of California is found in California Code of Regulations Title 15, Article 10 3375.3 and 3378.2. The legal requirements for validating a person are much lower than the requirements for conviction of a crime.

Film and television

In the 2017 film '' Shot Caller'', the main character, Jacob Harlon, played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is validated by law enforcement as being a member of a gang in one of the final scenes.

References

{{Incarceration Gangs in the United States Prison gangs in the United States Penal system in the United States