Spot the Difference

India's Criminal Tribes Act of 1871

• Enacted by a largely white government in response to widespread fear of marauding ethnic gangs
• Allowed for certain groups formed among ethnic minorities to be designated “criminal tribes, gangs, or classes,” based on the opinions of local government officials
• Facilitated surveillance of members of those groups and compelled members of those groups to be fingerprinted and documented by law enforcement
• Authorized harsher penalties for members of “criminal tribes, gangs, or classes,” compared to non-members committing the same offenses
• Condemned by Nehru as “out of consonance with all civilized principles of criminal justice” and repealed soon after India gained independence from Britain

California's Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act (STEP Act) of 1988

• Enacted by a largely white government in response to widespread fear of marauding ethnic gangs
• Allowed for certain groups formed among ethnic minorities to be designated “criminal street gangs,” based on the opinions of local peace officers
• Facilitated surveillance of members of those groups and compelled members of those groups to be fingerprinted and documented by law enforcement
• Authorized harsher penalties for members of “criminal street gangs,” compared to non-members committing the same offenses
• Still in use throughout California