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

parole officer A probation and 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 probati ...

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

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...

. Once a person is validated as a gang member, the person is subject to increased sentences, harsher punishments (such as solitary confinement) and more restrictive

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

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 The California Code of Regulations (CCR, Cal. Code Regs.) is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law) announced in the ''California Regulatory Notice Register'' by California state ...

Title 15, Article 10 3375.3 and 3378.2. The legal requirements for validating a person are much lower than the requirements for convicting of a crime.

Film and television

* '' Shot Caller'' (2017 film) 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