On June 22, Edwin Ramos was making a left turn onto a narrow street in San Francisco when Tony Bologna’s car briefly blocked him. Mr. Bologna, 48, whose sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, were also in the car, politely backed up his vehicle.

What was Ramos’ response?

He pulled alongside Bologna’s car and without a word shot and killed the father and both sons. According to San Francisco police, Ramos is a native of El Salvador, a reputed member of the notorious MS-13 street gang and illegally in the U.S.

The senseless murders of Tony Bologna and his sons are clear evidence of systemic problems in California’s criminal justice system, which block effective enforcement of our anti-gang laws, particularly in cases involving juveniles, illegal immigrants or both.

That’s why we support Proposition 6.

As longtime members of the law enforcement community, we see an urgent need to balance programs for crime prevention and early intervention with aggressive enforcement against felony gang activity. To achieve this balance and a sustainable statewide gang suppression policy, law enforcement throughout California developed Proposition 6, the Safe Neighborhoods Act, which will be on the November ballot. Under Proposition 6, the Bologna murders might not have occurred.

As it turns out, Ramos was no stranger to law enforcement. At age 17, he beat and kicked a passenger on a San Francisco bus, an assault captured on videotape. He was briefly incarcerated, then released. Four days later, he attempted to rob a pregnant woman. He was prosecuted as a juvenile on both charges, but was not turned over to federal immigration authorities.

In March of this year, Ramos was stopped for driving a car without a license plate. His passenger (identified as a fellow MS-13 gang member) attempted to discard a gun, which police recovered. Ramos was arrested, and when the gun could not be tied to him he was released from jail without being held for immigration charges. The gun was later determined to have been used in a double homicide.

Here in Sacramento, the Sheriff’s Department is still struggling with the loss of Detective Vu Nguyen, shot and killed last year during a sweep of known gang hangouts. The Sacramento District Attorney is prosecuting a 16-year-old alleged gang member for the murder.

There is little satisfaction in sending a 16-year-old to prison for life. We must act swiftly and forcefully to contain gang violence. The murder of Detective Nguyen and the unprovoked Bologna homicides scream out for earlier intervention and better enforcement. In cases like these, the overwhelming loss is deepened by a sense these crimes could have been avoided.

Proposition 6 gives local enforcement more resources, including improved gang databases and GPS capacity to monitor convicted gang members. In court, it expands the use of “deferred entry of judgment,” which permits juveniles convicted of first-time non-violent felonies to have their records expunged if they comply with court imposed conditions. Outside of the justice system, Proposition 6 invests in juvenile early intervention and programs like police athletic leagues, to offer young people alternatives to gang involvement.

If Proposition 6 were in place today, a 17-year-old like Ramos participating in a gang assault could be charged as an adult. If, like Ramos, he was an illegal immigrant, Proposition 6 would require he be held without bail and his status reported to immigration authorities.

With gang murders increasing, now is the time for action. Crime in California, including homicides, dropped dramatically through most of the 1990s. From 1999 to 2006, the number of homicides throughout the state increased by almost 500. Department of Justice reports indicate that virtually the entire increase in homicides from 2000 to 2006 was attributable to gang murders. While California’s homicide rate was climbing, from 1999 to 2006 the composite homicide rate for the other 49 states dropped.

California must distinguish between kids who make mistakes with drugs or theft and the threat posed by violent juvenile gang members. We must distinguish between immigrants who work to support their families and brutal foreign nationals who prey on victims.

Proposition 6 make these distinctions, ensuring both accountability and sustainability for anti-gang programs that benefit all of California.

Jan Scully is the Sacramento County District Attorney and John McGinness is the Sacramento County Sheriff.