Cities Share Gang Prevention Strategies at San Jose Meeting

The second meeting of the California Cities Gang Prevention Network also highlighted the significant and innovative investments that many cities are making in strategies that blend prevention and intervention with enforcement.

“These cities are making remarkable progress, not only in gaining community and civic support for their gang prevention plans, but also for taking active steps to implement ideas that were created or fostered by the initial meeting of the network,” said NLC President Bart Peterson, mayor of Indianapolis.

Innovative Investments
Network members kicked off the meeting on June 21 by examining steps that each individual city could take in developing and implementing gang prevention action plans, as well as the challenges they continue to face. The experiences of San Jose and Santa Rosa were discussed in depth after these two cities shared the progress they have made.

Convening the meeting in San Jose provided an opportunity for network members, which includes teams of municipal leaders, law enforcement officials, school administrators and community partners, to receive an in-depth look at efforts such as the San Jose Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force, a successful partnership between the city, police and community that has been sustained over the last 16 years. The network members also attended the following day’s task force meeting.

“With summer upon us, cities often face an upswing in gang activity and violence,” said Chuck Reed, mayor of San Jose. “By working together, we can learn from each other about strategies and tactics that keep young people from joining gangs and committing violence.”

Mayor Reed made gang prevention a key priority in his 2007-08 budget message, and his transition team has sought to broaden the task force to involve teachers, school officials, probation officers and juvenile hall representatives.

Other network cities are investing in bold new strategies to confront gang violence as well. 

In Salinas, a new community safety director will oversee a $1 million budget for the City at Peace initiative, a significant financial commitment given the city’s overall budget that will be used to strengthen youth programs and partnerships to support children and families.

“I continue to feel very good about the fact that we are hearing over and over comments by communities that there is a strong commitment on the prevention side,” said Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue.

Sacramento is creating an Office of Youth Development that will promote gang prevention, safe places and connections to caring adults for youth, opportunities for youth to participate in civic life, quality education and healthy families. The City of Stockton is planning to revive and expand its “Peacekeeper Program,” which enlists former gang members in convincing gang-involved youth to leave their gangs and contribute to the safety and well-being of their communities. Oakland is implementing anti-gang strategies through Measure Y, which directs $19 million per year toward violence prevention.

In San Francisco, the city recently held its first “Call-In” in which young offenders are confronted by law enforcement representatives (e.g., police, probation officers and district attorneys), as well as social services representatives. These face-to-face meetings make clear that young offenders will face increased pressure and surveillance from police if they continue criminal and gang activity, while simultaneously offering services to help them stay away from gangs.

What’s Working?
A series of sessions on June 21 and 22 offered opportunities for city teams to share what strategies have been most effective, from school-based prevention programs to relationships with other criminal justice agencies. In Sacramento, the city is planning to build two additional “Attendance Centers” that connect truant youth and their families to social services. This collaboration among police, schools and service providers addresses underlying problems that may be causing truancy.

Los Angeles has initiated joint parole and probation compliance checks of gang members at the city’s police stations, as well as a joint LAPD/FBI gang task force. The city has also expanded the San Fernando Valley Coalition on Gangs to reach out to the community.

Several cities, such as San Bernardino, are exploring ways to help gang members enter the workforce to reduce gang involvement, and reorganize city services to meet neighborhood needs.

Shaping State and Federal Policy
As part of the Gang Prevention Network meeting, city teams participated in a roundtable discussion with representatives from the offices of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D) and Barbara Boxer (D), each of whom are promoting new anti-gang legislation at the state and federal level. City officials underscored the importance of incorporating prevention and intervention strategies into state and federal anti-gang policy.

About the Network

The Gang Prevention Network is sponsored by NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute) and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD), with support from the California Wellness Foundation, the California Endowment, the East Bay Community Foundation and the Richmond Children’s Foundation.

The City of San Jose provided additional support for the June 21-22 meeting. Network members include Fresno, Los Angeles, Oakland, Oxnard, Richmond, Sacramento, Salinas, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Rosa and Stockton.

In the immediate future, participating cities will use the knowledge gained from the first two meetings to further develop and refine their gang prevention action plans. These cities’ efforts will also help NLC identify successful practices that cities across the country can replicate.

“We can never let up,” says Mayor Reed. “We can never be done, because there are always more kids out there.”

Details: To learn more about the California Cities Gang Prevention Network, visit   www.nlc.org/iyef or contact Leon T. Andrews Jr., at the YEF Institute at (202) 626-3039 or   andrews@nlc.org.