Combat Gangs
Visalia - Universally saying that public safety is No. 1 with them, the Visalia City Council Monday gave Visalia Police more tools to combat the gang problem in the city.
Following an update on what the department has been doing to combat gangs and a status report on gangs, the council agreed to fill five officer vacancies, approved a loan of $242,000 from the general fund to the Measure T fund to hire two additional sworn officers, and approved leasing space for the department's Special Enforcement Bureau, which is the gang and narcotics units.
“We've made a lot of progress,” Chief Colleen Mestas said, but added the extra personnel are needed to keep up the progress. She also said the office space is needed because there is no space at police headquarters or at either of the two substations. The SEB is made up of 15 personnel.
Lt. Jason Salazar said while there was a spike in gang killings at the first of this year, overall in the past year gang killings and assaults declined in the city. He said in the past month the department has been cracking down on gang activities, seizing 15 handguns in the process.
“We feel every gun we get off the street may prevent a violent crime,” he told the council. Salazar heads up the department's SEB.
Included in that stepped up effort was a gang sweep last weekend in which 16 arrests were made, 26 field interviews with suspected gang members were conducted and two were served with the gang injunction.
That sweep was part of the county's Gang Task Force where different agencies can utilize each other's resources. “It gives us some good resources to hammer the gangs,” said Salazar.
However, it is not just one sweep that cuts into the problem. He said officers have been working gang areas very hard since the two killings. During January, a total of 76 arrests were made.
“This heightened awareness has resulted in gang suppression and lessoned the violence we saw earlier this year,” added the lieutenant. In the report to the council it was noted that the number of validated gang members in the city has risen from 972 in 2007 to 1,184 this year. Police noted that is largely due to increased intelligence gathering.
In 2009, there were just three gang-related homicides – down 62 percent from the year before. Gang-related assaults were down 47 percent and drive-by shootings dropped by 57 percent. Police noted that overall gang-related crimes were down 59 percent from 2008. And, there was a 25 percent decrease in juvenile arrests last year.
Down the road, Mestas said she would like to add undercover investigators to the SEB and also a city gang prevention/intervention coordinator. That position would not be a sworn officer, but a person who could coordinate all the different agencies and groups that provide intervention to keep youths out of gangs.
Following the presentation, Mayor Bob Link gave Chief Mestas, who has officially been the city's chief for less than three months, a big compliment. “Chief, you stepped into shoes that were pretty good size already and you've already outgrown them.”
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