There is an infection spreading through San Benito County. Its
manifestation comes in reports of violence and drug dealing, in
gang graffiti sprayed across walls.
There is an infection spreading through San Benito County. Its manifestation comes in reports of violence and drug dealing, in gang graffiti sprayed across walls.
It is apparent in the anguish of a mother who will never see her son again and in the decision of the child who chooses the wrong path because he can see no other options.
High school student Daniel Gallegos was the latest to succumb to the infection. He was murdered Monday by two men whom police believe to be affiliated with the Sureno street gang. They ran over Gallegos in a car, then put the vehicle in reverse and ran over him again. A week before, eight children were arrested in an alleged gang initiation rite that involved beating a prospective gang member. The boys arrested were all between the ages of 11 and 13.
Gangs are an infection of the community, a sickness that can kill a community. And, if the illness is to be remedied, it will require a community effort.
Law enforcement alone cannot be expected to do the whole job. Police and sheriff’s deputies are charged with suppressing gangs and gang violence. Often law enforcement steps into the picture long after that critical time in a person’s life when they chose to embrace violence, crime and the ostensible sense of family that gangs claim to provide.
The community must get involved before the decision to join a gang is made, thus shrinking the pool of prospective gang recruits. Many children at risk of joining gangs want little more than a chance to be successful and the stable influence of a caring adult. If a child’s home life fails to provide these things, the community must.
Leaders from local jurisdictions need to get serious about drafting a gang prevention and intervention plan, and then take the plan to the state and federal governments to get it funded. The plan should be based on what at-risk children themselves say they need to fill the void that might exist in their homes. Ask them; their responses will likely be reasonable and requests relatively easy to provide.
Also, community members need to make the gang problem their own and be available to work on a solution. A few hours a week spent with an at-risk child may be enough to get the child on the path to success rather than the crooked road that leads to prison or an early grave.
County residents, no matter how isolated they feel from the gang scourge sweeping over San Benito, must come to realize that it will not long remain penned in certain neighborhoods. The infection will continue to spread, unless we all become part of the cure.
