Hollister’s gang task force has held several meetings since it
was formed three months ago, but members have focused their energy
on bringing a wide cross-section of residents together in two weeks
to tackle the problem comprehensively.
Hollister – Hollister’s gang task force has held several meetings since it was formed three months ago, but members have focused their energy on bringing a wide cross-section of residents together in two weeks to tackle the problem comprehensively.
The 10-member task force was created by the City Council in August and includes the police chief, religious leaders, school officials and others to work as a steering committee to attack the gang problem head on, said Police Chief Jeff Miller.
After taking care of “housekeeping” issues, the committee has been focusing on the upcoming community meeting on Nov. 17 at the Veterans Memorial Building, Miller said. The task force’s goal is to stimulate the community into taking action on a problem that could get out of hand without the proper precautions, Miller said.
“It can’t be one facet of the community, it has to be the whole community,” he said. “If we can match needs and resources, we can start conquering the problem.”
Miller hopes to fill the Vet’s Hall, which fits 1,000 people, with residents who can better inform the task force about the scope of Hollister’s gang problem, he said.
After a brief introduction, community members will be sectioned off into small groups where they will be able to tell facilitators how gangs affect their everyday lives, Miller said.
“We’re looking for problems like, ‘I see gang fights. There’s graffiti in my neighborhood. My business was vandalized…’ Those types of things,” he said. “It’s not meant to intimidate. The thought is to get ideas out there, get information out there and then address it.”
The entire community is invited to attend the meeting, and Miller said he’s hoping young people also will attend.
“I can’t stress that enough,” he said. “As many representatives from churches, schools, business, homeowner groups, kids, adults – you name it, we want everybody.”
Task force members will take the information garnered at the meeting and use it to brainstorm ways to identify the breadth of the problem, Miller said.
“I’m not under the illusion that at the PD we know everything about the gang problem,” he said. “The gang task force is interested in identifying the scope, and once we have that, in future meetings we can identify factors that make us susceptible to gang influence.”
The community meeting will be held at the Veteran’s Memorial Building on San Benito Street at 6:30pm on Nov. 17. For more information contact the Hollister Police Department at 636-4330.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
