San Benito County supervisors asked county law enforcement
agencies
– such as the Sheriff’s Department, Probation Department and the
District Attorney – to work with Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller
to draft a gang prevention, intervention and suppression
program.
Hollister – San Benito County supervisors asked county law enforcement agencies – such as the Sheriff’s Department, Probation Department and the District Attorney – to work with Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller to draft a gang prevention, intervention and suppression program.
Once the program is complete, the county will take it to state and federal agencies in hopes of getting funding for the anti-gang efforts, according to Chief Administrative Officer Susan Thompson. Also during Tuesday’s meeting, the Board officially recognized the increasing scourge of gang violence in the county when supervisors voted unanimously to adopt a resolution that acknowledges that the county has a serious gang problem.
“We really need a local plan that we can show them that we’re prepared and we’re ready,” Thompson said.
District Attorney John Sarsfield has said that he envisions a new multi-jurisdictional law enforcement agency that will focus solely on gangs. On Tuesday, he told supervisors that hiring new personnel for the organization is crucial to making it a success.
“What I see as the weakness of the status quo is we do not have collectively the resources to deal with gang and gun violence,” he said. “We are all pretty much maxed-out.”
Earlier this month, Sarsfield unveiled a rough sketch of what he had in mind:
n Six new Hollister police officers
n Two new sheriff’s deputies
n One new probation officer
n A new part-time District Attorney’s Office prosecutor
n A new part-time city or county attorney
Since October, Hollister has had four gang-related shootings and one gang-related stabbing. Law enforcement officials have reported an increase in gang-related activity in Hollister and throughout the region. Most recently, a 56-year-old man was shot twice in late November after unknown gunmen fired at least 15 bullets from a 9mm handgun into a residence in the 1000 block of Sherwood Drive.
“It’s infesting our neighborhoods,” Sheriff Curtis Hill told supervisors.
Hollister City Councilman Brad Pike said he supports working with the county to suppress gang violence and thinks it is long overdue.
“I’m glad to see this taking place. But I’m kind of frustrated that it didn’t happen from the get-go,” he said during a City Council meeting Monday. “I would have liked to have seen it from day one. It (gangs) affects law enforcement across the board.”
While both Hill and Miller said that their agencies have long been working together to combat the gang problem, Hill said the board’s move on Tuesday was a way of cementing the partnership between the county and the city of Hollister.
“I see this piece as the county coming together to support Hollister in efforts they have done in the past year or so,” Hill said.
Miller said he is willing to work with the sheriff and other county law enforcement agencies to draft the gang prevention, intervention and suppression program that supervisors envision.
“I’m always open to working with other agencies,” he said.
Though he will work with the county on an anti-gang plan, Miller said that his department currently works with other county, state and regional law enforcement agencies and has made squelching gangs a priority. But, he added, the issue of understaffing in the department is a constant obstacle to anti-gang efforts.
Currently the department has 27 able-bodied sworn officers, including the chief and two captains, out of 32 slotted positions, which is nearly half the national average of 1.5 officers per 1,000 people, according to Miller.
During Monday’s Hollister City Council meeting Miller gave council members an overview of his department’s anti-gang efforts, including the city’s gang task force advisory board created last year, a prevention program conducted at the Rancho Park Apartments and a team of seven officers who work on gang suppression in addition to their regular duties.
On Monday, the City Council also voted to appoint Hill to the city’s gang task force as well as a member of the Board of Supervisors.
Supervisor Anthony Botelho, who said that some of his friends have told him that they are scared to be in their own neighborhoods because of gangs, took comfort in the idea of the county and city working together to quell gang violence.
“It’s reassuring to me to see the Sheriff’s Department and Hollister Police Department working so closely together, and the district attorney prosecuting to the full extent possible,” he said. “I want the gang members to know we’re working on this.”
Supervisor Pat Loe said that she supported the county’s effort and had already spoken with state and federal elected representatives about getting funding for anti-gang efforts.
“I do believe that this is one of the biggest challenges we’re going to face in the next year,” she said.
As Hollister and the county begin to ramp-up their anti-gang efforts, Hill also made a call to action for local residents.
“We have to have community members step up to the plate and take their neighborhoods back,” he said.
Supervisor Don Marcus echoed Hill, saying that community members could work to keep at-risk kids out of gangs
“We all need to roll up our sleeves and look around to these young kids that can still be helped with preventive medicine, and help them,” he said.
Luke Roney covers local government and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected].
