Local law enforcement officials are planning to increase
enforcement of gang activity, according to a report given by
Hollister Police Chief Bill Pierpoint at Monday’s City Council
meeting.
Local law enforcement officials are planning to increase enforcement of gang activity, according to a report given by Hollister Police Chief Bill Pierpoint at Monday’s City Council meeting.
The HPD’s strategy will focus on two local gang factions, the Nortenos and Surenos.
“These gangs have been responsible for major crimes in the community,” Pierpoint told the Council.
In the past five years there have been five gang-related murders in Hollister, Pierpoint said. The youngest victim was a 15-year-old boy who was gunned down by a rival gang member three years ago.
But the biggest problem local law enforcement will face, Pierpoint said, is stopping gangs from passing their dangerous lifestyle on to younger generations.
“It starts young,” he said. “The individual that did the shooting (of the 15-year-old) had a father and a brother in prison.”
One of the problems in trying to solve gang activity, Pierpoint said, is that gang members intimidate witnesses and victims.
“They (business owners) are fearful to tell you that,” he said.
Despite the grim picture created by Pierpoint’s presentation, he said street gang activity in Hollister is nothing new.
“This is not a new phenomenon. It’s not something that just popped up,” he said. “It seems to be getting more publicity right now, but if you talk to some of the old-timers (in local law enforcement), there was gang activity back then.”
Working with other law enforcement agencies will require a dedicated and coordinated attack, Pierpoint said.
“We’re going to get out there and look for the gangsters involved,” he said.
The HPD is putting together a five-member team, and Pierpoint said it will gather gang information and teach gang suppression to other officers. Officers will carry a list with names and photos of known gang members and the status of their probation.
“Every officer is going to know what looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, what is a duck – that type of training,” Pierpoint said.
Police will aggressively identify gang members and take photos of their tattoos. Each one identified will be certified by the district attorney’s office as a gang member.
“This lets us know who the players are,” Pierpoint said. “It gets our officers involved with those players and gives us good enhancements when it comes time to catch these offenders.”
Many prevention programs are in place and effective, Pierpoint said, but the HPD is looking to add to the list.
Pierpoint also said graffiti may be a growing problem for the community, but it is not all gang-related. He said because graffiti is so visible, many people mistakenly believe gangs are necessarily involved.
Councilman Tony Bruscia said the city might consider requiring businesses to erase graffiti in a timely manner. Pierpoint pointed out that many businesses do clean their buildings after being tagged, but some owners just can’t afford it.
Bruscia suggested the Council form a subcommittee to address the gang issues and work with the police chief and other officials.
“I, too, would like to see more community involvement,” Mayor Brian Conroy said. “I know there is concern out there.”
Because of their knowledge of gangs and graffiti issues, Conroy appointed Councilmembers Pauline Valdivia and Robert Scattini to head up the subcommittee with the hope that they will bring more members of the public to the table.
Scattini said he’s already working on a graffiti enforcement program that will involve local law enforcement, schools and other agencies.
