People in a position to do something about Hollister’s growing
gang problem are now planning with a sense of urgency.
Since a story in The Pinnacle two weeks ago about the local
increase in gang violence, there has been a law enforcement summit
to discuss it, vows from the new D.A. to crack down, and calls for
action from influential members of the Hollister City Council.
Additionally, Mayor Brian Conroy and Council Member Tony Brusica
have scheduled a ride-along with members of Gilroy’s anti-gang
taskforce to understand the resources that city has devoted to
unsettling gang members.
People in a position to do something about Hollister’s growing gang problem are now planning with a sense of urgency.
Since a story in The Pinnacle two weeks ago about the local increase in gang violence, there has been a law enforcement summit to discuss it, vows from the new D.A. to crack down, and calls for action from influential members of the Hollister City Council.
Additionally, Mayor Brian Conroy and Council Member Tony Brusica have scheduled a ride-along with members of Gilroy’s anti-gang taskforce to understand the resources that city has devoted to unsettling gang members.
For all these things, law-abiding citizens of San Benito County should be grateful. When gangs gain a toehold in a community – as the local rise in graffiti and assaults and the incidences of drive-by shootings tell us has happened – it’s hell getting them out. We have only to look at Gilroy and Salinas to see the economic and sociological consequences on a community when early enforcement action is not taken.
The problem locally is that for too long local officials have looked the other way as incidental reports of crimes associated with gangs have accumulated – reports that could have shown a trend early on. The Hollister Police Department says it does not have the resources to track gang-related crime, as other agencies do. That must change immediately. To that end, Council Member Pauline Valdivia has asked the chief for an accounting of his resources and an assessment of the problem by next month.
This is not a situation that ignored goes away. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat published a story Sunday about Sonoma County’s current gang crisis. As the population grew by 20 percent over the last 12 years, membership has grown 12-fold – from 265 members to 3,200, creating what the sheriff there calls “the most significant issue” the county will face “in the coming years.”
Sonoma citizens must wish now that they could turn back the clock to 1990. Likewise, local officials must get a handle on the problem before it grows further.
Officials in San Benito County are just now heeding the warning signs. It will take a concerted, community wide effort to make an impact – and it must include prevention efforts aimed at elementary-aged schoolchildren.
Ignoring gangs hands our community over to young terrorists. We, as community members, must together look for ways to keep that from happening. Part of our obligation must be to keep pressure on our elected and appointed officials so they will make fighting terror in our community a priority.
