Baldwin Park : Gang Program Honored
The city’s Gang Activity Program edged out 459 other entries in a nationwide competition to win top honors for public safety service from the National League of Cities.
The 3-year-old program is designed to reduce gang activities in the city and to aggressively pursue prosecution of arrested gang members.
The program has been funded with a $50,000 annual grant from the state Office of Criminal Justice Planning, said Police Chief Richard Hoskin.
Under the program, a gang investigator from the Police Department works closely with the district attorney’s office to identify and prosecute hard-core gang members, said Hoskin. Officers also visit schools to discourage students from joining gangs.
During the first 18 months of the Gang Activity Program, information provided by the gang investigator enabled the district attorney’s office to successfully prosecute 76% more cases compared to the previous year, said Hoskin.
In the first half of 1986, the district’s attorney’s office convicted 16 gang members, Aguero said. During the same 6-month period in 1987, prosecutors won 67 convictions.
When state funding for the program ends in June, the city plans to fund the program itself, Hoskin said.
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