Cities in South County Unite to Subdue Gangs : Crime: Aggressive efforts are under way to educate youngsters about the dangers and to eradicate graffiti.

The unmistakable slogans and markings of gang graffiti deface fences, bus benches and electrical transmission boxes in Laguna Hills.

In Mission Viejo, the city maintains a 24-hour hot line for residents to report “graffiti sightings.” The neighboring cities of San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point and Laguna Niguel have agreed to fund a gang suppression unit to stem what they say is rising gang activity in the area.

And in San Clemente, police have seen an increase in gang-related crime.

Suddenly, the rise of gangs is becoming a major issue in southern Orange County, topping the agendas of cities, school districts and neighborhood groups from Irvine to San Clemente. Police say that while the problem is minuscule compared to that experienced in Santa Ana or Los Angeles, the concern of residents cannot be dismissed simply as suburban paranoia.

Maintaining it is better to “kill the seed before it grows,” police, residents and city officials are uniting to combat the rise of gangs in the region.

Like many of her neighbors, Debbi Abalos thought she had seen the last of gangs when she moved from Los Angeles to affluent South County a few years ago. The picturesque homes with red tile roofs and manicured lawns did not look like a place where turf wars would be played out in violence.

But Abalos noticed a “shocking and appalling” sight when she left her Laguna Hills home a few weeks ago: Gang slogans sprayed in red, blue, silver and black paint smeared walls, telephone poles and electrical transmission boxes along La Paz Road and Paseo de Valencia. Two days later, the markings decorated the fences of about 15 residents.

“I’ve seen some good neighborhoods go down and it started just like this,” said Abalos, a marketing supervisor for an Irvine electronics firm.

Police and gang experts say Abalos is right. Gang graffiti are the first signs of gang activity in neighborhoods. In many areas, authorities quickly paint over the markings, but the cover merely serves as a canvas for new graffiti.

Many residents fear that local gangs could bring more than spray paint on walls.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department, which patrols most cities in South County as well as unincorporated areas, acknowledges an increase in gang crime in the area. The department, however, said it does not keep specific statistics on gang-related crimes.

But San Clemente police have recorded increased gang activity involving violence, enough to prompt the department into taking a get-tough “zero-tolerance approach” to the problem. They point to the following incidents as signs of the increase in gang activity:

* When members of two rival gangs went on a crime spree last December, a 4-year-old girl was shot in the face and upper body as she was playing on the porch of a neighbor’s apartment on Avenida Pelayo.

* On Sept. 21, a 7-Eleven clerk was slashed across the chin and neck by a reputed gang member after the store employee refused to sell him cigarettes.

* From late December through June, San Clemente police have attributed at least 12 crimes--including arson, robbery and assault--to suspected gang members.

More gang members are also being identified in area schools.

“Before, we knew they were around, but they were not as brazen,” said Alan Hicks, principal of Serra High School in San Juan Capistrano. “Before, there were just fistfights. Now they (gang members) carry weapons.”

The recent outbreak of gang violence in South County has led Supervisor Thomas F. Riley to launch the South County Gang Awareness and Prevention Task Force, a group involving community leaders, educators, law enforcement officials and PTA representatives.

In a recent report, the task force agreed that the incidents of gang crime were on the rise.

“Proportionately, gang members are as active in some parts of these four (South County) cities as anywhere in the county,” the report states. “If the trend continues, it is anticipated South County will be vulnerable (if not already) to an escalation in gang activity, and the victim population will increase as well.”

Though still remote, the prospect of violent gang wars evokes fear among residents. At a recent meeting of the Laguna Hills Community Assn., residents told sheriff’s representatives about “skinhead gangs” in neighborhood schools, “kids with weapons in their cars driving around our streets” and gang members who are “marking and staking out their territory.”

Authorities say that gangs are not new to South County, noting that they have long existed in some pockets of San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente but have remained relatively tame, at least when compared to gangs in Santa Ana.

But the fact that gang members now congregate in the new communities of South County and commit crimes is valid cause for concern, said Michael Schumacher, the county’s chief probation officer and a member of Riley’s task force.

Of the 1,100 adults and juveniles on probation in the South County area, approximately 5% are either gang members or associated with gangs, he said. Officials say those who belong to South County gangs come from all social classes: from white skinheads at upper-middle-class schools to Latino youths from San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano.

“What you see in South County is very much what you saw in the San Fernando Valley 30 years ago,” said Capt. Doug Storm of the South County sheriff’s substation. “Gangs here are in their formative years. If we bury our heads in the sand, they will only increase.”

A few weeks ago, Santa Ana police speculated that their recent weekend sweeps on gang members had forced gangs to shift their operation to other communities. Officials of some South County cities believe they may be reaping the effects of Santa Ana’s crackdown.

“We’re definitely seeing some outside influence,” said San Clemente Police Capt. Alicia Powers. Gang members “from other cities are coming in and challenging members of (the two identified) San Clemente gangs to be more aggressive. They’re acting as inappropriate role models.”

Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew Barr, who spoke at the community meeting in Laguna Hills, said drugs could be tied to the rise of gangs in the area.

“Orange County is a very affluent place and, unfortunately, people like yourselves buy drugs,” Barr told the residents. “They’re going to come down here and recruit whoever they can to sell those drugs. People associate themselves with gangs for protection, for intimidation. . . . The gang influence is here.”

Police, however, caution that it would be counterproductive to exaggerate the problem.

“Gangs are not taking over the cities,” Storm said. “What we have are a bunch of kids emulating gang members. If we let them think that they are gang members without getting the schools and law enforcement involved, then we will have a real big problem on our hands.”

Others agree, and say recent events are cause for action.

“One gang crime, or one gang, is one too many,” said Colleene Hodges, supervisor of the Orange County Probation Department’s gang violence suppression unit. “Once you get one, another one is going to sprout up. And it’s that rivalry that causes community problems because gangs start taking over neighborhoods and streets. You’re no longer dealing with one person, you’re dealing with a crime wave.”

Community leaders, residents and law enforcement officials agree that the cities must embark on a two-pronged approach involving suppression and education.

San Clemente’s Powers said police will adopt tougher measures against gang members. The city will also contract with the Irvine-based Community Service Programs to counsel youths to prevent them from getting into gangs. The program will also work with residents in gang-prone areas of the city, showing them how to combat gang influence.

“If we find out there’s a crime involving a gang member, we’re not going to look the other way,” Powers said. “Even minor violations like drinking in public, vehicle violations. . . . We want them to know that we will not tolerate their activities.”

Dana Point will also strictly enforce its nuisance abatement ordinance as part of the city’s efforts to combat drugs and gangs in the city’s Lantern district.

“Code enforcement officers will go through the neighborhoods and issue citations for weeds, disrepair and overcrowding,” said Karen Lloreda, a Dana Point councilwoman who has been outspoken about the drug problems in the city.

In Mission Viejo, the city has established a graffiti hot line for residents and hired a Whittier company to remove the graffiti within 24 hours.

“We were receiving about 15 calls a week when we opened the hot line (in April, 1989),” said Alex Casillas , the city’s maintenance superintendent. “Since we are eradicating the signs as soon as they crop up, the problem is minimal.”

By far, the most comprehensive anti-gang program for South County will come before the Board of Supervisors for approval this week. The proposal, which was devised by Riley’s task force, calls for the teaming of a probation officer and a sheriff’s deputy to work in South County.

“One of the advantages is the sheriff’s deputy has the authority for immediate arrest, if necessary, and the probation officer has the right of search and seizure without a warrant,” said Marilyn C. Brewer, an aide to Riley.

Under the plan, four teachers from the Capistrano Unified School District will develop a curriculum on gang awareness and prevention for students from grades four to six.

The city councils of San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel and Dana Point have voted to share the costs of the county-sponsored program.

“This is a real opportunity to get a handle on gang problems,” said Schumacher of the Probation Department. “We have to nip it in the bud . . . suppress it before it spawns.”

Abalos of Laguna Hills said her community association welcomed the proposal but is not going to wait on the authorities. She said association members plan to talk school officials into taking immediate steps to educate students about the negative effects of gangs.

“We have to let them know we will not tolerate this behavior down here,” Abalos said. She paused and said, “You know, you can move away from a problem, but the problem is going to find you.”