ANAHEIM : Gang Activity Up in City, Report Says

Gang activity has increased substantially here in the last five years despite community anti-crime efforts, warns a preliminary report on street gangs and drug trafficking that will be presented to the City Council tonight.

Prepared by the Gang/Drug Citizen Advisory Committee, the nine-page study calls for a variety of new programs to fight the problem. They include finding jobs for teen-agers, encouraging children to stay in school, and citizens committees to monitor the activity and prosecutions of street gang members.

“The gang problem within our city has risen over the past five years to more than 35 identified gangs consisting of approximately 700 members,” the report states.

The study blamed the situation on an inefficient criminal justice system, overcrowded neighborhoods, the decline of parental control over children and a shortage of youth groups and activities that could take the place of gangs.

A final report on the city’s gang problem will be presented to the City Council by April 8 after a series of public forums.

“This is an excellent beginning,” said Mary Hibbard, chairwoman of the Anaheim Human Services Network and a member of the Gang/Drug Citizens Advisory Committee. She is also the pastor of the Anaheim United Methodist Church. “But this is only a framework, and it doesn’t have a lot of solids. That part has to be added after we get input from the community.”

For almost a year, the city has been criticized by the Orange County Congregation of Community Organizations for failing to halt gang violence and drug activity.

The organization, which is a coalition of churches, held a protest at Pearson Park on Dec. 16, eight days after Armando Hurtado, a 16-year-old parishioner at St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church, was shot to death, apparently by gang members. About 500 people attended the demonstration.

Clergy involved in the Orange County Congregation could not be reached for comment Monday.

Hibbard said the church protest led to the formation of the advisory committee, but she added that the churches now should provide volunteers willing to organize youth programs.

“They need to understand the government can’t make it all happen,” she said. “They’ve got the people who can be good role models for the children.”

The City Council meeting will begin at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd.