Joining Efforts to Gang Up on Gangs : * It’s Everyone’s Fight, and One the County Must Win

Orange County has been getting a painfully clear message in recent weeks that gangs pose the most serious threat ever to the social fabric. This is so despite the attention and vigorous anti-gang efforts mounted in various communities in the past year. Finding solutions to this complex problem, a reflection of increasing urbanization, will test the best efforts of law enforcement officials at every level.

First, Anaheim reported some sobering news from within the city limits: Gangs increasingly have moved into the drug trade, and city officials anticipate an increase in violence as factions battle to control turf. A study group found that the city is home to a whopping 35 individual gangs, containing about 700 members, and that there are about 51 gang organizations in all, some with ties to other cities, that work the city’s increasingly mean streets. This represents a huge increase in gang operations in the last decade.

A second major report came from the district attorney’s office, which said that its gang caseload is up one-third and that the problem is virtually out of control. Moreover, small communities are feeling the pinch. Placentia has the dubious distinction of being home to a fifth of all gang members in Orange County, and it faces an especially daunting task in coming up with either the caseworkers or the police officers it needs to combat the problem. A committee there didn’t mince words when it cited trouble originating on the home front: “Parents do not effectively discourage gang membership.”

As communities increasingly feel overmatched, the risk grows for the area as a whole. Much of the battle will have to be fought in individual neighborhoods. Anaheim Police Chief Joseph T. Molloy, in commenting on the citizens committee report in his city, noted correctly that residents in neighborhoods plagued by gang activity could benefit from getting involved directly themselves in combatting the problem. He cited the ability of police to stop crime in instances when the community provides support. Indeed, as Placentia suggests, the best place to start this important work is within families.

But clearly, if the view from the county level is correct, cooperation between various law enforcement agencies is essential in this battle, too. Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi has cited various coordinated efforts, especially in Westminster, as an example of what can happen when a community “puts its money where its mouth is” on gang issues. Westminster’s Gang Task Force includes a deputy district attorney, a probation officer and two gang detectives, one Asian and one Latino, and operates in cooperation with the county’s gang unit.

This shows the benefit of a coordinated approach. Interestingly, the FBI recently indicated a willingness to work with communities and share information in combatting crime. It plans to reassign 22 agents in Southern California to focus exclusively on anti-gang investigations. Molloy, for one, greeted this news with a measure of skepticism, citing the unfamiliarity of agents with the nuances of local street life.

Yet Anaheim’s Police Department has sought more officers. The city does have its 20-member task force to develop an anti-gang and drug strategy for the city, which is good. In view of its fiscal crisis and need, there may be good reason to welcome whatever help comes along.

So far, there has been an increase in public awareness on the gang issue, but an aware public may not be enough. In tight fiscal times, pooling resources and sharing effective strategies makes good sense.