ANAHEIM : Activist Is Taking Aim at Gangs

Civic activist Katherine Hatch Smith lives in a spacious home on a quiet cul-de-sac in western Anaheim. The street of large, expensive homes on oversize lots appears light years away from what would be considered gang turf.

But according to Smith, appearances are deceiving.

“I see evidence of gang activity every day, just a short distance away,” she said, citing fresh graffiti coating a wall less than half a mile from her home.

“If there’s one message I want to get across, it’s that you can’t escape gangs,” she said. “That’s why I want to get more people at the grass roots interested in the problem.”

Smith said she was seriously considering moving away from her affluent Orange County neighborhood when she read about two police officers who were trying to interest county residents in fighting gangs.

Smith prepared a list of residents who might become involved, called the police officers and arranged a meeting.

Now Smith and her embryonic movement are going public.

“I think this is something like how the angry mothers formed MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving),” said Smith. “Gangs are now everywhere. You can’t escape them. I think it’s a problem that everyone must get interested in.”

No formal organization so far has evolved. But Smith has a tentative name for the movement: Americans With Solutions for Crime. Smith and her group, composed largely of professional people, came up with what she calls “an agenda”: a list of 10 steps that could be taken to help solve gang problems.

No. 1 on the list, Smith said, is a call for all public school districts to require that students wear uniforms.

“This is a solution that is already working in the Baltimore grammar schools,” Smith said. School uniforms not only obviate gang clothing but they also foster less class-consciousness, Smith said.

“Uniforms defuse classes in society,” she said. “It no longer becomes a question of who’s wearing cashmere and who’s wearing nylon. Uniforms also simplify dressing children in the morning, and in the long run, uniforms would be cheaper for parents.”

“Our group ranked uniforms as among the top three of our recommendations,” Smith said. “It’s so simple. If children wear ‘play’ clothes to school, they’ll play. If they wear ‘work clothes’ (uniforms), they’ll be more inclined to study.”

Among other ideas listed by Americans With Solutions for Crime:

- Form neighborhood support systems, such as groups of older residents, “to help beleaguered parents.”

- In many cases, require convicted gang members to do community-service work.

- De-emphasize junior high school as an institution and concentrate on keeping elementary schools as first through eighth grades.

- Seek federal help in converting closed military bases to retraining centers for convicted gang members.

- Remind the media, including motion pictures, that glorifying gang activity worsens social problems.

- Deport convicted gang members who are in the United States illegally.

- Outlaw gangs from parks, and provide more after-school activities.

Smith said the new group, which met at her home three weeks ago, included representatives of the Anaheim, Westminster and Huntington Beach police departments, the Orange County district attorney’s office and state and federal legislative offices.

Sgt. Craig Hunter of the Anaheim Police Department’s anti-gang unit was among those attending. In a recent interview, Hunter said he liked the concept behind the group.

“It’s good to get different representatives together and talk about the (gang) problem and to brainstorm things,” said Hunter. “We’re always encouraging people to get involved at the grass roots, at the community level.”

Two other gang experts who took part in the meeting at Smith’s home were Detective Mike Mello of the Huntington Beach Police Department and Detective Marcus Frank of the Westminster police.

Frank said he is encouraged by Smith’s action. “It’s certainly more than we’ve seen from the private sector up to now,” said Frank. “This is the first real action by the private community to get involved.”

Smith said people can contact her by writing to Americans With Solutions for Crime, 2166 W. Broadway, Suite 200, Anaheim, Calif. 92804.