Rally Saturday Will Introduce Anti-Crime Program in Santa Ana

A community rally will be held Saturday to help garner support for Weed and Seed, the city’s program aimed at ridding neighborhoods of violent and drug-related crimes.

The rally is just one tactic under the unique program, which pairs law enforcement and community service groups to stamp out crime and provide a safe environment for residents.

In June, Santa Ana received more than $1 million from the federal Justice Department to implement a Weed and Seed program in one of the community’s highest crime areas, bounded by 1st, Raitt and Sullivan streets and McFadden Avenue. The money is used to help beef up police and code enforcement and solicit community groups to make the neighborhoods crime free.

The goal of the rally is to introduce residents to the program and also gain recruits, said Santa Ana police spokeswoman Maureen Haacker. “This is something to involve the community,” she said. “We would like people from the area to come out and learn about the program.”

Along with Police Department officials, several social service agencies will also be on hand, as well as representatives from the county’s Victim-Witness Assistance Program, the Girl Scouts, Hispanic Bookmobile and Santa Ana Neighborhood Housing.

The rally will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Jerome Park, 726 S. Center St.