The Community Must Gang Up on Gangs : Violence: Law enforcement needs help with a social menace.

Gang activity in Orange County has risen drastically in the past five years. In recent months several high school students were the victims of brutal gang-related slayings, a helpless 2-year-old was unmercifully gunned down and local police officers have come under gang assault.

No segment of the county population is immune. Gang violence affects every age, race, sex, residence and economic status. Kids who used to carry, at worst, a switchblade knife now carry automatic weapons.

The consequences of criminal gang activity are far reaching. Violent personal assaults by gang members represent but one aspect of their unlawful behavior. Also devastating to our communities are gang-perpetrated crimes involving drugs, robbery, burglary, auto theft and vandalism.

The source of the problem we face is clearly understood and well documented by law enforcement professionals. Study after study reveals that a small fraction of the population commits the vast majority of gang crimes in Orange County. The typical offender is a male between the age of 12 and 21 with substance abuse problems who lacks effective parental supervision and control and has academic, behavioral and attendance problems at school.

This group of incorrigible, habitual and violent offenders seemingly has no respect for human life. They exhibit total disregard for the rules of conduct expected in a civil society. Horrified communities turn to the police to solve this increasingly insurmountable problem.

In response to escalating criminal gang activity, the Orange County Chiefs of Police and Sheriff’s Assn. created the countywide Gang Strategy Steering Committee. The committee, on which I serve as chairman, is comprised of the sheriff, the chief probation officer, the district attorney’s chief investigator and the special agent in charge of the FBI’s county office. In addition, police chiefs serve as regional subcommittee chairs to each of the five county judicial districts.

The group’s purpose is to devise methods for improving the quality of life in Orange County by reducing gang violence and illegal drug use through education, law enforcement and community support.

The committee believes that it adheres to policies which embrace the holistic approach to the gang problem. One example is our involvement with the presiding judge of Juvenile Superior Court. Judge Frank Briseno’s expertise has been invaluable. The court is publicly identifying juvenile offenders, thus sowing the seeds for parental awareness, involvement and accountability.

The committee has made great progress. We have implemented the General Reporting Evaluation and Tracking System that provides immediate access to accurate information relating to every gang and its membership. We have devised a uniform reporting process for gang-related crimes. And we are moving toward creation of a countywide telephone gang-tip hot line.

In keeping with the holistic approach, the committee sponsored a Police and Education Conference on gangs to develop countywide strategies. Pressing concerns were conveyed by school administrators, who once admonished pupils for chewing gum and now find themselves faced with the fear of students carrying guns.

Conditions have deteriorated so much that some gang members have made attempts at campus self-policing. A group of gang members have appealed to others to invoke a countywide truce. Unfortunately, although well-intentioned, these efforts have not meet with success. Not all gangs are willing to participate.

Law enforcement is generally the last resort to confront gangs. Tragic personal grief and devastating economic loss caused by criminal gang activity demand immediate attention; however, the eradication of these illegal activities can only be achieved through a unified community effort. The Gang Committee needs your commitment, help and support.