LAGUNA HILLS : City to Continue in Anti-Gang Program
The city will spend $18,513 to continue its partnership in a South County program aimed at preventing gang activities through education, the City Council decided last week.
The money will sponsor school and community seminars, probation supervision and counseling by the South County Gang Prevention and Suppression Program.
Other program efforts include regular visits to area schools to dissuade students from gang activities, and training teachers to recognize warning signs of gang involvement. Officials estimate there are a dozen gangs active in the South County area.
The 2-year-old program merges the education efforts of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the county Probation Department and area school districts. Laguna Hills will again equally share program costs with the cities of Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, San Juan Capistrano and unincorporated Aliso Viejo.
The council unanimously supported funding the program, and Mayor L. Allan Songstad Jr. described the effort as “extremely valuable” in the fight against gang activity in South County.
The program is holding a free education seminar for the public at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Saddleback Board of Realtors community room, at 25552 La Paz Road. The two-hour discussion will include presentations by the Sheriff’s Department Gang Enforcement Team and the district attorney’s office.
Call (714) 707-2600 for information.
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