Gates’ Snub of Gang Plan Draws Ire : Crime: Supervisor Riley says he’s disappointed by the lawman’s refusal to join South County program. Sheriff’s Department services 7 of the area’s cities.

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley said Thursday that he is disappointed that Sheriff Brad Gates has refused to join ranks with other law enforcement leaders to set up an anti-gang program in Riley’s sprawling South Orange County district.

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“He has to sleep with himself on this decision,” Riley said. “I’m sorry he has taken this attitude and that the 5th District won’t be involved in the program. The need is urgent.”

In South County, where officials have estimated that nearly 800 gang members and 14 gang organizations claim territory, the Sheriff’s Department provides police services to Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano.

But the sheriff has said he will not participate in a plan by Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi to locate one of six anti-gang strike teams in South County. Gates said this week there is nothing new in the district attorney’s proposal and that he was satisfied with the prosecution and probation services provided in gang cases that his deputies handle.

Capizzi’s proposed teams, to include police, prosecutors and probation officers, would target gang leaders in criminal cases in attempts to remove them from the street.

In South County, the sheriff’s decision met with mixed reaction.

San Clemente Mayor Scott Diehl said Thursday that it might be prudent for South County cities to develop their own strategies to combat gang violence. He said the city is considering creating a four-member gang team.

“I have to think that people in law enforcement know best what the needs are,” said Diehl, adding that the sheriff has been responsive to mounting concerns about gangs in the community. Those worries escalated in October when a popular San Clemente High School student was speared through the head with a metal part of a paint roller by suspected gang members.

“We have to decide where we can get the best level of enforcement,” the mayor said.

In Laguna Beach, which has its own police force, Chief Neil J. Purcell Jr. said he was “not clear” on how Gates reached his decision.

“It caught me a little by surprise,” Purcell said. “Automatically, I figured he would want to be part of” the district attorney’s plan.

Although disturbed by the sheriff’s decision not to participate, Riley said he would not stand in the way of Capizzi’s $2-million plan to create similar strike teams in Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Garden Grove and Orange. The district attorney has planned two teams for Santa Ana, where 41 of the county’s record 60 gang-related deaths have occurred this year.

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The plan is scheduled for consideration Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors, and Riley’s support is seen as important among local law enforcement officials since South County may not immediately benefit from the program.

“I don’t think I’d be a very good person if I tried to get in the way of this,” Riley said, adding that he has no plans to speak to the sheriff.

“Apparently, the sheriff has felt that it would not be productive to come talk to us about these activities,” the supervisor said. “I don’t think the best interest of the county is served by that.”

In concept, the district attorney’s plan has the support of the four other supervisors, although some have expressed concerns about finding the money to pay for it.

From the start, Riley said he was warned that Gates would probably not participate in the Capizzi plan but, instead, would propose his own strategy. Riley said he has yet to see a plan from the sheriff.

Capizzi’s proposal is based on the Westminster Police Department’s model known as TARGET (Tri-Agency Resources Gang Enforcement Team.) There, police officers, prosecutors and probation officers work gang cases from investigation through prosecution, and the concept is credited with a dramatic reduction in gang-related violence in the city during the past year.

The district attorney’s plan would essentially extend the TARGET concept to the other cities.