ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Grass-Roots Attack on Crime

Residents along Spurgeon Street in Santa Ana have done an impressive job in making the neighborhood safer, showing what can be done by concerned citizens who have the backing of city officials, police and, in this case, a landlord willing to help.

Those living on Spurgeon Street said that for too long the outwardly peaceful area had been racked at night by gunfire. Police were called repeatedly, but officers found themselves with the frustrating job of looking for people who had already fled. Residents complained about local gang members intimidating them and reported drug deals and thefts.

Then several months ago residents turned to a program called Safe Streets Now! The program began in Berkeley several years ago and has been used in a number of Southern California communities. Usually it involves residents suing in small claims court to get rid of a house that is an eyesore or a haven for prostitutes or drug dealing. In Santa Ana and some parts of unincorporated Orange County, the program receives government help as well.

Santa Ana Police Lt. David Nick said the program gives residents the chance to solve problems without continual police help. For example, police told the landlord of an alleged gang hangout on Spurgeon Street that authorities could not arrest loiterers who were not residents without the landlord’s permission.

The landlord said he thought police already had the authority to enter the property in such instances; learning they did not, he was happy to give it to them. He also won cheers by starting eviction proceedings against residents of two apartments that police identified as magnets for gang members.

Residents said they have seen improvements already but realistically added that problems do not vanish overnight. Ed McKie, who helped organize residents, said the days when residents could move somewhere else and leave gangs and drugs behind were gone. That’s true. But as Spurgeon Street residents showed, banding together against a common problem and getting help go far toward improving their lives.