Countywide : Gang-Suppression Effort to Be Extended in 2 Cities

A county gang-suppression program begun last year in Mission Viejo and Lake Forest has been so successful that officials plan to extend it for another year.

The Board of Supervisors approved contracts Aug. 15 that will allow the Probation Department to continue operating the program, which aims to reduce youth-related crime by strictly monitoring juveniles on probation.

“We want to get them away from criminal activity and get them back on the straight-and-narrow,” said John Robinson, chief deputy probation officer.

The anti-crime effort is similar to Probation Department programs now in place in a dozen other cities, including Anaheim, Orange, La Habra, San Juan Capistrano and Santa Ana.

As part of the program in Lake Forest and Mission Viejo, a probation officer is assigned to keep tabs on local teen-agers who are on probation for previous crimes. The teens must submit to drug tests and are subject to random searches for drugs or weapons. They are also monitored to make sure they attend school or hold jobs.

The probation officer works with local school officials and the Sheriff’s Department, sharing intelligence about gang activities and developing strategies for dealing with youth crime, Robinson said.

Lake Forest and Mission Viejo are not considered gang hot spots. But officials said they hope the Probation Department’s efforts will keep gangs from gaining a foothold in the area.

The program is funded largely by Lake Forest and Mission Viejo, which paid a total of $38,000 a year to cover the time the probation officer works in their cities.