O.C. Already Has It Together on Gangs

* Gus Frias of the L.A. County Interagency Gang Task Force has the right idea about how to be effective in countering gang violence and gang membership (“Pull Together to Stop This Gang Epidemic,” Commentary, Sept. 20).

The Orange County Chiefs’ & Sheriff’s Assn. (OCC&SA;), through its County-Wide Gang Strategy Steering Committee, has been working together against gangs for more than three years using the very strategies Frias suggests.

Every city police chief, the sheriff, the district attorney, the chief probation officer, the county marshal and the FBI special agent in charge have been involved in this effort, along with gang investigators, school superintendents and principals, county Department of Education staff, community organizations and leaders from the religious and business communities.

The gang problem in Orange County persists, but there is no doubt that gang violence is being better managed and controlled. The OCC&SA;, in partnership with the UCI Department of Criminology, Law and Society, sponsors a Gang Incident Tracking System in which every law enforcement agency in the county participates. This system has been measuring the extent, nature and location of gang activities throughout Orange County for two years.

Through the TARGET Project (Tri-Agency Resource Gang Enforcement Team), also spawned through cooperation among OCC&SA; members, the worst of the county’s gang members have been arrested and put away--some of them for a long time. Because of close communication and teamwork among the gang investigators, probation staff and the district attorney’s staff who make up each of the seven TARGET teams throughout the county, the conviction rate for gang members arrested in this project approximates 99%. The criminal justice system functions well when people work together to counter gangs.

As good as it is to put the worst gang members away--the killers and crime leaders--it still doesn’t solve the gang problem. Prevention and education are essential tactics in an overall gang strategy. The OCC&SA; sponsors Project: NO GANGS, a program to provide education and prevention for schools, community agencies, parent groups, and religious organizations. It also runs a gang information line (1-800-NO-GANGS), which has received hundreds of calls from parents, community residents and even youth who want help in resisting the pressure to join a gang. They can and do get help here in Orange County.

JAMES I. COOK

County-Wide Gang Strategy

Steering Committee

Chief of police

Westminster