Reaping Success

Even when her neighborhood was notorious for the gang violence and illegal drug sales that plagued its streets, Cecy Maciel didn’t move away. Though police sweeps were netting as many as 10 drug deals a day, she stayed put in the hope that the community could turn itself around.

Five years later, Maciel’s optimism has been rewarded. Under a federal program called Weed and Seed, serious crime in several categories has declined in the southwest Santa Ana neighborhood since 1992.

“No one could leave their house before,” said Maciel, 47. “Now I can walk outside with a little more confidence.”

Crime nationwide and in Santa Ana has decreased in recent years for a number of reasons, experts say. But Police Lt. Mike Foote credits Santa Ana’s Weed and Seed program for the marked improvements in a part of town that some had previously viewed as a war zone and open-air drug market.

The lower crime “is directly an impact of an outside organization,” said Foote, who oversees the city’s Weed and Seed area.

Federal officials too have praised Santa Ana’s work. When then-U.S. Atty. Gen. William P. Barr visited Santa Ana in 1992 just months after the program started, he proclaimed that the city’s Weed and Seed effort had produced the most dramatic improvement of any in the nation.

The program is so named because it aims to weed out criminals with stepped-up law enforcement and seed the area with social programs. Santa Ana has the only Weed and Seed site in Orange County, and was one of the first 20 in the nation.

The city’s original Weed and Seed area was bounded by 1st Street on the north, McFadden Avenue on the south, Sullivan Street on the west and Raitt Street on the east. In 1995, the area was expanded south to Edinger Avenue and west to include Fairview Street.

The U.S. Justice Department has spent $2.8 million on the Santa Ana program, and the city has added to that amount with matching funds, Foote said.

Most of the money has gone to law enforcement efforts.

Of the $2.8 million, $1.8 million has been spent on law enforcement programs. The remaining $1 million has gone to social programs, according to the city.

The city has contributed at least $2 million more to law enforcement efforts, according to Foote, which included 16 officers originally assigned to sweep the area. Now, four officers are assigned to the program.

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The massive amount of money spent on law enforcement at the beginning of the program was deliberate.

“Our job is to come in and gain control--to weed out the criminal element in the community,” Foote said. “We hold the barbarians at the gate long enough for the other programs to pay off.”

Those other programs--the “seeding” part of the project--include a number of activities already underway:

* Youth Education and Service. Known as YES, it recruits youths to work with building industry professionals to rehabilitate local homes.

* Safe Haven, which sponsors outings such as museum trips to strengthen family ties and recruits youths to play in a basketball league and attend baseball games.

* DEFY, which pairs police officers with youths for mentoring and activities such as overnight camp-outs.

City program coordinator Leon Raya said that by encouraging children to look beyond their immediate surroundings, officials hope to see more teens staying in school and fewer joining gangs. He says he sees positive results already among youths who have joined Weed and Seed programs.

“If you had asked them three to four years ago, they probably would have said, ‘College? What’s that?’ ” Raya said. “Today, they’ll tell you they want to go to college and what they want to do.”

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Statistics also indicate the program is succeeding. For 1992, the city’s Weed and Seed area had 185 car thefts. Through November of this year, there had been 118. And commercial burglaries, which totaled 38 for 1992, have almost stopped entirely; only three have been reported so far this year.

Robberies are down from 101 for 1992 to 37 this year, and the number of murders--five for 1992--is down to two so far in 1997.

Overall in the city, the numbers were also down. There were 4,148 car thefts in 1992 and 2,481 so far this year. Commercial burglaries fell from 1,610 in 1992 to 658 through November.

There were 1,334 robberies in 1992 and 584 robberies so far this year. There were 45 murders in 1992 versus 25 citywide through November.

Foote said he also sees an improvement in how citizens relate to law enforcement officials. Many residents are now on a first-name basis with police officers, he said, and pass along crime tips.

Foote measures success by what he calls the sundown test.

“Five years ago, when the sun went down, it was a ghost town, and the only thing out there was bad.”

Now, he said, parents often sit on front porches at twilight while their children play in frontyards.

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The program has widespread community support. For example, in an unusual ceremony last week at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Father Enrique J. Sera blessed Weed and Seed officers and vehicles.

But some residents say more could be done. Miguel Hernandez, a community organizer, said crime is still a problem. He cited the murder of a graffiti tagger in September. Investigators say they believe the crime was committed by rival gang members.

“You don’t go out at night because that fear factor is still there,” he said.

Hernandez wants police to become even more involved by talking to youngsters to steer them away from crime and forging stronger ties with residents in the neighborhood.

He, Maciel and others are calling for a further 20% reduction in crime by the end of 1998.

Foote is also eager to see crime cut further. But he cautioned that the Weed and Seed area may have “almost reached a plateau as to how much police can do alone.”

Foote stressed that social change, such as better jobs and educational opportunities, will be needed for youths to resist the temptation of gangs. But Foote also cautioned that those changes may not fully kick in for “two to four years down the line.”

In the meantime, Maciel said she remains committed to her community and its fight against crime.

“The problem was not going to disappear,” she said. “And the most beautiful thing is to confront the problems and look for the solutions.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Stick-and-Carrot Approach

The U.S. Justice Department’s Weed and Seed program--increased law enforcement and new social programs--has been successful in its Santa Ana site. Serious crime has decreased by half since 1992. The original site was enlarged in 1995.

Number of crimes:

1992: 807

1993: 689*

1994: 680

1995: 587

1996: 509

1997: 416**

* 10 months

** 11 months

A closer look at the specific crimes shows some fluctuation but a general downward trend:

Crime

Homicide

1992: 5

1993*: 3

1994: 2

1995: 4

1996: 3

1997**: 2

Robbery

1992: 120

1993*: 96

1994: 115

1995: 61

1996: 73

1997**: 44

Assault

1992: 106

1993*: 68

1994: 54

1995: 56

1996: 50

1997**: 50

Rape

1992: 6

1993*: 1

1994: 3

1995: 5

1996: 3

1997**: 9

Burglary

1992: 134

1993*: 87

1994: 70

1995: 90

1996: 73

1997**: 50

Theft

1992: 184

1993*: 166

1994: 161

1995: 157

1996: 134

1997**: 101

Vehicle theft

1992: 185

1993*: 189

1994: 219

1995: 145

1996: 115

1997**: 118

Malicious mischief

1992: 60

1993*: 63

1994: 39

1995: 50

1996: 44

1997**: 33

Other*

1992: 7

1993*: 16

1994: 17

1995: 19

1996: 14

1997**: 9

* 10 months

** 11 months

Note: Other includes kidnapping, shooting at occupied dwellings

Source: Santa Ana Police Department; Researched by JEFF KASS / For The Times