Winning the Gang Fight

The latest annual report from police departments across Orange County provides a sobering look at the difficulty of fighting gang crime. It also underlines the necessity of pressing the battle against the groups that bring fear and sometimes terror to too many neighborhoods.

The total number of gang crimes reported in 1997 was just over 3,200. That represented a drop of about 5% from the previous year, which is welcome news--but that’s still a lot of incidents. In addition, the percentage of those that were violent crimes was just under 50%, again, a drop of about 5%.

At the same time, the drop in all crime countywide, not just gang crime, was greater. Police and academic experts on criminology cite a number of reasons for the decrease; they also agree that it is tougher to fight gangs than individual criminals in most cases.

Orange County has waged a coordinated battle against gangs for several years. The Gang Incident Tracking System began reporting gang crime in 1994. The system involves the UC Irvine Focused Research Group collecting statistics from nearly two dozen police forces in Orange County cities and from the Sheriff’s Department, which serves unincorporated county territory and contracts with some cities for police protection.

The statistics are funneled into a database, which now has four years of information. That can present a picture of which kinds of crimes are increasing and which are decreasing; it can alert police to areas that need more attention. Good information helps provide justification for allocating money and resources.

Westminster has developed several innovative programs to battle its gang problem, one of the tougher ones in Orange County. James Cook, the police chief there, said he is concerned the tracking system may be shut down soon for lack of funds. All agencies should work to see that the system remains up and running.

When Orange County filed for bankruptcy in December 1994, UCI stepped forward to help keep the database operating. Two years ago, outside grants provided financial help. State and federal officials should be willing to provide more funding. The database can provide valuable information applicable to areas outside Orange County. Gangs certainly have become a problem across the country, with branches of some of Los Angeles’ most notorious groups setting up shop in Eastern and Midwestern cities.

This year’s tracking system report shows that gang crime dropped more than 10% from the beginning of 1994 through the end of 1997. Some of the biggest drops occurred in the crimes of auto theft and carjackings. Cook said contributing factors included better car alarms and a recently begun Orange County Auto Theft Program, headed by the county district attorney’s office.

A third player in the fight against gangs has been the Orange County Probation Department. One of its innovative programs has included persuading volunteer doctors to help erase tattoos from the bodies of young men trying to escape from the gang life. The department also has joined with police and prosecutors in the anti-gang TARGET program to find gang members violating the terms of their probation. Conviction sends gang members back behind bars.

The department also has conducted a lengthy survey that showed most minors run afoul of the law just once. About one in five returns to the juvenile justice system two or three times. Eight percent are likely to commit numerous crimes and continue as adult outlaws. So probation officials are trying to identify those most likely to wind up members of the 8% and give them alternatives to gang membership. If successful, that would be beneficial not just to youngsters steered away from crime but to society freed from predators and from having to pay for more prisons to hold more criminals.

Continuing and coordinating the county’s anti-gang programs can produce dividends. As this year’s tracking system report demonstrates, the effort will require patience.