Police Crack Down on Skinhead Gang Members
Police have increased efforts to track and prosecute skinhead gang members as part of a state project designed to stem the growth of racist organizations in the area.
The number of hate crimes in the city more than doubled between 1996 and 1997, from 10 to 21.
“The city has a problem,” said Ventura County Deputy Dist. Atty. Brian Rafelson, who specializes in white supremacist cases. “For every [skinhead] we put away, it seems like there is a new one ready to come up and take his place.”
Ventura was awarded a $1.5-million state grant last summer to fund the project to track the city’s nearly 150 skinheads and identify hate crime trends.
Authorities believe a group of fewer than 10 skinheads commit most of the county’s hate crimes.
Two dozen skinheads have been prosecuted in six months for crimes ranging from possession of drugs and firearms to assault and battery, police said. Eight of those cases involved hate crimes.
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