Yolo Misses Out on Gang Funding Despite Official Claims of the Need for a Gang Injunction

The DA’s Office argued in their closing that the Broderick Boys gang represented a clear nuisance to the West Sacramento community to the extent that they needed additional remedies not already available under the law.

“My Administration is committed to fighting gang violence with a comprehensive approach that will keep our youth on the right track with early intervention and coordinated anti-gang efforts,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “These grants will help support California’s local communities to prevent and fight gang violence, making our streets safer.”

According to a press release form the Governor’s Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy (OGYVP) they received proposals from 36 cities and selected the 24 recipients through a competitive grant process.

Applications were rated by expert panels on the basis of more than 20 objective factors, including the number of gang-related homicides and other crimes, demographic information and use of evidence-based practices. The expert panels were made up of representatives from sheriff, police and probation departments, local government, state grant administrators, schools and community-based organizations. In accordance with state budget language, the City of Los Angeles received $1 million through a non-competitive grant.

“Part of the Governor’s anti-gang initiative is to bring additional resources to our local communities to help combat gang violence and prevent at-risk youth from joining gangs,” said Paul Seave, director of the Governor’s OGYVP. “These grants will assist local anti-gang efforts, particularly those implementing strategies that have been proven to be effective.”

And the amount of money going to Yolo County?  Zero dollars.  Why not?  Well for one thing, no one from Yolo County applied.

In June of this year, the Governor’s office had previously given more than $7.5 million in grants to help at-risk youth avoid gang influence, and once again no one from Yolo County received or applied for grant funding.

According to the county counsel’s office, the county has not applied for a CalGRIP grant in the past few years, but there was a 2009 grant application that was put in by the City of West Sacramento and with which the DA’s Office and the Probation Department provided some assistance

That year, $5.47 million was given in grant money, but not to Yolo County.

The City of West Sacramento asked for $400,000 in state grant money with the hopes of matching it with another $400,000 for an $800,000 project cost.

In their application they argued that there “is a firm belief throughout the county that gang membership is embedded in society due to the established fact that many of the present gang members are second and third generation.”

They made the argument connecting youths, drop-out rates, and crime.

They wrote, “According to Yolo County statistics, as of January 2008, 80% of the youths detained in Yolo County are in custody for gang-related offenses. The county held 345 youths in custody at the juvenile detention center in 2007 and the District Attorney’s Office estimated that 280 of these youths were detained for gang-related offenses and that 8% of high school children in Yolo County are affiliated with a gang.”

They also talked about the injunction that was put into place for the first time on February 3, 2005. 

Chief Dan Drummond, the signatory on the grant application, wrote, “This injunction was meant to send a clear and immediate message that there would be a concentrated law enforcement presence within the “Safety Zone” and that any acts forbidden by the injunction would be met with a “no-tolerance” response.”

Chief Drummond declared on May 23, 2007 that “the permanent injunction was successful in reducing crime in the Safety Zone during the period of its enforcement.”

Indeed, he cited Stacie Meyer, Crime Analyst for the West Sacramento Police Department, who stated, ” .. . I analyze crime trends and produce reports showing changes in crime rates in the City of West Sacramento. In 2006, there was a 2% drop in violent crime city-wide since 2004 compared to a 7% drop in the neighborhoods of Broderick/Bryte during the same time period.”

But from a statistical standpoint that may not be all that meaningful, especially if it is a two-year trend.  First, statewide crime statistics all dropped over that period.  Second, if the Broderick/Bryte area is the higher crime area to begin with, it would be unsurprising to see a larger drop in crime there as opposed to parts of town with low crimes rates.

Third, and perhaps most important is the problem of separating the impact of the injunction from other changes that occurred.  The City of West Sacramento over the last decade has put millions into redevelopment, including tearing down crime-infested areas along West Capitol Ave. 

How does one separate the impact of one intervention over another?  Using advanced statistical methods it would be difficult, but not impossible to do.  Using the type of comparative statics method apparently employed by the crime analyst, it is virtually impossible.

Chief Drummond also disparages the community members who have apparently complained about West Sacramento tactics.

Chief Drummond adds, “Unfortunately, the original Injunction was vacated July 23, 2007 as a result of pressure exerted, especially from families living within the “safety zone” area who are either members or related in some way to a gang member.”

This was the basis for the attempts by the DA’s Office to discredit the residents who came to testify against the gang injunction, by saying that they were either gang members or related in some way to gang members.  This is perhaps part of  the problem with enforcing a gang injunction in areas like Broderick and Bryte, which are old neighborhoods with close-knit family structures.  Everyone is somewhat closely-related to everyone else.

“Complaints included that certain ethnic populations were being targeted and that other freedoms were being curtailed,” the Chief continued.  “Although some citizens take a dim view of law enforcement curtailing activities, the Injunction is not directed at any specific race, it is directed at a specific criminal element in the community. The Injunction is directed toward intervention and prevention.”

However, one of the chief problems raised during the gang injunction is that many residents do believe that people are targeted on the basis of race and ethnicity.  After all, while Nortenos may be of any race or ethnicity, the majority are believed to be Hispanic and many  residents believe that the police have used the gang injunction as a means to harass Hispanics.

The 2009 application suffers from similar problems to what the plaintiffs in the gang injunction trial faced.  The signature events, in this case the attack on the engineer and conductor of the Amtrak train, was a non-fatal attack.  And so was the Memorial Park incident which had not yet occurred until after the 2009 application.

And so the CalGRIP grant looks in part at reducing homicides.  The Governor’s office presented stats on the percentage of homicides that were gang-related.

The “problem” in West Sacramento is that there are very few homicides each year.  In fact, countywide there may only be a handful or two in a given year.  That is a problem only when the leadership in the county is trying to make the case that there is a widespread gang problem.

The application is complete with letters of recommendation from various leaders in the county.

For instance, then Assemblymember Lois Wolk wrote on November 21, 2008, shortly after her election to the Senate, “West Sacramento Police Department has consistently demonstrated a dedicated and determined effort to combat crime, provide service, and improve the quality of life for the citizens of West Sacramento. Funding for one full-time Officer, one full-time Enforcement Officer and for youth programs established by the Collins Teen Center will greatly assist us in expanding these efforts to reduce gang activity and participate in intervention and prevention.”

Jorge Ayala, County Superintendent of Schools submitted an identical statement, writing, “West Sacramento Police Department has consistently demonstrated a dedicated and determined effort to combat crime, provide service, and improve the quality of life for the citizens of West Sacramento. Funding for one full-time Officer, one full-time Enforcement Officer and for youth programs established by the Collins Teen Center will greatly assist us in expanding these efforts to reduce gang activity and participate in intervention and prevention.”

There are some worthy components of the CalGRIP program.  Governor Schwarzenegger, in 2007, introduced his CalGRIP initiative to “confront the dramatic increase in gangs across the state and their proliferation in suburban and rural areas. CalGRIP combines funding from different programs and directs it towards local anti-gang efforts focused on intervention, suppression and prevention.”

The grants recently awarded were the fourth round of grants.  The grant awarded in June for instance, focused on job training and other ways to help at-risk youths better avoid crime and violence.

“Early intervention and guiding our at-risk youth toward jobs and careers will help them become more self-sufficient and productive members of their communities,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “This funding will answer a pressing and immediate need to provide at-risk youth with a productive alternative in the summertime, and we are also thinking long-term to combat and prevent gang-related crime through our coordinated efforts in CalGRIP.”

“The long-term answer to gang violence requires investing in job training and education,” said Governor’s Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy Director Paul Seave. “These grants have the refreshingly high but reasonable expectation that gang-involved youth have what it takes to complete high school and college and embark on a teaching or social service career, if there is effective support.”

—David M. Greenwald reporting