September 21, 2007

Gang Prevention programs discussed at D8CRT meeting

By Bonnie Mace
Special to the Times

Gangs are a growing problem in District 8, and the city of San Jose is engaging in a collaborative effort with the police department, school districts and community organizations to stop this spreading epidemic, according to city officials who spoke at the District 8 Community Round Table’s Sept. 11 meeting at the Evergreen Branch Library.

“Gang activities affect everyone in our community,” Lieutenant Gil Torres of the San Jose Police Department told an audience of about 40 members of the District 8 community. “Parents may think that there is no gang problem in their neighborhood, but they need to be aware that gangs operate throughout our community.”

Torres added that parents should educate their children regarding the dangers of gangs. Simply wearing gang colors like red or blue can be potentially dangerous if a child is in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Your son or daughter could be wearing red or blue and not be in a gang, but they could be walking in an area claimed by a gang and could get caught up in gang violence accidentally,” he said.

“The infestation of gangs in our community won’t go away,” said Sergeant Barrera of the San Jose Police Department. “We are fighting an enemy that is hard to conquer. Gangs are more mobile than they were 10 years ago, and we see gang activity all over the city.”

Barrera noted that the police department needs help from the community to reduce the gang problem.

“There are an inadequate number of cops on the street to solve this problem, and we need the community to help us by providing information on possible gang activity and by supporting gang prevention programs,” he said.

The police department works in partnership with the city, school districts and community organizations to implement programs that work to eliminate the spread of gang activities. In 1991, the mayor and city council created the San Jose B.E.S.T (Bringing Everyone’s Strengths Together) Program to fund public and nonprofit agencies to implement programs for youth exhibiting high-risk behaviors and their families.

According to Esther Mota of the city’s Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department, the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force and B.E.S.T. program provide a role model for other cities in California.

“The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force succeeds because it takes a three-pronged approach to reducing gang violence in our community. The program uses the strategies of prevention, intervention and suppression to deal with gang activities in San Jose,” said Mota.

Prevention programs work with at-risk youth and their families to teach them about the negative consequences of being a member of a gang. Intervention programs try to divert kids away from gang involvement and violence through the use of alternatives. Suppression programs help law enforcement officials identify and prosecute criminals involved in gang activities.

The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force provides the overall direction to the San Jose B.E.S.T. program. Currently, the B.E.S.T. program funds services focusing on outpatient substance abuse, programs for adjudicated youth, domestic violence, gang intervention response units, at-risk youth support groups, truancy case management, job training, family support groups, and community gang awareness training.

“The goal of the B.E.S.T. program is to change the behavior of at-risk kids so that they don’t go into gangs or so that they feel empowered to leave gangs. Kids tend to join gangs because they want to have a sense of belonging to a community. We want all kids to feel that they have a safe alternative instead of joining gangs,” said Abraham Chacko of the city’s Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, Community Services Division.

“Kids who are disconnected sometimes turn to gangs,” added Chris Corpus, director of Data, Achievement and Grants at the Evergreen Elementary School District. He noted that the EESD tries to reach out to kids to make them feel connected to their school and community.

The EESD offers programs such as Project Cornerstone, which focuses on increasing students’ self-esteem and self-confidence. The school district also works with local police departments and community organizations in prevention and intervention programs.

“Our school sites are safe places for our students, and we seek to intervene early when problems arise concerning potential gang activity,” he said.

As part of its community outreach effort, the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force is holding a Parent Awareness Training at the Most Holy Trinity Parish on Sept. 29, from 9 to 11 a.m. Parents will have the opportunity to increase their knowledge about why youth join gangs, how they are recruited, and the different levels of gang involvement.

The city will also offer information concerning the nature of gang lifestyle and the most common reasons why gangs exist. Parents will learn how to detect gang presence in their neighborhoods by learning to identify the paraphernalia and behaviors associated with gangs.

Several community organizations are participating in this workshop, including California Youth Outreach, San Jose B.E.S.T., District 8 Community Round Table, KONA, TOCKNA, LCNA and Weed & Seed. For more information about this Parent Awareness Training or on available resources, contact Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services at (408) 277-2741 or visit the Web site www.sanjoseca.gov/prns/mgptf.asp.

The next District 8 Community Round Table meeting will be held on Oct. 9 at the Evergreen Branch Library, from 7-9 p.m. For more details on the D8CRT, visit the Yahoo User Group site at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/D8C_RoundTable.

Bonnie Mace is a D8CRT officer.