Monday, December 01, 2008

MOONEY: Change culture that allows gangs to take root

last updated: May 02, 2008 07:13:23 AM

So, how do we solve Modesto's gang problem?

Mayor Jim Ridenour and several City Council members already have found their answer.

Cops.

Put more cops on the street.

More cops will put more pressure on the city's street gangs, so the conventional wisdom goes, making life more "miserable" for gangbangers and, as a result, forcing them to lay low.

That should quiet things down.

But for how long -- a week, a month, a year?

Then what?

Maybe Mayor Ridenour and the City Council should broaden their outlook a bit. They might even consider paying a bit more attention to Modesto Police Chief Roy Wasden, who called an increased law enforcement presence -- no matter how effective it proves in the short term -- a "Band-Aid" at best.

Wasden apparently recognizes the difference between controlling street gangs, and working to, if not completely eradicate them, at least greatly diminish their stranglehold on certain neighborhoods and the violent effect they exert on the city as a whole.

Yet, City Hall continues to look for quick fixes to solve the city's gang problem.

Sorry, but that's no solution.

A report issued in July by the Justice Policy Institute notes that Los Angeles failed to halt the spread of gangs and gang violence despite spending billions of dollars to eradicate them over the past 25 years.

Today, a quarter-century later, according to the Washington, D.C.-based think tank, there are six times as many gangs and at least double the number of suspected gang members in Los Angeles.

LA gangs flourished despite the city's expensive and aggressive campaign to wipe them out -- a campaign that featured, among other things:

Increased policing and surveillance.

Development of databases containing the names of tens of thousands of suspected gang members.

Successful prosecutions resulting in long prison sentences for gang members.

Yet, gangs in Los Angeles still have managed to expand their reach.

So, maybe it's time to take a different approach.

Maybe more time, energy and money should be devoted to changing the culture ... the environmental conditions ... that allow gangs to take root in the first place.

How about a communitywide effort to wipe out blight and create real economic opportunity within the city's most impoverished and desperate neighborhoods?

"Creating positive opportunities through which gang members can leave their past behind," the Justice Policy Institute report states, "is the best chance for improving public safety."

Most children who join gangs, according to the report, do so between the ages of 12 and 15. And most "outgrow" their gang affiliation on their own -- without the help of law enforcement or gang intervention programs.

"Rather than devoting more resources to gang suppression and law enforcement tactics," the report states, "researchers recommend targeting funding to support research-based programs operated by agencies in the health and human services sector."

That translates into programs that promote better jobs, stress education and keep families healthy and together.

The community also needs to come up with an effective way to reintegrate children who leave gang life back into society.

Want to wipe out the conditions that have allowed gangs to flourish here?

Rebuild south and west Modesto.

Official statements of "concern" over gang violence, no matter how heartfelt, will not bring about the fundamental change this city so desperately needs.

How about starting with a jobs program for young people -- jobs that demand teamwork and creative thinking.

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