Modesto police gang unit gets $383,000 grant

Modesto gets 2nd grant to focus on at-risk youth

By Adam Ashton
aashton@modbee.com

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The Modesto Police Department's gang-suppression unit got a shot in the arm from the state Thursday with a $383,000 grant to supplement its enforcement and education programs.

The city also won an unspecified amount from the Safe Community Partnership, a project funded by Kaiser Permanente and three statewide foundations that set aside $1 million for anti-gang programs in Modesto, Stockton, Oakland, Salinas and Oxnard.

Modesto faces steep budget cuts over the next year that could force the Police Department to fill its patrols with officers who had been assigned to specialty units, such as the county Gang Intelligence Task Force.

The grants help ensure that those programs will continue despite the impending cutbacks.

"We've got to continue to deal with gangs regardless of our staffing issues," Police Chief Roy Wasden said.

Gov. Schwarzenegger announced the grants at an event in Los Angeles. The money comes from the California Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention initiative, a program he launched in 2007.

Wasden and Mayor Jim Ridenour said the city would use its share for the gang unit's support staff, intervention efforts to keep kids out of gangs, education programs to help former gang members and overtime for law enforcement.

"This is doing a lot more than just keeping police officers," Ridenour said.

Modesto's portion of the grant from the Safe Community Partnership likewise is to be used for intervention programs that focus on low-income communities where young men historically have joined gangs.

"By helping high-risk youth discover alternatives to violence and by encouraging community organizations to surround these youth with support, we can save lives and help restore the health of our communities," said Greg Adams, president of the Kaiser Permanente Foundation in Northern California.

Bee staff writer Adam Ashton can be reached at aashton@modbee.com or 578-2366.