Gang activity and violent crimes are on the rise. Juveniles used
guns, knives and brass knuckles in crimes committed in August.
Gang activity and violent crimes are on the rise. Juveniles used guns, knives and brass knuckles in crimes committed in August.
Now police have created a list of their top five priorities, and Gilroy Police Chief Denise Turner has set up monthly meetings for command staff to review crime statistics from the previous 30 days.
The department held its first meeting last month and will hold a second session next week. Whether priorities change remains to be seen, but for now they address preventative police work and improved communication among officers.
LUCKY 7
It’s not what it sounds like. The Lucky Seven is a revolving roster of gang members, vandals, burglars, parolees, repeat offender and fugitives whose seven faces and names officers remember while patrolling.
“The list lets officers know who the people are causing crime in town. It lets them know what they look like and where they live, so they can quickly assess what’s going on out in the field,” said Sgt. Chad Gallicinao, commander of the Gilroy Police Department’s Anti-Crime Team, which compiles the list.
The catalogue is not public because it contains juveniles and people who are not wanted, but do have a bad rap sheet. And unless a person is on probation or parole, Gallicinao said officers must establish probable cause before any searches or arrests. Still, it’s good to keep tabs on them, according to Chief Denise Turner.
“We basically want to make sure these persons are on our radar screen,” Turner said.
When a member is arrested, moves from the area or stops breaking the law, their name drops from the rotating list, which Gallicinao updates bi-weekly. Since February – when he began revitalizing the 10-year program after a few years of stagnation – 12 people have been lucky enough to have their names removed, Gallicinao said. Police arrested one gang member and three vandals for graffiti, and eight simply stopped causing trouble, partly because of the increased attention they were getting.
“That’s something we want,” Gallicinao said.
Councilman Dion Bracco, who represents the council on the Gilroy Gang Task Force, said the Lucky 7 helps, sure, but the Anti-Crime Team is busy all the time targeting a lot more than just seven people.
“To single out the Lucky 7 program – it sounds good in the newspaper, but it’s just a little fraction of what the (Anti-Crime Team) is doing,” Bracco said. “Graffiti, gangs – everything’s on the rise.”
TRAFFIC PATROLS
Until the department held its first monthly “crime stats” meeting in mid-August, Turner said the city’s one traffic officer was writing tickets outside the highest accident area: the intersection of Camino Arroyo and Pacheco Pass.
The intersections of Leavesley Road and San Ysidro Avenue, Leavesley Road and Monterey Street, Chestnut and 10th streets, Wren Avenue and First Street follow behind in the number of injuries, wrecks and property damages, and now the traffic officer focuses his time more efficiently, Turner said.
Now the department also balances attention to these intersections with complaints from residents who routinely witness traffic violations in their neighborhoods, Turner said.
GRAFFITI
The idea is to nip it in the bud.
“If we can’t stay on top of graffiti, gang wars can happen. There could be a backlash, and for me, it’s a huge priority and a source of irritation for those business and residents who keep getting tagged over and over again,” Turner said.
The department spends more than $100,000 a year combating the problem, and until it subsides, Turner said it will likely remain a high priority.
BEEFING UP PATROLS
With a city-wide hiring freeze, hiring more officers is not an option, but targeting residential areas that people call from the most and sharing this information among shifts helps, Turner said.
“Each officer knows their beat, but as a whole department with different shifts, we have continual spots eating up our time, so we’re working on a coordinated approach to solve the problem,” Turner said.
Those problems include traffic control during the day and noise, parties and fights during the night, which is also when “graffiti bandits” come out, Turner said. Making sure every officer knows others’ problems can reduce the overall problem, Turner said.
GANG VIOLENCE
Gang violence is problem police combat constantly, Turner said, but community members have faulted bad parenting as a cause behind the recent spike in gang activity among juveniles, along with other factors such as the down economy that Councilman Woodward pointed to. While the larger economy is outside the police department’s jurisdiction, Turner said GPD will continue fighting the rising problem, which means it will probably remain on the top five in the near future.
“When we meet again for out crime stats meeting next week, we’ll look at how we worked over the past 30 days,” Turner said. “And then we will ask, Do we need do adjust the top 5?”
