SALINAS, Calif.- An article in the New York Times Monday focused on Salinas' gang violence and talked about a small agriculture city trying to fight the gang problem, despite a shrinking city budget.
With a headline that read, "In a Gang-Ridden City, New Efforts to Fight Crime While Cutting Costs," it started by stating that people know Salinas as the home of John Steinbeck and a city that has a "big problem with gangs."
But the article highlights the efforts by police and community groups over the years. It used statistics to highlight the positive results from antigang programs over the years. The article said in 2010 there were 131 shootings and 15 homicides, but last year there were 12 homicides and 50 shootings.
An important component of the antigang effort is the city's Cease-fire program.
The city started Cease-fire in 2009. Police hoped it would be the "savior" for the city's gang problem. It saved bigger cities in the past, like Boston and Stockton.
Police "called-in" some of the most dangerous gangsters and sat face to face with them.
They got a choice: stop the violence and we'll help you get a job, or continue the violence and we'll come down on you hard.
"We absolutely still believe in it," said Deputy Chief Kelly McMillin.
Now, more than two years later, Deputy Chief McMillin said the program is working. For example, multi-agency busts, like Operation Knockout in 2010, helped on the enforcement end, and local businesses stepped up to hire gang members if they gave up the lifestyle.
But now ceasefire is wounded.
"One of the very few passes out of gangs is to have a job, well there aren't any jobs out there, that's no secret," said McMillin.
Because budget cuts and private business cutbacks made it harder for police to offer jobs and resource incentives, investigators are focusing on what they can control, changing the old way of arresting gang members.
"The old way was we put a lot of black and whites out with officers who are trained to deal with gang members and the acts they do, and they drive around looking for people about to commit or have committed gang related crimes and take them into custody...We pulled those guys off the street and they are taking an investigative role and looking at who is doing these crimes...To actually go after and target the very few people in this community who are willing to do violence."
