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HomeMy WebLinkAbout13B - COUNCIL CTM RPT- PUBLIC SAFETYCITY OF SANTA ANA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT MINUTES November 26, 2013 CALL TO ORDER: Santa Ana Police Department 60 Civic Center Drive, Police Community Room Santa Ana, California 5:38 PM ATTENDANCE: Council Committee members: David Benavides Michele Martinez Roman Reyna STAFF PRESENT: Carlos Rojas, PD Scott Brown, OCFA Laura Rossini, CAO Tammy Franks, PD Tracy Rinauro, OCDA PUBLIC SIGN -INS: Albert Castillo America Najera Gabriela Hernandez, Chicanas Unidos Carolyn Torres, Chicanas Unidos Vanessa Corda, resident Abraham Medina, Boys & Men of Color Tony Ortuno, Boys & Men of Color Pablo Avila, Boys & Men of Color Maria Esquivel, ACLU Beatriz Negrete, resident Madeleine Spencer, OSA, Sacred Ignacio Rios, Jr., Boys & Men of Color Rafael Solorzano, resident 13B -1 PUBLIC COMMENTS Albert Castillo asks if a gang injunction is planned for Townsend Street. Castillo read from a statement regarding the OVC gang injunction. Orange PD used inconsistent standards; OCDA did not provide information on what determines an active participant. These were young people who had no record. America Najera: 23 -year resident. She states the law criminalizes people because of generalizing who is a gang member. Dividing and destroying our community. Consider better ways to help the community, the gang injunction does not. Get the perspective of the people affected by it. Gabriela Hernandez: part of a local and state -wide foundation that fights against criminalization of community and youth. She identifies herself as a former gang member who turned her life around due to the programs that were available. She now works as a therapist with at -risk youth. She believes gang injunctions do not help, they have no statute of limitations; they only hurt young people. She says probation and parole already deal with these problems. The net is so wide, the injunction can affect anybody. The DA is going to pay over 3.3 million for attorney fees to the ACLU, does not include the civil law firm that they have to hire to represent them in the state and federal court system. Carolyn Torres: gang injunctions violate a basic constitutional right for freedom of association, movement, speech, and due process. Don't have faith in the OCDA to discern appropriate procedure to put people on a gang injunction list and which activities are considered gang activities. She expressed concern with the SAPD and the City's policy and procedures. Torres had several questions: who the lead detective is and what Chief Rojas thinks of the injunction, how long the DA collected evidence to prove the need for an injunction, was it submitted to a judge, was it approved, who from the City Council is okay with the injunction and who is the City Attorney? The mentality behind the Santa Nita injunction is not for safety. It was supported by former council members Solorio and Claudia Alvarez. Torres states the need for programs for the youth. Vanessa Cerda: current resident on Townsend. They get "harassed" by the gang unit without the gang injunction. Her partner is a former gang member who has been working and paying taxes for the last five years. Trying to be successful and move on. No one asks the members of the community how they feel about a gang injunction. She heard it from a community organization. Need more resources. Abraham Medina: here on behalf of Boys and Men of Color. Speaks about family members in the area where they are proposing this injunction. He states there have been reports of police 13B -2 harassment and police brutality in this area. Medina asks for more programs, job opportunities, educational opportunities, things that will better lives. He does not believe the gang injunction is the answer. Tony Ortuno: here on behalf of Boys and Men of Color. California detains 43% of youth subject to ICE holds, high level of mistrust in Orange County with the police and law enforcement in general, continuing this type of enforcement with the gang injunction only increases the distance between what could be between communities and law enforcement. Continue to criminalize communities through policies like this, and families will continue to be broken up because they are incarcerated or because of their immigration status. Pablo Avila: here on behalf of Boys and Men of Color. City has been trying to be transparent as to its decision on creating policies here. However, he not seen the transparency to implement the gang injunction and one of the requirements of the gang injunction is to have community input. Many of the people in the area were not aware of the SAPD and the OCDA's intentions. Avila would like to see the crime data in the Townsend area. Maria Esquivel: paralegal for the ACLU Foundation in southern California. Esquivel offers the ACLU office and its attorneys as a resource to members of the community. Beatriz Negrete: social worker with LA County and also a resident in the city of Orange where a gang injunction was initiated. Negrete speaks about the impact on families including her personal experience. Her brother was listed on the injunction and her whole family was stigmatized although he had no active participation. She said preventative programs are more effective when dealing with gangs than punitive as is evident by the overcrowded jail system. Madeleine Spencer: resident of the city of Santa Ana; came in support of SACRED. Specifically referred to the Townsend injunction and the issue of transparency, she said there is no dialog with the community. Spencer said that after the LA riots, when communities felt like they were under a double threat, both from the police and gangs, it created a huge problem. She recommends that instead of an adversarial process, look at a dynamic and educated process, instead of looking at people as individual cases, start looking at the pattern analysis of whole communities, including having liquor licenses in the downtown and the crime rate going up. Ignacio Rios, Jr.: here on behalf of Boys and Men of Color. Rios believes the gang injunction will not only affect those on the list, but entire families. He states that gang injunctions are for life so children in the elementary schools can be put on the injunction by being in the safety zones and by simply knowing people. He stresses the need for prevention strategies, not just punishment. Rios reads from an essay by Dr. Victor Rios, a Professor of Sociology at Cal State - Santa Barbara, who has studied gang injunctions. 13B -3 Rafael Solorzano provides the Committee with two handouts. The first one is from Boys and Men of Color, entitled: "Toward a Restorative Constitution: A Restorative Justice Answer to Gang Injunctions." The second handout is a policy brief from The Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy, entitled: "The Consequences Of Structural Racism, Concentrated Poverty And Violence On Young Men And Boys of Color." Solorzano states that the solution is not to criminalize and lock up these young men and women, but begin a process of building a sense of community within the neighborhoods. Public safety officials do need to do their job and deal with individuals who commit violence without demonizing an entire generation of youth whose only crime is living in the wrong place at the wrong time. Create collaborative efforts between law enforcement and our youth. AGENDAITEMS 1. Approval of Minutes of 9 -24 -13 Meeting Motion: Approve the Minutes of 9 -24 -13 meeting. MOTION: Martinez SECOND: Reyna VOTE: AYES: Benavides, Martinez, Reyna NOES: None (0) ABSENT: None (0) Motion carries. 2. Equity JPA Update An update on the JPA Equity agreement was given by OCFA Division Chief Scott Brown. This was approved by the City Council at their last meeting. Agreement ensures the long term stability of the Orange County Fire Authority and fire services: the fire department, paramedics, and EMS services in this city as well as throughout the county. Chief Brown thanks the Committee Members for supporting the OCFA as a regional fire service. In the spirit of transparency, the OCFA website features a monthly report where people can get detailed information on fire services, events, etc. that happen within the city and for the city. Chief Brown provides his phone number if anyone has a question for him. Finally, there is a customer satisfaction survey that is on the web and also sent out to those who request services. This is a unique tool used by the OCFA and the City Council to hear about not only the good things being done, but also any areas that need to be addressed for growth. 13B -4 3. Gang Injunction Discussion Committee Chairman Benavides introduces Chief Rojas. Chief Rojas thanks members of the community for coming out to express their opinions. Chief Rojas states that community- oriented policing is at the forefront of the Police Department, and invites anyone who has any questions relating to any matter of law enforcement to contact him directly. He introduces Commander Tammy Franks. Commander Tammy Franks, Crimes - Against - Persons Division, opens up the discussion regarding the gang injunction. Cmdr. Franks has two handouts: a graph titled "Crime in Santa Ana's Safety Zone" which shows the numbers of crime types (battery /assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, weapons violations, narcotic violations, probation/parole violations, SAMC violations, auto theft, disturbing the peace, malicious mischief, and trespassing) prior to and following injunctions. There is also a narrative titled "Operation Safe Neighborhoods, Santa Nita Gang Injunction." Commander Franks gives an update on the Santa Nita gang injunction and injunctions in general. The definition of an injunction is that it is a civil lawsuit against a criminal street gang and its members based on a legal theory of a public nuisance. The allegation is that the conduct and activities of the gang within a defined area interfere with a community. There are 12 gang injunctions in Orange County; Santa Ana has one, the Santa Nita injunction which was established in 2006. Commander Franks gave an overview of the Santa Nita injunction by describing the safety zone, the square mileage it covers, the boundaries, the grids. She further explains how the gang injunction works after it has been signed by a judge in court. The injunction now becomes a court order. The injunction will name certain individuals who will be served with the paperwork and describes prohibited behavior which must occur within the safety zone, a public place, in order for police to enforce it. Commander Franks explains that since the Santa Nita gang injunction's implementation in 2006, it has effectively reduced gang - related part I serious crimes by 24 percent. This was compared to one year before the injunction was implemented and two years after. It has reduced these Part I crimes by 60 percent when compared to current crime trends. There have been 155 arrests to date and 82 criminal cases filed the OCDA. The injunction has been effective in reducing crime and is just one tool that the Police Department uses. It is a collaborative effort between the Police Department, the Orange County District Attorney's Office, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Assistant District Attorney Tracy Rinauro, the lead district attorney who worked on the Santa Nita gang injunction, speaks to the audience. She states that there is no simple solution to the gang problem, but she is excited to see that there are so many people who have come out to speak. ADA Rinauro states that gang violence has to stop and that the young people, children, and residents of Santa Ana should not be killed because of it. She reads sealed depositions that 13B -5 residents of Santa Ana have written to the Court. ADA Rinauro explains that when there are violent crimes committed, such as murder, carjackings, and /or rapes, the injunction charges are not filed. She touches briefly on the Vasquez lawsuit case against Orange County and explains it was about service. Those named on the Santa Nita injunction were given notice three times. She further explains that gang injunctions are effective, they work, and that the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of California and the federal courts have declared them legal. ADA Rinauro explains how individuals are put on the injunction, as well as how someone can try to be removed from it. ADA Rinauro introduces the GRIP program, a gang prevention program offered at the schools. She invites members of the audience to become involved in the program as mentors. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS Committee Member Michele Martinez thanked Chief Brown and the work the OCFA is doing. She mentioned how the OCFA tools over fire services for the city of Santa Ana a year ago, and that is was a seamless transition. Committee Chairman Benavides also thanked Chief Brown for always making himself available, and was also very pleased with the customer satisfaction survey created on the website. Committee members Benavides and Reyna have questions for ADA Rinauro on the gang injunction related to being put on or taken off, programs to help young members in re- entering the community, statistics to show how these programs have worked. Committee Member Martinez thanks Police Chief Rojas for using transparency and building relationships with the community. She mentions the work that Pastor Kevin Brown is doing in Santa Ana. ADJOURNMENT — /7:30 P.M. d CARLOSROJAS Acting Chief of Police 13B -6