Santa Ana, CA – JULY 13, 2017
Working to combat gang violence in Santa Ana, today Acting Chief David Valentin released a gang suppression plan. This plan is a coordinated suppression strategy in response to the City’s seven gang-related homicides and other documented gang related crimes, thus far in 2017, that targets gang related offenders and the most violent gangs. The core of the Department’s strategy will include the redeployment of officers from throughout the department to field gang activity suppression. Officers deployed to the department’s anti-gang units, will provide seven day a week coverage, enhancing the current strategy of four days a week coverage.
“Our message to the gangs is simple – our community is demanding that the violence stop,” said Mayor Miguel Pulido. “Chief Valentin’s gang suppression plan will improve our ability to hold gang members accountable for their destructive behaviors.”
“As the Chairperson of the City’s Public Safety Committee, I fully support Chief Valentin’s plan to augment our gang enforcement efforts. Gangs are active seven days a week, so our anti-gang unit should be too. Reducing gang violence through prevention, intervention and enforcement is a top City priority,” stated City Councilman Jose Solorio.
The steps the Department is announcing today will greatly enhance existing efforts to respond and whenever possible prevent the expansion of street gang violence. We understand that public safety is not only a matter of enforcement, but in conjunction with our prevention and intervention efforts (i.e. the Orange County Gang Reduction Intervention Program which focuses on preventing initial youth gang involvement and the Parent Academy / Academia De Padres, which educates parents and caretakers on the signs of gang membership), we can positively impact the lives of our youth. “Reducing violent crime in our community, in part, is to have a focus on the dangerous gangs who cause the most destruction in our community. A sound public safety strategy is essential to a safer Santa Ana community”, said Chief David Valentin.
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