Jane Parker on Preventing Gang Violence

"It is heartening to see somone who is braving a course into the political arena demonstrate such a commitment to public safety through your support of prison reentry material of this kind."

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Jane Parker is a leader who brings a proactive focus to planning and a collaborative, pragmatic approach to problem solving. Her service on county-wide boards and as a senior executive at nonprofit organizations gives her the expertise and perspective we need to make smart budget decisions and make Monterey County strong today, tomorrow, and well into the future.

Youth and gang violence are serious issues facing Monterey County. I believe that the Board of Supervisors has a responsibility to address violence of any kind in our community with a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach that utilizes proven best practices. Headlines in the papers and TV news stories tell us of shootings and other gang-related activity on a nearly daily basis. In fact, at a training I sponsored in early March for recently released prisoners on returning to the workforce, the media had to leave in order to cover a shooting that had just occurred in a local park.

Other headlines announce community policing, or the latest in prevention models, shortfalls in funding for task forces and intervention programs. People are rightly concerned about what all this might mean for our safety as individuals, as businesses, parents, residents, and as a society.

The Challenges. The issue of youth violence is complex and systemic. The casualties of this violence extend far beyond the immediate victims and innocent bystanders. They include the young people whose lives are forever altered by their involvement in illegal activity.

According to law enforcement officials, there is an entrenched network of mafia-style business being conducted by several gangs throughout the state of California. Part of their business plan is recruitment of new, young members to carry out business transactions and turf control activities. This is what we see spilling out onto our streets, into our parks, and into our families. There seems to be an irresistible attraction for some youth to get involved; a literally fatal attraction and one that remains mysterious to policy makers and others outside the gang world.

My Approach. There is much agreement among those who have worked to quell gang violence in the last 10 to 20 years about what works: a combination of suppression, intervention and prevention SUSTAINED OVER TIME. I support this multi-pronged approach.

1. Suppression and intervention are necessary to address criminal activity that is currently taking place. This includes law enforcement actions, such as investigations, raids, and arrests. I strongly support alert, agile, powerful response teams that are poised to move at a moment’s notice. In addition, I believe that ongoing community policing – developing good community relationships and following up on code violations, abandoned vehicles and homes, grafitti and broken windows – has an important positive, often longlasting effect.

Just as important as being tough on crime, we must be smart about crime: while violent activity is the symptom that manifests itself, we must take a close look its causes.

2. Prevention strategies are an essential part of any comprehensive, multi-pronged crime prevention strategy that utilizes proven best practices. Because effective prevention requires a host of interlocking social services, it can be cumbersome to administer, track and adjust as needs arise, and evaluate for accountability and success. And people are more likely to argue about what is REALLY working, contributing to an on again, off again commitment, lessening effectiveness. I believe that the County Board of Supervisors can and should provide leadership in the coordination of crime prevention strategies that prevent gang and youth violence.

I am a strong advocate of the Spergel Model, a proven set of best practices for gang prevention that is going to be administered through the County Probation Department’s Silver Star Program. The City of Salinas has received state grant funding to implement this program in our community. Key elements include:

• Family support and stabilization through the provision of basic needs such as food, and health and human services;
• Early childhood programs, high quality childcare and after school opportunites;
• Youth development, focusing on healthy communication skills and relationships, strong self esteem, time management, conflict resolution, and leadership training;
• School-based antibullying and post violence exposure counseling;
• Job skills and employment opportunities;
• Emergency room interventions and voluntary alternative juvenile detention programs;
• Substance abuse prevention and cessation.

Clearly, these are basic building blocks of any healthy community. In areas and at times when antisocial forces have undue sway, the conscious and thorough application of these fundamental strategies can have a wholesome effect not only on the families and youth involved, but throughout entire communities. As County Supervisor, I will work closely with Silver Star in the implementation of this grant funded program and ensure that elected County leadership is an effective partner in the delivery of these services.

I have experience and expertise designing and implementing these kinds of complex, early intervention strategies. As Associate Director of the non-profit ACTION Council, I negotiated a partnership with the County to deliver a very similar set of support and counseling services to children, adults and entire families to prevent and heal from abuse and neglect.

Each and every one of us deserves to feel safe in our homes, on our streets, and in our community. With my leadership, the County can facilitate collaborative efforts between local government agencies, local non-profits, businesses, and individual community members to create the safe community that we all want and deserve.

As Supervisor, I will work closely with law enforcement at the local and regional levels to ensure that crime suppression, intervention, and prevention efforts are coordinated and effective. I will provide the leadership required to develop cooperative agreements, adequate investment, appropriate oversight, and sustained attention to these strategies.