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Uploaded: Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 9:49 AM
Gang crackdown in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park
Police from three agencies, including Palo Alto, seek to quell violence through enforecement, social-services and communications campaign
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by Sue Dremann
Palo Alto Weekly Staff
Fed up with more than a dozen shootings between rival gangs in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park, police from East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Palo Alto are joining forces to quash the violence, East Palo Alto police Chief Ronald Davis announced Tuesday, Nov. 27.
The crackdown, dubbed Operation Smart, is in response to a six-month increase in gang-related shootings and murders between the "Taliban" gang in Menlo Park and the "DaVill" gang in East Palo Alto, police said.
Operation SMART (Strategic Multi-Agency Response Team) will add to efforts already underway in both cities.
The three police agencies have agreed to coordinate gang and narcotics-enforcement operations targeting the Taliban and DaVill.
Police will share criminal intelligence and ShotSpotter data to identify violence trends and patterns. The three agencies will target gang and violence hotspots through joint patrols, probation and parole searches and home visits.
Through call-ins, gang members will be brought to the police department for one-on-one discussions with law enforcement and social services agencies to help them stop criminal behavior and leave gang life.
Police will also work closely with county, state and local law enforcement and the San Mateo County Sheriff's Gang Intelligence Unit and San Mateo County gang and narcotics task forces.
The three police departments will also form a new Homicide & Aggravated Assault Response Team (HART) to respond to all shootings related to the gangs, including investigations and enforcement.
Street-outreach workers and community leaders will be used to defuse tension and retaliatory violence.
The agencies will also conduct "social network analysis" to identify links between violence victims and the gang offenders, and to design interventions to prevent retaliatory violence.
Two "Operation Ceasefire" call-ins of both gangs are planned for January involving all three police agencies, community leaders and service providers, police said.
The meetings will put the gangs on notice of a zero-tolerance policy of violent behavior and will also offer services such as job, medical and drug counseling. Community and faith-based organizations will provide services and support to gang members wanting to change their life choices.
Gang members who are on probation or parole will be referred to the David Lewis Community Reentry Program to address causes that contribute to a return to criminal activity.
Police also plan an aggressive social-media campaign to engage the community and spread a message of nonviolence, including a special episode of the "Make the Call" cable television show. The program highlights recent crimes and will focus on gang violence. The departments will also work with the Community Media Center in Palo Alto to develop public-communication segments.
On Tuesday evening, Menlo Park police Chief Lee Violett gave the Menlo Park City Council an update on the recent violence and a brief overview of Operation SMART. East Palo Alto police Chief Ron Davis and Palo Alto Police Chief Dennis Burns attended.
In East Palo Alto, Davis will give the community an overview of Operation SMART at his upcoming "Chat with the Chief" on Dec. 11 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at East Palo Alto City Hall, 2415 University Ave. The event is open to the public and residents are encouraged to attend.Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by EPA resident, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 28, 2012 at 10:35 am @hmmm
funny...youre comment yesterday now makes sense!!
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Posted by Hmmm, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 28, 2012 at 11:23 am Yep, EPA resident. This is the drill - make a big deal out of a crackdown months after it starts, instead of starting sooner but minus the media interest.
I wonder, once this crackdown is complete, if there will be another community meeting full of denial from gang members' families, much durm & strang and everyone holding hands and praying. I'm just a little cynical.
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Posted by Raymond Lucas, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 28, 2012 at 12:13 pm I wonder if either of you have done anything to improve your respective neighborhoods?
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Posted by Hmmm, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 28, 2012 at 12:54 pm Well, gosh, Raymond, you first - please, trot out your community contributions.
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Posted by Crescent Park Mom, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Nov 28, 2012 at 12:59 pm It's a little scary to send our much-loved PA police over to these areas to help but we have to do something. There are so many wonderful families in EPA and EMP that are stuck living with the gang situation. You know these gangs are fighting over stuff that, in the grand scheme of things, are probably not important. The families that live in these areas need help so they can feel safe. Bless our PA police for doing it!
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Posted by Steve C, a resident of Menlo Park, on Nov 28, 2012 at 1:08 pm My guess is a big contributor to gang participation is the employment aspect of it. Anyone on probation or with a misdemeanor on his/her record is out of the workforce, unless they have friends or family members who can employ them. It's bad enough that the economy sucks and we aren't training youth for the jobs that are out there, but this scarlet letter makes it much worse. The gangs solve that problem. Need a job? We have openings in stealing and dealing, and an occasional shooting.
Obviously it is not the sole reason for gang membership, but it is a big issue with individuals and practically creates the revolving door on its own. It creates a vacuum that gangs are only too happy to fill.
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Posted by Steve C, a resident of Menlo Park, on Nov 28, 2012 at 1:13 pm Public Radio had a great interview on how the gang problem in New York City was handled in gang-riddled neighborhoods. Will try to find link and post.
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Posted by Steve C, a resident of Menlo Park, on Nov 28, 2012 at 1:23 pm Info about recent interview with author David Kennedy re his book "Don't Shoot":
November 09, 2012 ... has been implemented in more than 70 cities nationwide. ... justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. ... "In city after city, what we ... Web Link
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Posted by Wondering?, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Nov 28, 2012 at 1:51 pm Back around 1991, when EPA rightly earned the title "Murder Capital of the USA", the PA Police joined with the EPA police to help put a lid on things. It's good to see that they are doing this again.
However, the question remains--by what authority does the PA Police move out of its jurisdictional bounds, even across county lines? Did the police chief make this decision without consulting the City Council? In short, just how much authority does a California Police Chief have--and where did they get that authority?
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Posted by musical, a resident of the Palo Verde neighborhood, on Nov 28, 2012 at 3:08 pm Typo? Homicide & Aggravated Assault Response Team = HART or HAART?
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Posted by EPA resident, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 28, 2012 at 3:08 pm @Raymond...Please know that I have done my part...Ive suggested that
we get a new Police Chief.
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Posted by G-TOWN, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 28, 2012 at 6:11 pm Same old same old noise and no action.I have hope but no faith in police intervention,sorry call it what you want. [Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.] Some folks from the streets do not like or trust police,but then you have those who team up with them.This has gone on for years same old same old.FUNNY THAT THIS IS NOT OK IN PALO ALTO THEY WANT EVEN ALLOW A POT CLUB IN P.A BUT YET EVERYBODY SMOKES DAM THERE.I have a suggestion HELP in the way you can.I help by doing the right thing and leading by example and that is what i can do WHAT CAN YOU DO?
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Posted by Herstory Buff, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Nov 28, 2012 at 7:58 pm When we first started looking for a home in Palo Alto, our agent told us not to look too close to EPA, because the gang crime spilled over into the Crescent Park and University South neighborhoods. She also advised us to stay away fom any area south of Charleston, because of Russian gang activity. Don't even approach northern Mtn View, she warned, due to Chinese gangs.
Two decades later it seems that the only gangs left are the ones in EPA. It seems that EPA needs to find out exactly what Palo Alto and Mtn View did to rid itself of Russian and Chinese gangs, respectively, and triple the intensity. The other two are probably wimps compared to what EPA has.
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Posted by Sharon, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Nov 28, 2012 at 8:20 pm EPA and EMP gang fights are apparently all about drugs-some say we should legalize drugs to destroy the profit motive
-decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of some drugs
-while imposing the death penalty on dealers in heroin and meth may work from a public health health point of view.
Drug addiction can be seen as a public health problem, like AIDS, TB, SARS etc.
[Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
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Posted by Hmmm, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 28, 2012 at 10:03 pm Herstory - did it ever occur to you that your realtor was paranoid??
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