City
Council Meeting: December 14, 2004
TO: City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Initial Steps in Defining Community Strategies
to Reduce Gang Violence and Related Crime in the Pico Neighborhood
Introduction
This report proposes initial steps in
defining a focused community effort to reduce gang violence in
Background
While violent
crime in Santa Monica has trended downward for more than a decade, and overall
categories of violent crime have fallen 62% in the Pico neighborhood, incidents of shots fired and violent assaults
continue to occur in that area. The
involvement of young people in those incidents and the loss of young lives in
or just outside the neighborhood* have stimulated
enforcement, vigils and the development of school and neighborhood-focused
social service programs. Despite efforts
to-date, the problems associated with gang violence persist.
The Pico neighborhood
is the City’s most diverse in regard to race, ethnicity and income. It has the highest concentration of 15 to 24
year olds in
Market forces
that have driven the cost of housing up citywide also affect the Pico
neighborhood. Efforts to create and
preserve affordable housing in the neighborhood have met with mixed
acceptance. Those who need assistance to
remain in the community appreciate the affordable housing complexes while others
see them as over-concentrated and a locus for criminal violence.
The population
of young people in the neighborhood includes a relatively small number with
gang affiliation. Their activities
generate intra-community violence and attract violent incidents involving gang
members from other areas of
In late
September, shots were fired from a vehicle at young men adjacent to
Discussion
Discussions
with community members, school district and college representatives, business
and religious leaders and City staff from police, recreation and human
services, suggest that a focused, closely coordinated and sustained community-wide
effort may reduce gang violence in
The reasons
for continued youth violence in the Pico neighborhood are complex and
inter-related. Community discussions
have focused on issues ranging from police practices, school achievement, parenting,
poverty, the presence of low-income housing, access to social services, convenience
of alternative activities for youth and availability of information about
existing programs and services. The considerable
resources brought to bear over the years have not ended the violence and the chance
that changing any single aspect of the problem will do so appears remote. Still, parents, neighbors, police, probation
and parole officials, teachers and counselors, business owners, clergy, housing
managers, social workers and recreation providers must all “own” the problem
and work closely together to achieve resolution.
Institutional
Partners
The City of
Business
Partners
While
encouraging neighborhood youth to remain and succeed in school is essential,
the transition to and opportunity for paid work is also a critical element in
providing youth with skills that lead to productive and rewarding lives. Because small business is the principal
source of job growth in the state, the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce and its
members can play an important role by introducing youth to the discipline of
employment, providing practical job experience and contributing to family
economic stability. The burgeoning
representation of entertainment industry firms in the City should present
particularly appealing opportunity for placements if connections to that sector
can be achieved. There is currently no
comprehensive service deliverer to develop jobs and prepare and support youth
for employment.
Social
Service/Non-Profit Partners
The City,
County and
Neighborhood
Group and Religious Partners
Long term
residents recall and regret the passing of a time when intervention with
families in trouble and youth at risk came swiftly and surely from neighbors
and the church. The loss of community is
a troubling contemporary phenomenon and reliance on public institutions to
intervene is an inadequate substitute.
The Pico Neighborhood Association, Virginia Avenue Park Advisory Board, Community
Violence Prevention Coalition, Mothers for Justice and Edison School PTA are
among groups active in the neighborhood that can help to identify and link
families and youth with services. Local
religious leaders have begun to meet together regularly. They too can be an important information and
referral resource and can help recruit mentors and volunteers to work with
youth.
Learning From
Other Communities
The results of
model interventions in other communities hold lessons for
Challenges to
success in other communities have included designation of an effective
coordinating agency, dedication and retention of staff to preserve continuity
of programs, conveniently co-located services, effective communication across
and among participating agencies, avoiding narrow role definition and role
conflict, availability of financial and program resources, and sustaining grass
roots participation and community commitment.
Strategies must be developed to meet and overcome such challenges.
Community acceptance
of the role that police play in addressing gang violence can be
problematic. Some community members may
welcome a significant police presence and aggressive enforcement, particularly
in the wake of a violent incident.
Others may respond positively when regularly assigned officers take an
active and visible role in community events and meetings and are perceived as a
constant, problem-solving presence in the community. Santa Monica’s Police Department employs a
strong, strategic enforcement response to gang violence, has designated youth
service officers who work with the schools and make use of prevention and
intervention resources, and, in addition to other community policing
strategies, has initiated over the last two years a community-oriented, problem
solving approach through its Neighborhood Centered Policing model, placing
responsibility for neighborhood responsiveness at the highest command levels. The Police Chief and staff of the department
are committed to reducing gang violence and welcome an exchange of views about their
efforts.
Tapping Community
Ideas and Energy
To focus
resources effectively and constructively on the elimination of gang affiliation
and violence, the potential partners identified here must come together with
residents of the Pico neighborhood. As a
first step, in a four to six hour, facilitated, bilingual community working session
critical elements for success can be identified. A context-setting presentation, perhaps from
representatives of successful endeavors in other communities, would precede the
working session. Gathered in small
groups, attendees would address key questions, share information and experience
and build trust and respect. Through
reporting and summarizing the day’s work, the community will have an
opportunity to coalesce around a problem, set specific long and short term
goals, define next steps and commit to moving forward together and being
accountable to each other. To ensure
broad participation, the session would be in a location convenient to the
neighborhood and preceded by extensive outreach.
While it is
premature to anticipate that next steps will include a concerted community-wide
intervention, other efforts to improve the quality of life in the Pico
neighborhood are underway or scheduled.
The heightened police presence will be maintained in the neighborhood
and around
Budget/Financial
Impact
Improvement of
the quality of life in the Pico neighborhood is a budget objective for the current
fiscal year. The City currently funds
programs and services in the Pico neighborhood.
Development of the Fiscal year 2005/06 budget will commence early in
2005.
The
recommended actions have no immediate budget/financial impact beyond the costs
of a facilitated community workshop, estimated at $10,000. Sufficient funds are available at account 01274.544390
for that purpose.
Recommendation
Staff
recommends that the City organize a community working session with Pico
neighborhood residents and partner organizations, to be held in January or
early February of 2005 as an initial step in defining strategies and
establishing relationships that will lead to reduction of gang violence in the
community.
Prepared by:
* The number of deaths has been variously reported in news articles and interviews. Numbers differ depending upon the time periods and/or geographic boundaries selected for reporting and whether homicides alone are counted. The constant is that each young life cut short represents a loss for a family and an argument for community intervention.