SLO County Gang Problems

Posted by Richard L. Roberts 
 

            Sandra Sansoni introduced the speaker: Marci Powers is a retired supervising probation officer from Ventura County.  She has lived in SLOCounty for six years.  In 2009 she was hired by the county to be Coordinator of the Anti-Gang Coordinating Commission.  Marci brings years of experience to this position and a firm conviction that gangs are a community problem and must be addressed at the community level. 

 

            Powers described some of her experiences in OrangeCounty where a Mexican Mafia, consisting of over 1600 members, is located.  One experience was an interview with a little over 15 year old that shot a younger boy three times in the chest; she gave him his rights and asked what he thought he was charged with.  His attitude was that he was a juvenile and could not be tried in an adult court; when she informed him otherwise, his attitude changed and he knew he was in trouble; he is now serving a 29-year sentence in Soledad. 

            In 2008, the Commission was created out of the offices of Probation, District Attorney and Sheriff and consists of 60 partners representing County agencies and community-based organizations who have determined that gangs present a threat to the community.  Its mission is to reduce the magnitude, frequency and violence of gangs in the County and is focused on Prevention, headed by the Probation Department; Rehabilitation and Reentry headed by the Office of the District Attorney; and Detection and Suppression headed by the Sheriff's Department.  The commission is not a gang task force but centers on proactive opportunities to enhance academic pursuits for potential gang members, provide skill enhancement, support for their parents, increase employment chances, recruit mentors, develop job skills, provide counseling and remove tattoos. 

            It costs about $5,000/year to educate our K-12 students and that amount is gradually decreasing.  It costs $48,000/year to incarcerate a person, another $16,000 more if there are mental, dental or medical issues.  Keeping gang members out of prison saves money.  Also t o save money, the state is changing its approach to remove low level offenders from parole supervision and focus on the most serious offenders.  For further information, Marci Powers may be reached: 781-4893 or mpowers@co.slo.ca.us .