Recent changes in state laws aimed at reducing California’s prison population and preventing kids from being incarcerated has local agencies at odds with how to best address an increase of gang activity in parts of Santa Barbara County.
In a recent report on juvenile gang violence, the county grand jury found that the county’s Probation Department views these these state-level changes, such as one that reclassified some felonies as misdemeanors, as a positive step in rehabilitating youth who are facing trauma at home, including poverty, family neglect, and education deficits.
“The leadership at Santa Barbara County Probation has declared that they no longer deal with gangs; they instead deal with high risk youth,” the report states.
Meanwhile, local police officers and sheriff’s deputies told the jury that changes in the law have removed tools departments used to suppress gang activity and have left communities less safe.
“If juveniles are not held accountable, police officers told the jury, petty crimes may develop into more serious crimes such as murders and drug or human trafficking,” the report states. “The current trend in treatment that focuses on rehabilitation, they say, misses the mark without accountability.”
Arrests are down countywide, the report finds, but the county’s largest cities have experienced increases in gang violence in recent years—particularly in Lompoc, which has a police department with numerous vacant positions and no dedicated gang unit.
“In Lompoc, deaths and injuries from shootings have escalated to the point of being almost monthly,” the report states. “Gang affiliation is most often tied to the incidents.”
The jury found that a countywide gang task force could help local jurisdictions work together to address this increase in activity. But in North County, agencies have been unsuccessful in applying for grants that would fund the creation of this task force.
The jury also noted that the current services that are available in North County aren’t well-coordinated and would be better managed by nonprofits rather than civic leaders who have too many other responsibilities to juggle.
“The 2017 Mayor’s Task Force on Youth Safety in Santa Maria has not gained traction in the parts of the community where it is needed,” the report states. “However, the need for these services in North County is immediate.”
Ultimately, the jury states that helping transform the lives of at-risk youth is and should be the priority, but that better coordination between law enforcement departments is still necessary.
The jury is requesting responses from various county agencies to the findings and recommendations outlined in the report, including boosting programs for at-risk youth and creating a gang unit within the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. The departments identified in the report have between 60 and 90 days to issue a response.
This article appears in Jul 2-9, 2020.