The Santa Maria Police Department has received some much deserved criticism lately for its inability to stop gang-related crime. Each day I read about new acts of violence being committed against innocent citizens, and I’m outraged. While I know our peace officers have their hands full in combating crime, their efforts are not enough these days, and any arrests made come too little and much too late.
During the last City Council meeting, members of the public suggested adopting a gang injunction. Evidently, gang injunctions have been highly successful in other cities in California, and Santa Maria’s gang problem has only grown worse, not better, in spite of our police department’s efforts. Every law-abiding citizen in Santa Maria would undoubtedly support this crucial legal maneuver to stop the violent acts plaguing our city. The only ones who would object would be the criminals.
I assume our police chief, mayor, and city attorney will begin working on a gang injunction so that by the next holiday season, we might all have a little peace on Earth.
This article appears in Dec 10-17, 2009.