Police set to widen the focus on gangs
After Ceres and Modesto sweeps, similar searches planned for rest of county
By INGA MILLER
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: March 2, 2005, 08:50:15 AM PST
Following gang sweeps in Ceres and south Modesto, authorities are gearing up for similar searches in other parts of Stanislaus County.
They would be among the first such coordinated efforts.
Specialists will team up with local patrols to document gang members and to search the homes of those on probation or parole, said Modesto police Sgt. Dave Sundy, unit supervisor of the countywide Gang Intelligence Task Force.
"I think it is safe to say there are gang members throughout our county," Sundy said. "So if we can identify them, and make contact with them, we will be better prepared if they become suspects in some problem."
He said operations will be similar to the two-pronged approach in Ceres and south Modesto: Police and sheriff's deputies targeted specific gang members for parole and probation searches, looking for any illegal activity, and conducted "consensual encounters" on the street with people whom officers say displayed signs of gang affiliation.
The sweeps would come on the heels of an inquiry by the American Civil Liberties Union and two other civil rights organizations. They have asked to review policies and procedures covering the the recent sweeps.
Civil rights attorneys claim Ceres and south Modesto residents have voiced concern that "innocent people were being swept up in the law enforcement operations."
Authorities have denied the allegations. Still, last Thursday, the Sheriff's Department and the Ceres and Modesto police departments turned over the records.
Sundy said uniformed officers will stop adults and minors on the street. But it is up to those stopped whether they want to talk, he said.
"If they claim gang membership, it is not uncommon for them to say, 'I'm a gang member.' Looking at them, you can see they have gang clothing or something indicative of a certain gang," he said.
Sometimes, he said, they have even agreed to have their pictures taken. Those are kept in police files.
Affiliation can be used to increase the sentence of convicted criminals, sometimes for a number of years, sheriff's Detective Keith Rakoncza, assigned to the Gang Intelligence Task Force.
"It's a great enhancement tool for our gang offenders," he said. "Some of them are very violent."
He said there are 53 street gangs in Stanislaus County. Their members are blamed for crimes ranging from auto theft and drug dealing to drive-by shootings and homicide.
For authorities to label someone a gang member, Rakoncza said they must meet two or more criteria laid out in state standards, which range from admitting to gang membership to being "seen affiliating" with documented members. One criterium is "frequenting gang areas."
Rakoncza, previously assigned to Riverbank Police Services, said he documented 92 gang members in that city. Of them, 30 were convicted with gang enhancements, according to an information sheet that he presented Monday night to the Riverbank City Council.
The information sheet lists 252 convictions with gang enhancements in Hughson and Waterford, and territory outside the county's other cities. Authorities have documented a combined 1,021 gang members in that same region, according to the sheet.
The information sheet gives 114 as the number of documented gang members in Patterson.
The total number countywide probably tops 3,000, Sundy said, "and they travel, so it's in the interest of everyone's community for us to work on this collaboratively."
The Oakdale Police Department has independently conducted four or five probation and parole sweeps within the past 18 months, Chief Gary Hampton said.
"It only makes sense to address the problems through a regional approach. Otherwise, if just Ceres and Modesto are being proactive, they are just relocating it to Riverbank or Oakdale," Hampton said, estimating the number of gang members in his city at 40 to 50.
After Ceres and Modesto sweeps, similar searches planned for rest of county
By INGA MILLER
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: March 2, 2005, 08:50:15 AM PST
Following gang sweeps in Ceres and south Modesto, authorities are gearing up for similar searches in other parts of Stanislaus County.
They would be among the first such coordinated efforts.
Specialists will team up with local patrols to document gang members and to search the homes of those on probation or parole, said Modesto police Sgt. Dave Sundy, unit supervisor of the countywide Gang Intelligence Task Force.
"I think it is safe to say there are gang members throughout our county," Sundy said. "So if we can identify them, and make contact with them, we will be better prepared if they become suspects in some problem."
He said operations will be similar to the two-pronged approach in Ceres and south Modesto: Police and sheriff's deputies targeted specific gang members for parole and probation searches, looking for any illegal activity, and conducted "consensual encounters" on the street with people whom officers say displayed signs of gang affiliation.
The sweeps would come on the heels of an inquiry by the American Civil Liberties Union and two other civil rights organizations. They have asked to review policies and procedures covering the the recent sweeps.
Civil rights attorneys claim Ceres and south Modesto residents have voiced concern that "innocent people were being swept up in the law enforcement operations."
Authorities have denied the allegations. Still, last Thursday, the Sheriff's Department and the Ceres and Modesto police departments turned over the records.
Sundy said uniformed officers will stop adults and minors on the street. But it is up to those stopped whether they want to talk, he said.
"If they claim gang membership, it is not uncommon for them to say, 'I'm a gang member.' Looking at them, you can see they have gang clothing or something indicative of a certain gang," he said.
Sometimes, he said, they have even agreed to have their pictures taken. Those are kept in police files.
Affiliation can be used to increase the sentence of convicted criminals, sometimes for a number of years, sheriff's Detective Keith Rakoncza, assigned to the Gang Intelligence Task Force.
"It's a great enhancement tool for our gang offenders," he said. "Some of them are very violent."
He said there are 53 street gangs in Stanislaus County. Their members are blamed for crimes ranging from auto theft and drug dealing to drive-by shootings and homicide.
For authorities to label someone a gang member, Rakoncza said they must meet two or more criteria laid out in state standards, which range from admitting to gang membership to being "seen affiliating" with documented members. One criterium is "frequenting gang areas."
Rakoncza, previously assigned to Riverbank Police Services, said he documented 92 gang members in that city. Of them, 30 were convicted with gang enhancements, according to an information sheet that he presented Monday night to the Riverbank City Council.
The information sheet lists 252 convictions with gang enhancements in Hughson and Waterford, and territory outside the county's other cities. Authorities have documented a combined 1,021 gang members in that same region, according to the sheet.
The information sheet gives 114 as the number of documented gang members in Patterson.
The total number countywide probably tops 3,000, Sundy said, "and they travel, so it's in the interest of everyone's community for us to work on this collaboratively."
The Oakdale Police Department has independently conducted four or five probation and parole sweeps within the past 18 months, Chief Gary Hampton said.
"It only makes sense to address the problems through a regional approach. Otherwise, if just Ceres and Modesto are being proactive, they are just relocating it to Riverbank or Oakdale," Hampton said, estimating the number of gang members in his city at 40 to 50.
