MIX:Get to the kids before gangs do

I guess it's not as obvious at it seems. Preventing youths from getting into gangs in the first place seems like a logical way to reduce the number of gang members in our area and it seems like it would reduce the long-term costs of dealing with gang members in the legal system. There are those who would disagree.

The Costa Mesa City Council voted Tuesday to approve part of the proposed plan to fight gangs in the city. The plan was brought to them by Costa Mesa Police Chief Chris Shawkey and Capt. Ron Smith.

They unanimously approved the enforcement section of the proposal including two gang officers, one probation officer to the gang detail, two other officers, a surveillance program and participation in the TARGET program with the Orange County District Attorney's office.

What they didn't approve, 3-2, was the gang-intervention specialist position. That person would have been a liaison between the Newport Mesa Unified School District, through Project ASK, and the police department.

While the federally funded Project ASK has a lot of people working with children and the city has organizations like Save Our Youth, Smith said the department was suggesting this position in order to coordinate the efforts of those people at the schools and officers working with gangs in the police department.

"It just makes sense to have a strong partnership with the school district. That's where they're coming from," Smith said during the council meeting.

It seems obvious that the system would be a lot more effective if the school district and the police department were communicating on a regular basis. That's what the police asked for, that's not what they got.

Mayor Allan Mansoor and Councilwoman Wendy Leece told me they are willing to consider all options if they are shown prevention programs are effective, but they haven't seen proof that they are. They both want to see numbers that show a clear reduction in truancy and the number of children joining gangs.

"It will take some time to see if the tax money spent effectively derailed young people from becoming gang members," Leece said.

I completely agree with Mansoor, Leece and Councilman Eric Bever they should have proof that prevention is effective. I read what the report said, and all those experts, but I wanted to hear for myself. I talked to Pepe Montenegro, a crisis counselor with Project ASK.