Apr 9, 2008

Police chief pursues calm

Anti-violence initiative to call for larger police presence

By Banks Albach / Daily News Staff Writer

Facing an increase in gun violence this year compared to the first three months of 2007, East Palo Alto police Chief Ron Davis laid out a five-month plan to residents Tuesday night to calm the streets.

So far, the city has experienced 42 firearms assaults this year compared to 35 in the first quarter of 2007. Six people have been shot in the last 10 days alone. On the flip side, three people were murdered last year in January alone, compared to one so far in 2008. Three people were also slain in the last quarter of 2006.

Some of the violence this year has been attributed to domestic violence, while other shootings, which have the department concerned about escalating violence, are possibly linked to gang activity. Davis told the crowd of about 45 people at City Hall that the majority of violence in East Palo Alto this year has been between African-Americans.

Davis said his department is already talking with community groups and individuals who were effective last year in brokering cease-fires between gang members, many of whom went, and go, to the same churches.

"The idea is get them in the same room talking, discussing and arguing until these things get resolved," Davis said. "The success we're aiming for is a marathon, not a sprint," Davis said.

Over the next five months, Davis said East Palo Alto residents can expect heightened law enforcement activity, including parole and probation searches, undercover drug stings, gang investigations and enhanced traffic stops. Davis said his department will partner with some San Mateo County Sheriff's task forces, the state's justice department, California Highway Patrol and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.

"Project Safe Neighborhoods," however, also includes a strong community element, Davis said. Participants in the city's parolee re-entry program will conduct block cleanups and graffiti removal. A second annual "Youth Summit" is planned for May 20. And the department plans to use funding from a federal earmark to launch a mural campaign for the city's talented graffiti artists.

Former City Council Member Myrtle Walker brought up the importance of dealing with the city's disproportionately high level of domestic violence.

Many of the residents complained that the city needs stricter parking rules and better code enforcement for residents who refuse to keep property clean or up to code. Davis agreed, and said it's cumbersome and costly for the department to keep sending officers to the same house. Recently, Davis said, he discovered one house that had received about 100 calls in the last five years.

Some residents, however, aren't waiting around. Faye Brown and Erma Moore, who together chair a neighborhood watch group on their city block, pass out flyers asking residents to participate in a weekly cleanup. And they also have paid close attention to drug dealing in their neighborhood, simply by making their presence known to the perpetrators and telling them they're not afraid to call the police.

"We've been able to clean up our block tremendously," Brown said.

E-mail Banks Albach at balbach@dailynewsgroup.com.