Posted on Thu, May. 26, 2005
San Jose sees surge in gang violence
By Crystal Carreon
Mercury News
The shy 13-year-old boy was playing outside the Alma Youth Center in San Jose on a March afternoon when he was approached by a group of older boys, some dressed in red.
Are you a Sureño?, they asked. No, he said. But that didn't stop the older boys, a group of Norteños, from beating and kicking him nearly unconscious on the playground.
Such brutal scenes have become increasingly common -- and more violent -- in recent months in San Jose, especially in neighborhoods where burgeoning rival gangs appear to be locked in a renewed battle for territory and new recruits.
While San Jose police have declined to reveal the number of known gang members in the city, data from juvenile hall shows an alarming increase in youths across the county who identify themselves as gang members. In 2000, 51 young people at juvenile hall admitted gang ties. In 2003, the number skyrocketed to 432. And in the past 18 months, that number has grown by about 40 percent, leading to more gang violence inside the facility, said Delores Nnam, a county probation department official.
``We have seen a huge influx of gangs entering the hall,'' Nnam said. ``Whether or not this reflects what's going on on the outside, I can't say. But here, it has definitely increased.''
Officials and community members say they have indeed seen a surge in gang activity on the streets of San Jose, from stepped up recruiting of children to escalating violence.
Assaults up
San Jose police report that gang-related aggravated assaults, many involving weapons, increased during the first quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2004. This year, 64 incidents were reported; last year, there were 50.
Six people were killed in gang-related homicides during the first quarter of this year. In all of 2004, four homicides in San Jose were gang-related.
In the neighborhoods gangs call home, children -- some still in elementary school -- are confronted with a reality that seems to contradict living in America's safest big city.
Boys are beaten with baseball bats and fists, stabbed with pocket knives and machetes, or ``jumped'' on their way home from school. Some are shot. Other youths -- one as young as 15 -- have been charged with murder.
``What we've seen in the last month is, at least in my recollection, an unprecedented level of gang-related violence committed by juveniles in San Jose,'' said Kurt Kumli, a deputy district attorney who supervises juvenile prosecutions in Santa Clara County. ``We're not talking about the fist fights and assaults of a year ago; we are now talking about shootings and stabbings and clubbings.''
Question of timing
But why now?
One theory advanced by the Mayor's Gang Prevention Task Force and others is that these neighborhoods have seen a jump in the number of parolees with strong gang ties who are returning home. Those parolees may be instigating a battle to ``reclaim'' turf that has, in turn, ramped up recruitment of younger gang members who see violence as a way to stand out -- or fit in.
``There are cycles that happen every five or six years,'' said the Rev. Anthony Ortiz, of the Cathedral of Faith in East San Jose, who has been involved with gang intervention for more than two decades. "These guys return after `maxing out' their sentences. . . . The guys out of the institutions are the ones organizing these recruits; they're younger and more violent.''
A study commissioned last year by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors found that 10 high schools in San Jose, most on the East Side, had more parolees in a one-mile radius than full-time teachers.
For example, there were 134 state parolees within a one-mile radius of James Lick High School on North White Road, compared with 63 teachers at the school, according to the 2004 report. Near Overfelt High School, there were 143 state parolees compared with 85 teachers.
And if those parolees have, indeed, been actively recruiting gang members, their success is alarming.
``Things are definitely heating up out there,'' said Angel Rios, member of the Mayor's Gang Prevention Task Force. ``What we're noticing is a higher level of violence committed by younger people.''
Rios said he has noticed a disturbing trend in gang recruitment where reputations are made on increasingly violent acts.
Said one San Jose gang member: ``The youngsters nowadays are quick to shoot people. Life isn't worth anything, anymore.
``They have to make a name for themselves,'' he said. ``When you're coming up, you always have to out-do the next man.''
The admitted ``gang-banger,'' who did not want to be named out of safety concerns, said the cycle of gang violence will continue to grow and entangle ever younger members as opportunities and support systems are gutted.
``You need to get these kids before they become what they become,'' said the gang member, who attended a year of college. ``I never understood why so many community centers would get shut down.''
Pressure to join
Gloria Enriquez, a former recreation director at the Fair Youth Center in the Santee neighborhood, said the pressure to join a gang has become increasingly acute, as positive alternatives, such as youth centers and after-school programs, dwindle in the face of budget cuts and downsizing.
``If those programs aren't affecting my children, then they're no good,'' Enriquez said. ``The killings are going to keep happening, the beatings are going to continue.''
City Manager Del Borgsdorf -- faced with a $58 million budget shortfall -- has proposed cutting such programs as Challenges and Choices, a 10-week program that helps third-, fifth-, and seventh-graders develop positive decision-making skills; Safe Alternatives to Violence, a diversion program for juveniles who commit minor offenses; and staffing at the police department's community services division, which runs Neighborhood Watch.
The county's Juvenile Justice Action Plan Update forecast last year that about 15,000 young people would lose access to services, such as homework centers and Friday night gym, according to a poll taken from 20 area agencies, including foundations and those which rely on corporate donations.
Gang `wannabes'
San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis believes a majority of youths who identify with gangs are ``wannabes'' who if given the chance can turn their lives around.
He said it is premature to say whether the spate of gang-violence this year was a temporary spike or representative of more entrenched gang activity to come. But in response, the police department has stepped up patrols and community groups have intensified their efforts to get children and teenagers out of gangs.
There is, of course, one other troubling allure of gangs, especially during the current surge in violence: protection.
As the 13-year-old boy who was beaten outside the Alma Youth Center found out, it's sometimes not enough to say you're not in a gang.
The young boy has since stopped coming to the center.
San Jose sees surge in gang violence
By Crystal Carreon
Mercury News
The shy 13-year-old boy was playing outside the Alma Youth Center in San Jose on a March afternoon when he was approached by a group of older boys, some dressed in red.
Are you a Sureño?, they asked. No, he said. But that didn't stop the older boys, a group of Norteños, from beating and kicking him nearly unconscious on the playground.
Such brutal scenes have become increasingly common -- and more violent -- in recent months in San Jose, especially in neighborhoods where burgeoning rival gangs appear to be locked in a renewed battle for territory and new recruits.
While San Jose police have declined to reveal the number of known gang members in the city, data from juvenile hall shows an alarming increase in youths across the county who identify themselves as gang members. In 2000, 51 young people at juvenile hall admitted gang ties. In 2003, the number skyrocketed to 432. And in the past 18 months, that number has grown by about 40 percent, leading to more gang violence inside the facility, said Delores Nnam, a county probation department official.
``We have seen a huge influx of gangs entering the hall,'' Nnam said. ``Whether or not this reflects what's going on on the outside, I can't say. But here, it has definitely increased.''
Officials and community members say they have indeed seen a surge in gang activity on the streets of San Jose, from stepped up recruiting of children to escalating violence.
Assaults up
San Jose police report that gang-related aggravated assaults, many involving weapons, increased during the first quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2004. This year, 64 incidents were reported; last year, there were 50.
Six people were killed in gang-related homicides during the first quarter of this year. In all of 2004, four homicides in San Jose were gang-related.
In the neighborhoods gangs call home, children -- some still in elementary school -- are confronted with a reality that seems to contradict living in America's safest big city.
Boys are beaten with baseball bats and fists, stabbed with pocket knives and machetes, or ``jumped'' on their way home from school. Some are shot. Other youths -- one as young as 15 -- have been charged with murder.
``What we've seen in the last month is, at least in my recollection, an unprecedented level of gang-related violence committed by juveniles in San Jose,'' said Kurt Kumli, a deputy district attorney who supervises juvenile prosecutions in Santa Clara County. ``We're not talking about the fist fights and assaults of a year ago; we are now talking about shootings and stabbings and clubbings.''
Question of timing
But why now?
One theory advanced by the Mayor's Gang Prevention Task Force and others is that these neighborhoods have seen a jump in the number of parolees with strong gang ties who are returning home. Those parolees may be instigating a battle to ``reclaim'' turf that has, in turn, ramped up recruitment of younger gang members who see violence as a way to stand out -- or fit in.
``There are cycles that happen every five or six years,'' said the Rev. Anthony Ortiz, of the Cathedral of Faith in East San Jose, who has been involved with gang intervention for more than two decades. "These guys return after `maxing out' their sentences. . . . The guys out of the institutions are the ones organizing these recruits; they're younger and more violent.''
A study commissioned last year by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors found that 10 high schools in San Jose, most on the East Side, had more parolees in a one-mile radius than full-time teachers.
For example, there were 134 state parolees within a one-mile radius of James Lick High School on North White Road, compared with 63 teachers at the school, according to the 2004 report. Near Overfelt High School, there were 143 state parolees compared with 85 teachers.
And if those parolees have, indeed, been actively recruiting gang members, their success is alarming.
``Things are definitely heating up out there,'' said Angel Rios, member of the Mayor's Gang Prevention Task Force. ``What we're noticing is a higher level of violence committed by younger people.''
Rios said he has noticed a disturbing trend in gang recruitment where reputations are made on increasingly violent acts.
Said one San Jose gang member: ``The youngsters nowadays are quick to shoot people. Life isn't worth anything, anymore.
``They have to make a name for themselves,'' he said. ``When you're coming up, you always have to out-do the next man.''
The admitted ``gang-banger,'' who did not want to be named out of safety concerns, said the cycle of gang violence will continue to grow and entangle ever younger members as opportunities and support systems are gutted.
``You need to get these kids before they become what they become,'' said the gang member, who attended a year of college. ``I never understood why so many community centers would get shut down.''
Pressure to join
Gloria Enriquez, a former recreation director at the Fair Youth Center in the Santee neighborhood, said the pressure to join a gang has become increasingly acute, as positive alternatives, such as youth centers and after-school programs, dwindle in the face of budget cuts and downsizing.
``If those programs aren't affecting my children, then they're no good,'' Enriquez said. ``The killings are going to keep happening, the beatings are going to continue.''
City Manager Del Borgsdorf -- faced with a $58 million budget shortfall -- has proposed cutting such programs as Challenges and Choices, a 10-week program that helps third-, fifth-, and seventh-graders develop positive decision-making skills; Safe Alternatives to Violence, a diversion program for juveniles who commit minor offenses; and staffing at the police department's community services division, which runs Neighborhood Watch.
The county's Juvenile Justice Action Plan Update forecast last year that about 15,000 young people would lose access to services, such as homework centers and Friday night gym, according to a poll taken from 20 area agencies, including foundations and those which rely on corporate donations.
Gang `wannabes'
San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis believes a majority of youths who identify with gangs are ``wannabes'' who if given the chance can turn their lives around.
He said it is premature to say whether the spate of gang-violence this year was a temporary spike or representative of more entrenched gang activity to come. But in response, the police department has stepped up patrols and community groups have intensified their efforts to get children and teenagers out of gangs.
There is, of course, one other troubling allure of gangs, especially during the current surge in violence: protection.
As the 13-year-old boy who was beaten outside the Alma Youth Center found out, it's sometimes not enough to say you're not in a gang.
The young boy has since stopped coming to the center.
