North County agencies explore anti-gang efforts

By: COLLEEN MENSCHING - Staff Writer | Tuesday, August 14, 2007 10:41 PM PDT ∞

OCEANSIDE ---- Hoping to share solutions to a shared problem, more than 30 people gathered at the Oceanside Public Library Tuesday to plan a possible North County Regional Gang Summit.

"Rather than reinvent something ... we want to look at programs that are successful and see if that can be replicated in other cities," said Kathy Valdez, community outreach manager for the city of Vista and the leader of Tuesday's meeting.

The meeting took place less than a week after a controversial Oceanside gang raid. Valdez said that was by coincidence, not by design. Nevertheless, for some in the room, Oceanside's problems were No. 1 priority.

Oceanside police Lt. Joe Young said the group could focus immediately on Mesa Margarita of northeast Oceanside. The area is home to multiple violent gangs and the site of the fatal shooting of Oceanside Officer Dan Bessant, during a traffic stop.

"Time is of the essence," Young said, urging agencies and community groups to follow the police action with their own work in intervention and prevention.

Young said success in Mesa Margarita could serve as a model for other communities to implement or build upon.

Josephine Jones, head of literacy services for the Escondido Public Library, said she wants to make sure some focus is placed on the needs of her community, regardless of the strategy the larger group takes.

"I don't want to sit while you do one area, and I'm seeing families that I need to help right now," she said.

Brendan Mangan, an analyst for Oceanside's neighborhood services department, agreed with Young's strategy for the larger group.

"Sometimes you try to bite off too much," he said. "If we can have success in one area, that can help us get funding for other areas."

There was a consensus that immediate action could be taken at a neighborhood or municipal level before a concrete plan had been developed by the group.

If a formal plan is developed though, the collaboration may result in a grant proposal for state and federal anti-gang funding under Senate Bill 271.

The U.S. attorney's office has promised $700 toward a North County Regional Gang Summit if one is organized, according to Valdez.

Valdez cautioned against "having a summit for summit's sake" and said that if a series of smaller group meetings would be more beneficial, then those should be held instead.

The crime-fighting triangle "prevention, intervention on suppression" is the basis for three subcommittees established Tuesday. Subcommittees will report back to the larger group in October.

Sili Sooto, an employee of at Oceanside High School, reminded colleagues that progress can be made without a formal plan ---- and without federal funding.

"It doesn't take money ... to take a youth aside," she said. "I ask that you don't wait for the money."

Contact staff writer Colleen Mensching at (760) 739-6675 or cmensching@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.