VISTA - Crime in Vista dipped 6.2 percent in 2006, and the goal for this year is a 10 percent decline, with more resources devoted to cracking down on gangs, Sheriff's Capt. Ed Prendergast said Monday during Vista's State of the Community luncheon.

Prendergast's upbeat report on the decrease in violent crimes and some property crimes drew applause from the crowd of about 180 business leaders and guests packed into a banquet room at the Shadowridge Country Club. The annual luncheon is sponsored by the Vista Chamber of Commerce.

Featured speakers included Prendergast, Mayor Morris Vance, Vista school board President Jim Gibson and other community leaders.

Vance kicked off the event with a broad and optimistic look at the city's accomplishments in 2006 and its plans for 2007. The success of a half-cent sales tax increase on the November ballot was a "significant milestone" that "permanently changed the direction of the city," Vance said.

City officials have said they plan to use the Proposition L tax-hike revenue to pay for a long list of city projects, including a new civic center and two fire stations.

"These are all quality of life enhancements in the city of Vista," Vance said. "They will establish … a true sense of community and a feeling of pride within the residents of this community."

In his speech, Prendergast, who took over as the city's top law enforcement officer last year, heralded the success of what he called "intelligence-led policing" in Vista. That effort has included sometimes controversial "directed patrols," in which deputies have teamed with federal immigration agents to target some of Vista's high-crime areas, such as the predominantly Latino Townsite neighborhood.

This year, the Sheriff's Department will add a three-man uniformed gang suppression unit that will give the department a greater street presence in Vista, Prendergast said.

The department also hopes to start a Park Watch program that will resemble a traditional neighborhood watch, and direct additional resources toward combating gangs, Prendergast said.

About 60 percent of the graffiti in Vista is gang related, and lately, deputies have been noticing graffiti from new gangs, Prendergast said.

In December, the Sheriff's Department unveiled a Holiday Watch program in which extra patrol deputies blanketed busy parking lots in the North County Square shopping center that houses a Wal-Mart and Target store. That program resulted in a 25 percent reduction in crime from the prior December, Prendergast said.

Gibson, the Vista Unified school board president, gave a blunt assessment of the district, but said he sees plenty of room for optimism.

Gibson said that, in a district that serves roughly 28,000 students, including those enrolled in its adult education program, roughly 10,265 students are below grade level. He said district trustees and administrators are serious about turning that around and that momentum is already shifting.

The elimination in 2005 of a bilingual education program was a step in the right direction, Gibson said. "It was a failed program," he said, "and it hurt our students deeply."

About 6,700 students in Vista Unified are learning to speak English and the district has now moved to a structured immersion program in which students are taught primarily in English.

Gibson said he expects to see huge results from that change.

"Every student will learn how to read and write in English this year," he pledged.

- Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 631-6621 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.