Youth programs on front lines in fight against gangs Youth programs on front lines in fight against gangs (August 16, 2002)

Scuffle at Rengstorff Park was precipitated by rising gang activity Scuffle at Rengstorff Park was precipitated by rising gang activity (August 16, 2002)

By Bill D'Agostino

Although a gang fight at Rengstoff Park two weeks ago worried parents and others who visit and play in the park, police say they are aggressively battling the city's gang problem and note that the park is as safe as it has ever been.

"Is there any way of ever ensuring that will never ever happen again? I would be naive and I don't think you would believe me if I told you 'yeah we can take care of that,'" Police Lieutenant Tony Lopez said. "We can make it known in the community and known among anyone who has gang inclinations that the park is a place that the cops will come down hard on you for if you're doing things you shouldn't be doing."

On the afternoon of Monday, July 29 a scuffle inside Rengstorff Park between members of the rival Surenos and Nortenos gangs left a few members with head injuries. One fighter used a broken bottle as a weapon. No bystanders were injured in the fight, reportedly over the park which Surenos consider their turf.

The fight was precipitated by a few months of rising suspicious activity -- such as drinking, possible drug sales, loitering after dark -- at the park, according to Lopez. "It spiked in a very short period of time."

As a result, police stepped up patrols to the area, citing the loiterers and drinkers and tried to get those who were misbehaving to go elsewhere. "Things quieted down significantly," Lopez said.

In general, gang-related activity in the city is much lower today than it was in years and decades past, but it still attracts some kids with poor families or low self-esteem, or those lacking a positive peer group.

"Especially in this area, it's not unusual to have parents working two jobs each to try to make the rent because of the high cost of living," Lopez said. "So the kids are on their own and they're looking for something to belong to, some sense of family to make up for what they don't necessarily have at home. So, they start associating with other substitutes and a lot of times those substitute groups are not as healthy as we would like."

Surenos and Nortenos, both primarily Hispanic gangs, are the predominant umbrella gang affiliations in Mountain View at this time.

To the casual observer, there is little difference between the two, aside from the colors and numbers they gravitate toward. Surenos typically associate with blue and the number 13, wearing either or both on their clothes. Nortenos typically connect to red and 14.

The two gangs use these and other symbols to mark their turf, typically parks or other areas of the city. To stave off fights, police try to remove any graffiti with these symbols as quickly as possible.

"If somebody graffitis and you quickly react to it and get rid of it, you have a much better chance of not having it become an issue where someone says, 'We put our graffiti up here saying Sur, somebody crossed it out and wrote Norte, now we've got a fight,'" Lopez said.

Police use a combination of techniques to keep kids out of gangs, to help get them out if they are in, and to limit the danger that they can cause. Those programs have been stepped up in recent months as the activity has increased.

When invited, for instance, police officers have been visiting the homes of potential gang members, talking to parents in a non-confrontational way about their kids behavior. Those parents can often be in the dark or in denial about the children's involvement with gangs.

After that initial contact, parents often step up their interaction with their kids and the cops. "One parent said 'any time you want to knock on our door, if we're not home, you have our permission to come in and see what's going on.' And we have done that," Lopez said. "That's the type of response we've got."

Police also keep tabs on suspected gang members, counseling them and assisting them if they want help in getting out.

The most lauded of the city's gang-related program is "Dreams and Futures," a two-week, award winning course designed to help keep young school-aged kids on the cusp of gang life from becoming full-fledged gangsters.

Last Friday was the final day of this summer's program, which consisted of field trips and outdoor activities, as well as lessons on topics such as anger management.

Dreams and Futures Counselor Anthony Romo, who has uncles in gangs, said that he began to get lured into the gangster lifestyle in middle school.

Through the guidance and influence of people like Bill Crawford, the police department's schools resource officer (who took Romo on fishing trips and talked to him about his life), Romo was able to resist the temptation of becoming a gangster and high school dropout. This fall, he'll be a senior year in Mountain View High School.

Some of the program's goals are to help kids learn to control their impulses and to work together in groups. "In two weeks, we're not trying to cure anything," Officer Allen Nelson said. "We're just trying to open their eyes to different ideas."

Just as importantly, the program aims to develop good relationships between the police and those kids who might be tempted by gangs.

Tim Segouia -- who'll be an 8th grader in the fall at Graham Middle School -- said that before going through the program last year, he didn't trust police officers. "I thought all they did was yell at people," he said.

But now, having gone through the course two years in a row, Segouia has a more positive view of the police in general and the officers who run the program in specific.

By targeting the younger kids, the officers become role models for the kids before gang members do, Sergeant Mike Ecdao said.

"Gang activity is a cycle," Ecdao said. "You'll have young individuals going in and coming out constantly. The problem never really dies. It may subside but it's something you need to keep an eye on."
Have something to say about gangs in Mountain View? E-mail Bill D'Agostino at bdagostino@mv-voice.com