Score: +16 (19/2/3)
Napa County Grand Jury • 2008-2009 • Agency Response
Response to: City of Napa Police Department

City Manager*

Published: August 19, 2009 6 pages
View Original PDF

Findings and Recommendations 20 findings

F1 Page 2
Two Hispanic gangs are most prominent in Napa County: the Nortenos and Surenos. City Response to Finding 1: The City agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Page 5
Establishment of a new County-wide multi-jurisdictional gang task force with a full-time coordinator, strike team and representatives from local and regional law enforcement jurisdictions, prevention, intervention agencies, school administrations and the community.
F2 Page 2
Gang membership, use of weapons and the level of violence have increased, and frequency of violence has decreased in Napa County. City Response to Finding 2: The City agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Page 5
Implementation of county-wide gang database and tracking system accessible by all law enforcement agencies and school officials.
F3 Page 2
Currently, loosely formed group of law enforcement representatives, the DA's office and some members of the community meet to discuss gang issues and exchange information. There is no paid staff or capacity to implement or fund programs or policies. The supporting GVS grant expires June 2010. Response to Finding 3 The City agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F4 Page 2
Approximately 50 percent of Napa County Jail inmates, 30 percent of Napa County Juvenile Hall inmates and 10 percent of the school population are gang affiliated. City Response to Finding 4: The City agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F5 Page 3
It is estimated there are over 850 gang members and approximately 3,000 gang affiliated individuals in Napa County. City Response to Finding 5: The City agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F6 Page 3
The fiscal impact of gangs in Napa County is substantial. This includes the cost of law enforcement, probation and district Attorneys assigned to gang units, SRO's, Napa County Juvenile Hall, Napa County Jail and the operation of alternative schools. City Response to Finding 6: The City agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
Page 6
Consideration of County-wide curfew for those under the age of 18 as a law enforcement tool.
F7 Page 3
Other gangs have been identified in much smaller numbers in Napa County, including the Rockers, Insane Clown Posse and Hell's Angels, Mongols, Jugelets. City Response to Finding 7: The City agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
Page 6
Consideration of the use of injunctions as a law enforcement tool against gang members.
F8 Page 3
There is evidence of gang influence in every middle schools and high school campus in Napa County, and some elementary schools. City Response to Finding 8: The City agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F9 Page 3
SRO's are essential to monitoring campus gang activity, providing campus security as well as crucial information and education. City Response to Finding 9: The City agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F10 Page 3
NVUSD high schools use Color Contracts to monitor individual gang members. City Response to Finding 10: The City agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F11 Page 3
Due to budget constraints, Calistoga and St. Helena currently do not provide SRO's on middle school or high school campuses. Napa provides one SRO to cover three middle school campuses. City Response to Finding 11: The City agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F12 Page 3
Dress codes for Napa County schools are determined by each school. Several schools prohibit the wearing of gang colors and memorabilia; however, in many schools these prohibitions are not strictly enforced. City Response to Finding 12: The City agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F13 Page 3
Law enforcement officers on the front lines, who deal directly with gang members, do not receive the governmental or financial support necessary from senior enforcement officials and elected officials. Some are reluctant to discuss known gang activity or aggressively intervene in fear of reprisal from superiors, community or elected leaders. City Response to Finding 13: The City disagrees with this finding. The Napa City Council has a long history of support towards the Police Department's efforts in gang prevention and gang enforcement. The Council recently approved the Police Department budget which includes the newly formed Special Enforcement Unit (SEU) which will focus on gang enforcement and other quality of life issues. A newly created Sergeant's position will oversee SEU. In addition, two Police Officer positions will be transferred from the Patrol Bureau to SEU. This will double the Police Department's gang staffing level and provide seven day-a-week coverage. Police Command Staff routinely applauds the efforts of our Gang Officers and have provided the necessary support and training to ensure effective results. SEU recently received delivery of a new gang car and each Gang Officer receives a cell phone stipend to support communications and texting with gang informants. There is no reluctance or fear of reprisal by Police administration among Police Department personnel to discuss gang issues or enforcement actions.
No recommendations for this finding
F14 Page 4
There have been instances of students with gang affiliations, from Vallejo, circumventing NVUSD residency requirements and enrolling in Napa schools. City Response to Finding 14: The City agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F15 Page 4
Napa County public schools do not mandate that teachers, students or parents attend gang information meetings/training. City Response to Finding 15: The City agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F16 Page 4
County and city databases used by law enforcement do not interface. City Response to Finding 16: The City agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F17 Page 4
The County and several non-government agencies offer prevention and intervention programs for youth at risk of becoming gang members. However, there is little or no collaboration between the various agencies, schools and law enforcement. City Response to Finding 17: The City disagrees with this finding. Police Department personnel (Gang Officers, SRO's, Investigators, Command Staff and Patrol Officers, Youth Diversion Coordinator) routinely meet with representatives from Napa County Health and Humans Services, Napa County Office of Education, Napa Valley Unified School District, Boys and Girls Club, The Wolf Center and other providers to discuss strategies and recent prevention and intervention successes. SRO's and Gang Officers participate regularly with non-government agencies in community outreach meetings and presentations.
No recommendations for this finding
F18 Page 4
Currently NCOE provides education services to all Napa County students who are on academic or judicial probation. City Response to Finding 18: The City agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F19 Page 5
Napa public schools are allocated $34 per day per student by the State of California. City Response to Finding 19: The City agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F20 Page 5
Curfews and injunctions are enforcement tools used by other counties to contain gang violence. City Response to Finding 20: The City agrees with this finding. The 2008-2009 Grand Jury Recommendations: The Grand Jury report contained nine (9) recommendations. The Napa Police Department was requested to respond directly to recommendations 1, 2, 6 and 7.
No recommendations for this finding

Agency Responses 1

Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.

* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.