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Goleta Council, Santa Barbara School Board Join Forces to Combat Youth Violence
The Dos Pueblos High School library hosted a joint meeting Friday between the Goleta City Council and the Santa Barbara School District Board of Education.
The participants spent the most time discussing collaboration in responding to youth violence and creating youth activities.
Of about 16,000 students, the district has classified about 160 involved in gang activities and another 750 as gang affiliated or high risk.
“There very much needs to be a community response to youth violence,” Superintendent Brian Sarvis said.
The city of Goleta, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, the city of Santa Barbara and other agencies combine resources to work on the issue of youth violence.
Goleta Police Chief Phil Willis said the department has seen a decrease in gang membership recently, and it hopes to see the trend continue.
At Dos Pueblos High, three out of eight total felony arrests were gang-related in 2008, Willis said. In 2009, none of the four felony arrests was deemed gang-related.
The impact of graffiti on local campuses has diminished, as well. It’s always gone before students get to school in the morning, thanks to custodians and maintenance staff, Sarvis said.
School resource officers also have proved invaluable to the district, said Michael Gonzalez, the director of student services and compliance.
He said that when an alleged gunman was reported near San Marcos High School, the school administrators had immediate access to the resource officer to help coordinate a response, he said.
Their one-on-one relationships with current and past students also are helpful in dealing with youth violence, Willis said.
Youth activities, funded by the cities of Goleta and Santa Barbara, the Police Activities League and community block grants, help keep students involved during the high-risk unsupervised hours between when students get out of school and parents get home, Gonzalez said.
The Goleta City Council and Santa Barbara school board each have meetings scheduled for Tuesday.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Comments
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» on 11.21.09 @ 07:01 PM
Consolidate all government departments—cut staffing..
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» on 11.22.09 @ 05:28 AM
Blaming ourselves instead of holding the troublemakers accountable.You would think Goleta would have learned a lesson from Santa Barbara wouldn’t you? Just because you offer busy busy activities doesn’t mean the troublemakers are going to participate and automatically stay out of trouble! The answer is and always has been - law enforcement and parenting enforcement!!! They need FEAR not coddling and hugs and understanding!! You are battling a culture of being bad ass is cooln you aren’t battling bored youth without enough opportunities don’t you get it yet?? They CHOOSE the gangsta lifestyle cuz it gets the adulation. They aren’t going to suddenly drop the culture and lifestyle just because there is a new rec center with basketball hoops and guitar hero… When will we ever learn? When you were in highschool there were the druggie bad asses and there were the goody goody sports types. Nothing has changed, you can’t put a football in the hands of a druggie bad ass and expect him to change!!!!!!!! Its all about Culture culture culture and subculture. This is a culture that began in jails. The only thing that will fix it is to put em all back in its their choice, let em have it and stop wasting our money on liberal utopian but unrealistic ideals and put blame back where blame belongs.
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» on 11.22.09 @ 05:33 AM
Do we pay law enforcement to entertain youth and negotiate with them instead of ENFORCING the law???
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» on 11.22.09 @ 05:35 AM
“At Dos Pueblos High, three out of eight total felony arrests were gang-related in 2008, Willis said. In 2009, none of the four felony arrests was deemed gang-related.”
Probably because they stopped “deeming them” as gang related even if they are. Makes it look like they are making progress.
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» on 11.22.09 @ 05:40 AM
“help keep students involved during the high-risk unsupervised hours between when students get out of school and parents get home, Gonzalez said.”
And there are no parents who work night jobs or have two jobs and both parents working or have only one parent from a teen pregnancy? What world does this guy live in , the world of leave it to beaver?
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» on 11.22.09 @ 05:46 AM
That the single solution, the only oner anyone can seem to come up with, of throwing more money down the drain on youth activities and youth coddling ISN’T WORKING? Obviously not or we wouldn’t still have Schneider and House. The answer isn’t preventing “at risk youth” from becoming criminals, the answer is to PUT THE CRIMINALS AWAY! The answert isn’t to HIDE THE GRAFFITI before anyone wakes up to see it, the answer is to PUT THE CRIMINALS AWAY!
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» on 11.22.09 @ 05:57 AM
When Goleta had no gang problem and no graffiti. - think it was three years ago actually. Sure, there were probably gangs but there wasn’t a gang PROBLEM. There were no more “activities” then than there are now. I also remember a time, before the City was incorporated when you could walk down Hollister in the wee hours with not a thought of a fear. I also remember a time when there was a County Sherriff car buzzing by every five minutes. Now you can go all night without seeing a one. Coincidence? I don’t think so. I recently talked to a police officer and asked them why we hardly see them in our neighborhood. He told me it was because the residents were complaining when they would drive through at night. I guess if I had a meth lab or a weapons stash I would complain too.
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» on 11.22.09 @ 06:01 AM
It’s always the “at-risk youth” causing trouble isn’t it? Let’s go after THEM.
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» on 11.22.09 @ 06:20 AM
I don’t get it. If we know that 160!! Students are “involved in gang activities” we must know who they are. WHY ARE THEY ALLOWED TO BE INVOLVED IN GANG ACTIVITIES? No - ignore them and provide soccer balls for the 750 who MIGHT become involved instead. No wonder nothing changes. What am I missing? Are we afraid it might look like racial profiling or something if we were to actually dole out punishment? Are we afraid to hurt their feelings? Would we embarrass them too much? Would we damage their self esteem?
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» on 11.23.09 @ 07:55 AM
Here we go again, Yes, why don’t we sweep the problems under that carpet rather than trying to find alternatives. Lets keep pumping tax payers money into more police enforcement.Lets just send them to jail or to a prison system that we already know doesn’t work. Lets give a few more billion dollars in tax payers money to the prison/jail system and keep having the individuals that have been in the system come out more mentally ill and disfunctional and commiting biger crimes. Where do you think they go when they are released? Right back to the same neigborhoods they were originally came from. I do agree with you that parents need to be better role models but maybe they don’t know how, amybe they themselves were raised amongst gangs, violence,etc..How can we each participate and give just a little to make this a better place for us and our loved ones to live in?
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» on 11.23.09 @ 11:21 AM
Thats what needs to happen—The anchor babies with go home, and they will not be gang members in the future—
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» on 11.23.09 @ 01:47 PM
The prison system doesn’t “work” Rosalinda? The purpose of prison used to be to keep people off of the street who are likely to commit crimes. So for as long as they are in prison, it “works”!
The purpose of prison is not to “reform” the criminal, the purpose is punishment and a deterrent to crime. The purpose is to keep hopeless criminals in a place where they cannot prey on society.
Ever since the invention of the liberal (the result of Dr. Spock) in the 60s there was this new idea that all they need is love and hugs and understanding and they can be changed. We now have early release, parole, a more cushy jail environment, counseling coddling negotiating, pleading, begging etc to “give them another chance”. I say they HAD their chance and they made the wrong choice. So keep em locked up. Then it will “work”. It makes them stop committing crimes. It works.
Here’s what will work - send out the message that if you commit a crime you have thrown your life away and then enforce it. That’s why prisons were created.
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