Existing law establishes the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program, administered by the Department of Justice, to disburse any appropriated funds to community-based organizations and nonprofit agencies that prevent or deter at-risk youth from participating in gangs, criminal activity, or violent behavior, as specified. Existing law provides that specified communities with a high incidence of gang violence are included in the program.

This bill would additionally include the community of Calexico communities of Bakersfield, Brawley, Calexico, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, El Centro, Indio, Richmond, Salinas, Soledad, and Stockton in the program.

Existing law establishes the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program to provide Program, administered by the Department of Justice, to disburse any appropriated funds to community-based organizations and nonprofit agencies that prevent or deter at-risk youth from participating in gangs, criminal activity, or violent behavior, as specified. Existing law provides that specified communities with a high incidence of gang violence are included in the program.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions. additionally include the community of Calexico in the program.

Existing law establishes the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program to provide funds to community-based organizations and nonprofit agencies that prevent or deter at-risk youth from participating in gangs, as specified.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2017 - 2018 Regular Session

AB 1262 (Eduardo Garcia) - California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program

This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.

Bill Summary:

AB 1262 would add specified communities to the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program.

Fiscal Impact:

• Unknown, potentially-major cost pressure, in the range of $10 million annually, to the General Fund to fund local assistance for the program.
• Ongoing costs of $373,000 annually to the Department of Justice to hire personnel for increased workload associated with administering the program if the program is funded. (General Fund)

Background:

The Legislature established the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program in 1998. The program was administered by DOJ, which disbursed appropriated funds to community-based organizations and nonprofit agencies that prevent or deter at-risk youth from participating in gangs, criminal activity, or violent behavior, as specified. Communities eligible for participation in the program explicitly listed in statute are Fresno, Glendale, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Riverside, Santa Ana, Santa Cruz, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Monica, and Venice. Additionally, DOJ is required to consider communities that have any of the following: (i) an at-risk youth population that is significantly disproportionate to the general youth population, (ii) a juvenile arrest rate that is significantly disproportionate to the general youth population, or (iii) significant juvenile gang problems or a high number of juvenile gang-affiliated acts of violence.

Proposed Law:

This bill would add the following communities to the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program:

• Bakersfield
• Brawley
• Calexico
• Cathedral City
• Coachella
• Desert Hot Springs
• El Centro
• Fresno
• Glendale
• Indio
• Richmond
• Salinas
• Soledad
• Stockton

Related Legislation:

AB 310 (Alejo, 2013) would have added south Monterey County and Salinas to the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program and would have directly appropriated $3 million to implement the program. AB 310 was held on the Suspense File of the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.

Staff Comments:

The California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program was last funded in 2003, after which funding was eliminated as part of a budget reduction. Prior to that time, program funding averaged about $2.5 million annually. Assuming roughly the same level of funding is required for the base program, factoring in inflation, and assuming a proportional increase in funding to support the program in fourteen additional communities, restarting this program would require millions of dollars of funding annually sourced from the General Fund.

Additionally, to the extent that the program is funded, DOJ anticipates the need to hire 1.0 Associate Governmental Program Analyst, 1.0 Staff Service Analyst, and 1.0 Staff Services Manager I to administer and oversee the program. These personnel, operating expense, and equipment expenses would cost approximately $373,000 on an annual basis.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Senator Nancy Skinner, Chair

2017 - 2018 Regular

Bill No: AB 1262 Hearing Date: May 15, 2018

Subject: California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program

HISTORY

Source: Author

Prior Legislation: AB 310 (Alejo), 2013, died in the Assembly Appropriation Committee

SB 1700 (Hayden) Chapter 842, Statutes of 1998

AB 963 (Keeley) Chapter 885, Statutes of 1997

Support: California Catholic Conference

Opposition: None known

Assembly Floor Vote: 75 - 0

PURPOSE

The purpose of this bill is to extend the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program to Bakersfield, Brawley, Calexico, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, El Centro, Indio, Richmond, Salinas, Soledad, and Stockton.

Existing law states that the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program (CGCVPP) shall be administered by the Department of Justice for the purposes of reducing gang, criminal activity, and youth violence to the extent authorized in communities with high incidence of gang violence. (Pen. Code, § 13825.2, subd. (a).)

Existing law authorizes the CGCVPP to be administered in Fresno, Glendale, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Riverside, Santa Ana, Santa Cruz, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Monica, and Venice. (Pen. Code, § 13825.2, subd. (a).)

Existing law requires the community-based organization and nonprofit agencies that receive funds under this chapter utilize the funds to provide services and activities designed to prevent or deter at-risk youth from participating in gangs, criminal activity, or violent behavior. (Pen. Code, § 13825.4.)

Existing law states that communities that meet any one of the following criteria shall also be considered (Pen. Code, § 13825.2, subd. (a)(1)-(3)):

• An at-risk youth population that is significantly disproportionate to the general youth population of that community;
• A juvenile arrest rate that is significantly disproportionate to the general youth population of that community; and
• Significant juvenile gang problems or a high number of juvenile gang-affiliated acts of violence.

Existing law states that prevention and intervention efforts shall include, but not be limited to, any of the following (Pen. Code, § 13825.4, subd. (a)(1)-(4).):

• Services and activities designed to teach alternative methods for resolving conflicts, develop positive and life-affirming attitudes and behaviors, build self-esteem;
• Recreational, educational, or cultural activities;
• Counseling or mentoring services; and
• Economic development activities.

This bill extends the CGCVPP to Bakersfield, Brawley, Calexico, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, El Centro, Indio, Richmond, Salinas, Soledad, and Stockton.

COMMENTS

1. Need for this Bill

The author states:

The California, Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program was established to reduce youth participation in gangs by providing funds to community-based organizations and nonprofit agencies that prevent or deter at-risk youth from joining gangs. The cities in this bill that will be added to the program have a high number of juvenile participation in gangs.

2. Prevalence of Gang Violence in Specified Jurisdictions

The author identified the cities and communities due to recent gang involvement in those specified areas. Gang recruitment often focuses on juveniles due to their ability to be easily influenced.

In December 2017, a law enforcement raid targeted the West Side Crips in Bakersfield and three dozen accused gang members were arrested. Bakersfield has had at least 10 gang-related homicides in 2017, 11 gang-related homicides in 2016, and 7 homicides in 2015. ^[1] Additionally, Cathedral City police lead an investigation into gang members and affiliates arresting seven adults and three juveniles and confiscated 12 guns.^[2] In Coachella, a renowned gang has approximately 340 members. The gang is recruiting juveniles through offering protection; this gang’s territory dominates Coachella, but it clashes with gangs in Indio.^[3] Furthermore, Calexico, due to its proximity to the Mexican border, has become a target location for drug-trafficking. The gangs that operate the trafficking operations require U.S. citizens to cooperate in order to run smuggling operations and this leads to significant gang recruitment efforts in Calexico. ^[4]

AB 1262 would add Bakersfield, Brawley, Calexico, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, El Centro, Indio, Richmond, Salinas, Soledad, and Stockton to the list of cities that are covered by the CGCVPP, which may provide useful services for addressing increased youth gang involvement.

3. CGCVPP

There are no studies on the CGCVPP’s efficacy from internet research. Is the expansion of this program to include 12 cities in the program justified without this data? Moreover, the DOJ can implement the program in communities other than the ones explicitly listed if Penal Code section 13825.2, subd. (a)(1), (2), and (3) are met.

4. Argument in Support

According to the California Catholic Conference:

The last quarter of the 20^th century witnessed a significant growth in youth gang problems across the United States. Criminal street gangs have become one of the most serious problems in California. Gang violence, particularly assaults, drive-by shootings, homicides, and brutal home-invasion robberies account for one of the largest single person threats to public safety in the states. The Department of Justice estimates that there are as many as 175,000 to 200,000 gang members in California.

The California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program specify that communities with a high incidence of gang violence shall be included in this program. The cities named above have significant juvenile gang problems and a high number of juvenile gang-affiliated acts of violence. Including the above cities to this partnership program will help to reduce gangs, criminal activity, and youth violence.

-- END –

1. KRISTIN PRICE, “New Details on Gang Violence in the City of Bakersfield,” KERNGOLDENEMPIRE, December 23, 2017, http://www.kget.com/crime/new-details-on-gang-violence-in-the-city-of-bakersfield/886734762. ↑

2. “Cathedral City Police Arrested 5 and Seized 13 Illegal Weapons during a Raid on a Street Gang,” Desert Sun, accessed April 30, 2018, https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/crime_courts/2017/10/19/cathedral-city-police-arrested-5-and-seized-13-illegal-weapons-during-raid-street-gang/780215001/. ↑

3. “The Warlords of Coachella,” accessed April 30, 2018, https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/crime_courts/2016/03/02/coachella-gangs-brazen-violence/81219408/. ↑

4. By Richard Marosi, “One Mexico Border City Is Quiet, Maybe Too Quiet,” latimes.com, accessed April 30, 2018, http://www.latimes.com/la-fg-mexicali16-2009sep16-story.html. ↑

Date of Hearing: January 18, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1262

Author:(Eduardo Garcia) – As Amended Ver:March 30, 2017

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill expands the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Partnership Program (CGCVPP) by adding the community of Calexico to the list of communities with a high incidence of gang violence.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Unknown GF cost pressure, likely in the low millions of dollars, to restart funding for the program and expand the program to an additional community.

The program has not received funding since 2003-04 when the funding was eliminated as part of a budget reduction. Prior to that time, program funding averaged about $2.5 million annually. Assuming roughly the same level of funding is required for the base program, factoring in inflation, and assuming a proportional increase in funding to support the program in an additional community, restarting this program would require roughly $5 million GF annually.

COMMENTS:

Background and Purpose. According to the author, "Existing law establishes the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program, administered by the Department of Justice, to disburse any appropriated funds to community-based organizations and nonprofit agencies that prevent or deter at-risk youth from participating in gangs, criminal activity, or violent behavior, as specified. Existing law provides that specified communities with a high incidence of gang violence are included in the program. This bill would include the community of Calexico in the program.”

Analysis Prepared by: Jessica Peters / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 1262

Author:(Eduardo Garcia)

As Amended Ver:March 30, 2017

Majority vote

SUMMARY: Expands the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Partnership Program (CGCVPP) by adding the community of Calexico. Specifically, this bill:

1. Adds Calexico to the list of communities that are meant to be targeted, due to high incidences of gang violence, by the CGCVPP.
2. Makes technical changes to reflect the renaming of the Department of Youth Authority to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the CGCVPP, under the Department of Justice, to provide funds to community-based organizations and nonprofit agencies that prevent or deter at-risk youth from participating in gangs, as specified.
2. Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to consider communities with one or more of the following criteria:
   1. An at-risk youth population, as specified, that is significantly disproportionate to the general youth population of that community;
   2. A juvenile arrest rate that is significantly disproportionate to the general youth population of that community; or
   3. Significant juvenile gang problems or a high number of juvenile gang-affiliated acts of violence.
3. Provides that all state and local juvenile detention facilities, including, but not limited to, facilities, juvenile halls, youth ranches, and youth camps of the Department of the Youth Authority, shall also be considered eligible to receive services through community-based organizations or nonprofit agencies.
4. Provides requirements for the allocation and use of funds, as specified, for community-based and nonprofit organizations receiving funding through the program.
5. Requires funding proposals from community-based and nonprofit organizations meet certain standards, to be established by the DOJ, in order to be eligible for funding.
6. Provides that up to 2% of the amounts appropriated in the Budget Act shall be transferred each year, on approval of the Director of Finance, to the DOJ to administer the CGCVPP Program, and provides that up to 3% of the amounts appropriated in the Budget Act shall be transferred to the DOJ to provide technical assistance to community-based organizations and nonprofit agencies providing services.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, unknown General Fund (GF) cost pressure, likely in the low millions of dollars, to restart funding for the program and expand the program to an additional community.

The program has not received funding since 2003-04 when the funding was eliminated as part of a budget reduction. Prior to that time, program funding averaged about $2.5 million annually. Assuming roughly the same level of funding is required for the base program, factoring in inflation, and assuming a proportional increase in funding to support the program in an additional community, restarting this program would require roughly $5 million GF annually.

COMMENTS: According to the author, "Existing law establishes the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program, administered by the Department of Justice, to disburse any appropriated funds to community-based organizations and nonprofit agencies that prevent or deter at-risk youth from participating in gangs, criminal activity, or violent behavior, as specified. Existing law provides that specified communities with a high incidence of gang violence are included in the program. This bill would include the community of Calexico in the program."

Analysis Prepared by: Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0002531

Date of Hearing:

Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1262

Author:(Eduardo Garcia) – As Amended Ver:March 30, 2017

SUMMARY:

Expands the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Partnership Program (CGCVPP) by adding the community of Calexico. Specifically, this bill:

1. Adds Calexico to the list of communities that are meant to be targeted, due to high incidences of gang violence, by the CGCVPP.
   
2. Makes technical changes to reflect the renaming of the Department of Youth Authority to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the CGCVPP, under the Department of Justice, to provide funds to community-based organizations and nonprofit agencies that prevent or deter at-risk youth from participating in gangs, as specified. (Pen. Code, § 13825.2.)
   
2. Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to consider communities with one or more of the following criteria:
   
   1. An at-risk youth population, as specified, that is significantly disproportionate to the general youth population of that community;
      
   2. A juvenile arrest rate that is significantly disproportionate to the general youth population of that community; or
      
   3. Significant juvenile gang problems or a high number of juvenile gang-affiliated acts of violence. (Pen. Code, § 13825.2, subd. (a).)
      
3. Provides that all state and local juvenile detention facilities, including, but not limited to, facilities, juvenile halls, youth ranches, and youth camps of the Department of the Youth Authority, shall also be considered eligible to receive services through community-based organizations or nonprofit agencies. (Pen. Code, § 13825.2, subd. (b).)
   
4. Provides requirements for the allocation and use of funds, as specified, for community-based and nonprofit organizations receiving funding through the program. (Pen. Code, §§ 13825.3-13825.4.)
   
5. Requires funding proposals from community-based and nonprofit organizations meet certain standards, to be established by the DOJ, in order to be eligible for funding. (Pen. Code, § 13825.5.)
6. Provides that up to 2% of the amounts appropriated in the Budget Act shall be transferred each year, on approval of the Director of Finance, to the DOJ to administer the CGCVPP Program, and provides that up to 3% of the amounts appropriated in the Budget Act shall be transferred to the DOJ to provide technical assistance to community-based organizations and nonprofit agencies providing services. (Pen. Code, § 13825.6.)

FISCAL EFFECT:

Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement: According to the author, "Existing law establishes the California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention Partnership Program, administered by the Department of Justice, to disburse any appropriated funds to community-based organizations and nonprofit agencies that prevent or deter at-risk youth from participating in gangs, criminal activity, or violent behavior, as specified. Existing law provides that specified communities with a high incidence of gang violence are included in the program. This bill would include the community of Calexico in the program.”
   
2. Calexico and Youth Gang Involvement: Calexico, due to its proximity to the Mexican border, has become a target location for drug-trafficking. The gangs that operate the trafficking operations require U.S. citizens to cooperate in order to run successful smuggling operations and this leads to significant gang recruitment efforts in Calexico, often focused on juveniles due to their ability to be easily influenced. <http://www.latimes.com/la-fg-mexicali16-2009sep16-story.html> (as of April 5, 2017.) AB 1262 would add Calexico to the list of cities that are meant to be targeted by the CGCVPP, which may provide useful services for addressing increased youth gang involvement in Calexico.
   
3. Prior Legislation:
   
   1. AB 130 (Alejo), of the 2013-2014 Legislative Session, would have added South Monterey and Salinas Counties to the list of specified counties that have high incidences of gang violence and are included in the CGCVPP. AB 130 died in the Appropriations Committee.
      
   2. SB 1700 (Hayden), Chapter 842, Statutes of 1998, made it explicitly clear that juvenile detention facilities, including juvenile halls, youth ranches, and youth camps, are eligible communities allowed to receive prevention and intervention services for at-risk youth under the CGCVPP.
   3. AB 963 (Keeley), Chapter 885, Statutes of 1997, required the Office of Criminal Justice Planning (OCJP) to administer the CGCVPP.
      

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

None

Opposition

None

Analysis Prepared by:

Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744