Additional efforts will be made by the Sacramento Police Department and Sacramento Sheriff's Department to prevent youth involvement in gangs by promoting interactions between police officers and the youth. The mayor is calling this approach a paradigm shift, and it will be part of Sacramento's first comprehensive plan for gang prevention, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday at the Boys & Girls Club on Lemon Hill Avenue. The emphasis of the program will be heavy on prevention and intervention instead of just enforcement and incarceration, according to the mayor. Johnson said the program will focus on school literacy enrichment, strengthening the relationship between the Sacramento com

Sacramento Police Department press release: The Sacramento Police Department arrested 21-year-old Rasaan Zawadi for the unprovoked attack on a female that was captured on video and believed to have been posted by the suspects. On October 12, 2011, the Sacramento Police Department was made aware of a video of an assault on a female that had gone viral on the Internet. We received calls from throughout the country inquiring about the investigation. Detectives assigned to the case discovered that patrol officers had responded to an assault call on October 1, 2011, at approximately 12:11 p.m., near Center Parkway and Mack Road. The officers arrived finding that the suspects had fled the scen

When buildings become slums and havens for gangs, prostitution and drug use, a little-known city program can force landowners to clean them up or – in extreme cases – be evicted. The Justice for Neighbors program began in 2006 and allows multiple departments – including police, code enforcement, the city attorney’s office and park rangers – to focus their efforts on some of the worst slumlords and dangerous properties in the city, resolving an average of 17 cases per year. “Essentially, it’s a public and social nuisance (enforcement) team,” said Gustavo Martinez, supervising deputy city attorney. “We meet every month and evaluate the worst security issues.” Property owners are required

California Attorney General Kamala Harris stressed the need to treat the gang problem with a community approach using prevention, intervention and enforcement. Harris was the guest speaker at Mayor Kevin Johnson’s gang forum Tuesday night in Meadowview. “We have to be smart on crime,” Harris said, eschewing the old notion of the only two choices being to be hard or soft on crime. She likened the gang violence problem to a public health problem like an epidemic: The best way to prevent it is through inoculations and early treatment, but by the time it is being dealt with in the emergency room, it’s too late, and too expensive. Harris said combating gang violence should be dealt with regi

Almost six months have passed since Victor Hugo Perez Zavala was shot and killed at the September Second Saturday Art Walk, and no arrests have been made. According to police, gang-related crime like the Second Saturday shooting is hard to solve for a variety of reasons. “In a nutshell, (the case is) wide open,” said Sgt. Bob McCloskey of the Sacramento Police Department’s homicide division. “We’re still trying to run down every lead we have.” McCloskey said police are currently investigating leads, but declined to say how many or comment on how good the leads are, given that it’s an active investigation. “In each case, we’re going to take and fully investigate it,” he said. “On open c

Organization leaders, educators, youth advisers and concerned parents met Tuesday at the Pannell Meadowview Community Center to hear Rayford Johnson speak on gang violence and the "thug" mentality. About 40 audience members came in from all over the Sacramento area to be a part of this presentation. This workshop was part two of six of the "Addressing Thug Life" workshop series held by the city of Sacramento and Faith Leaders Initiative. Johnson is a photojournalist-turned-youth correctional adviser. He is also a licensed minister, author of the book, Thug Mentality Exposed, and director of the anti-gang initiative website, thugexposed.org. Having spent time with inmates in California'

#1. WEST SAC- West Sacramento police and Davis SWAT served warrants on several locations in West Sacramento related to recent gang activity occurring in the city including the fatal shooting at the Ortega's Night Club. Two people were arrested and a medium sized marijuana grow was located during the operation. #2. SOUTH SAC- A shooting occurred in an apartment on 44th Ave near 39th St in south Sacramento. The victim was shot once in the leg and transported to Kaiser South Trauma Center. Further details were unavailable at the time. #3. SAC COUNTY- A shooting occurred at an apartment complex on Tuolumne Dr near La Riviera Dr in Sacramento County. One victim was shot in the arm while stand

May 20, 2009 West Sacramento, CA Though the community near Cummins Way and Keegle Drive was packed with police cars, news vans with communications masts in the air, and a large amount of onlookers, there was a tangible quietness that hung in the night air. Neighbors and passersby looked on in stillness and hushed tones as investigators meticulously and patiently combed through the scene in the middle of the blocked off street of this West Sacramento shooting tragedy. Neighbors related that at approximately 6 p.m. two men with pistols walked up to a neighbor’s house and opened fire. Occupants of the house under fire came out with a shotgun and returned fire on the two men. When the shoo

According to Forbes, and as reported by Yahoo! (and as read and repeated somewhat lazily by me from my armchair) Stockton is the fifth most dangerous city* as measured in terms of violent crimes per capita. Top 5: Detroit - 1,220 violent crimes per 100,000 people Memphis - 1,218 Miami - 998 Las Vegas - 887 Stockton - 885 From the article: "Stockton is a major transit point along the I-5 corridor on the way to Seattle and Vancouver," says [Megan Wolfram, an analyst at iJet Intelligent Risk Systems, a Maryland-based risk-assessment firm]. "A lot of it is similar to crime happening in the Southwest. For the most part, it's drug gang on drug gang." And the methods: *"To determine our

The City of Sacramento Department of Neighborhood Services announces: The City of Sacramento, Office of Youth Development (OYD), Sacramento Police Department, and U.S. Attorney’s Office are working together on the campaign. The campaign is designed to divert youth from gangs. The campaign consists of billboards throughout the City of Sacramento, public service announcements aired on local television stations, and hundreds of posters. Research has shown that effective, community based programs can keep at-risk youth from joining gangs, and rehabilitate those already in gangs. Accordingly, the campaign links parents, adults, and young people to the City of Sacramento’s information line, 3-