Summary
[Brian Contreras] is the executive director for Second Chance Youth, a nonprofit gang violence prevention and intervention program in [Salinas]. "If you ask me, those two low years were the anomaly," Contreras says of 2005 and 2006. "14 murders for 2007 didn't surprise me one bit," he says.
"It's the partnership; that's what works," Contreras says. "Particularly with [Adult] Probation. Because if you're a kid on probation, you have no rights. So when [Adult] Probation is with cops? There we go. The police officers are the referees of the streets. But the probation officers, they're the coaches. They can pull you out any time they want to, and the kids know it."Most experts agree that the key to gang violence is three-pronged: suppression, intervention and prevention. "We've got the suppression part down," Contreras says. "But there's no money for the intervention and prevention parts. None. So those numbers of 14 and 15, they're not gonna change. But do I want it to stay that way? Hell no. I liked it better when it was seven."See the full content of this document
Extract
Murder Rate Doesn't Shock or Awe
There were 14 murders in Salinas in 2007. Put that statistic up against the seven murders recorded citywide in 2005 and another seven in 2006, and suddenly 2007 looks like a particula...
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