‘We Can’t do it alone’
Stockton chief turns to community for help to address key challenges
By Eric Jones
The City of Stockton has been dealt many challenges
in recent years, and recently was walloped by a
triple-storm of unprecedented fiscal challenges,
higher-than-normal levels of violent crime, and
reductions in police staffing.
Yet, even as the storm has raged, community
optimism has endured. It has, in fact, grown
stronger.
In remarkable numbers, community members and
local stakeholders have stepped forward, offering
to work with the Stockton Police Department in
the interest of public safety, and to foster better
communication, trust and collaboration.
Meanwhile, neighboring law enforcement agencies
have also pitched in by enhancing collaborative
efforts. Difficult times bring people together for
the common good – and it is beginning to make a
positive difference in Stockton.
Even with the challenges we face, the Stockton Police
Department understands we must not waver from
our commitment to the philosophy of community
policing. Reflected in our Mission Statement, this
philosophy calls for working “in partnership with
the people of Stockton to build a safe and secure
community.”
A key word in that sentence is “partnership.”
During the recent economic climate, community
partnerships have become more important than
ever.
• Violence Reduction Initiative. A 2012 City
Initiative was designed to make the best use
of resources and technology to address rises in
violent crime and to increase police-community
partnerships. Based on violence in certain hot spots and then apparent retaliations, the
Department began real-time-policing strategies
to focus on a strategic and data-driven approach
coupled with community input to define the
neighborhood problems.
• Operation Gideon IV. The U.S. Department of
Justice Attorney General’s Office provided support
to the Stockton Police Department from the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives (ATF) to carry out Operation Gideon IV
a joint operation designed to target and remove
violent criminals illegally trafficking and
possessing firearms and to dismantle criminal
organizations operating in Stockton. Undercover
ATF special agents from throughout the U.S. were
deployed over a four-month period with local ATF
agents and Stockton police officers to conduct
covert investigations into some of the most violent
criminals in the Stockton area. The ATF worked
with prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office
and San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office.
• California Highway Patrol Partnerships. The
CHP has increased its presence in Stockton
by providing officers to work in high-crime
areas alongside Stockton Police. The CHP has
maintained both a constant presence in the City
by frequently assisting as part of our Community
Response Teams, and has also contributed large
numbers of officers to participate in short-term
high-visibility enforcement missions.
• Countywide Multi-Agency Gang (MAG) Task
Force. The Task Force was created in May
of 2012 to address violent gang members
throughout San Joaquin County. Stockton Police
and San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore
launched the Task Force in an effort to stay a
step ahead of emerging violent crime patterns.
It serves as a clearinghouse for gang intelligence,
enables consolidation of multijurisdictional
gang investigations, and sends a loud, united,
countywide message from local law enforcement
that gang violence will not be tolerated. Critical to
the team’s success has been partnering with Parole
and Probation. The cities of Lodi and Manteca
soon joined the task force as well.
• Countywide Community Corrections Partnership
Task Force. Created last fall, the Task Force was
formed to address the issue of absconding parolees
and probationers under AB 109 realignment. The
mission of the Task Force is to protect the quality
of life in our communities by reducing crimes
committed by AB 109 offenders and promoting
the work of the Community Corrections
Partnership by reducing recidivism.
• Firearms Violence Reduction Consortium
(FVRC). FVRC is a joint effort between the
Stockton Police Department and San Joaquin
County Sheriff, Probation, and District Attorney’s
Office to reduce gun violence countywide.
• Community Advisory Board. Launched in
November 2012, the board comprises a cross section of residents of Stockton, and was formed
28
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Behind The Badge
to create a greater avenue of communication
between the community and the police
department with regard to police-community
relations and public trust. The board of 24
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