Police Get $400,000 Grant for Anti-Gang Efforts

In other words, more spending on government staff. WIll these outreach workers be city employees with all the benefits that implies? Are the "planners" aware whether this a one time grant or a guarantee of ongoing funding?

The part about "those attracted to the gang lifestyle" bothers me. It'd be hard to get them away from said lifestyle if comiong home is like attending a gang meeting, since some family members may be gang members as well :) henry

How many outreach workers will be hired? Also, don't the schools teach kids job skills?...if not, why are we also funding the schools?

Oh.My. GOD! WHAT a RACKET! Where do I board that money train?

Seriously...oh MY! They're kidding, right? MORE money for "at risk youth" who...as Hank says, go home to a gang meeting right in their own living rooms.

And I'm sorry, but nobody came in and taught me "job skills"..I learned those ON THE JOB.

First of all, I was not raised in a gang-infested family, and I learned social skills at home...from my parents...you know, people who weren't getting $400,000 to raise their kids.

Excuse me, but...enough. Our economy is IN the toilet. People have no health care, no jobs and nowhere to live. More poverty pimps feeding at the government trough is just what we DON'T need.

If parents weren't so terrified t o set boundaries for their own kids and actually enforce them, we might not have these kinds of issues.

It's just incredibly offensive that once again, the taxpayer gets stuck with the bill to raise other people's kids because our society is so fouled up that people can't or won't raise their own children.

And no...it does NOT take a village; what it takes is committed parents who are not poverty pimps on the government payroll, who are willing and able to set and enforce limits on their own kids. Not the schools. Not the "at risk youth" or other social programs.

Parents.Families. Committed adults IN the kids' life.

Boy, we have a lot of experts here! With so many experts, and so much expertise, why is it that we still have a growing problem with gangs, crime, and drugs?

Let's face it, simple solutions don't work in today's complex society. Sure, good parenting helps - but what of the homes that have only one parent, or those where one or both parents have one or more full time jobs to try to make ends meet? What about the influence of immigrants from LA or Mexico who bring a different culture? What about jobs for kids for the summer? Where do they turn to for guidance, for fun, for good role models?

I have seen the results of programs like these, Putting it simply, they work! There are just not enough of them! Rather than complaining about the "good old days" ("when I was their age, I walked ten miles a day to school in the snow - and both ways were uphill!") - I suggest you get off your soapbox, and get involved!

I keep hearing there's only 100 or so gang members in SB. So I quess we are going to spend $40,000 each over a couple of months to teach them what again? By what measure of success do we evaluate this effort?

I'm sure the money will go into the pockets of some unaccountable consultants who spend most their time filling out grant applications cuz that's what they're taught at the University. Just ask any of our professional students.

"Money for nothing and the chikas for free"

Let's not forget about the $150 million wasted in LA on the same problem.

"With so many experts, and so much expertise, why is it that we still have a growing problem with gangs, crime, and drugs?"

The immediate tangable reason is that there is not enough involvment from parents. The backround of this is because these same parents have to work 2 and 3 jobs in order to survive, and simply can't be hand-on enough for their kids. The secondary factor is because--as Holly point out--lack of discipline. As politically incorrect as this is to say, in decades past, teachers could actually discipline students, but the new way of thinking took over in our culture and now kids know they have nothing to fear from teachers so there is minimal de facto supervision of children these days.

"What about the influence of immigrants from LA or Mexico who bring a different culture?"

The problem is not with Mexican culture, the problem is we have impovershed people with minimal technical skills and low levels of formal education moving into an increadibly expensive area of the country creating the home life I described above. Add to that the fact that Mexican immigrants are perceived as being less intelligent even by many who consider themselves progressive liberals. When this happens, the immigrants and their children see themselves as not fitting into American culture so the low self-esteem sets in which is a nasty incubating factor for violent anti-social behavior. Also, there are simply too many people being crowded into already crowded neighborhoods creating the "rats-in-the-cage" factor.

"- I suggest you get off your soapbox, and get involved!"
We are getting involved by our attempts to raise awareness through our blogs. RC, Hank, and Sa1 are bringing up points that need to be discussed, you are calling for programs, and none of these suggestions by any of you have to be to the exclusion of the others. In short, each of us has a different calling.

Sorry, $4,000 still a lot or not enough, not sure which. I am sure that it is 2/3 of what the union supposedly gave up till they get more...

I hope Nick will follow up and let us know this summer how it all worked out. Whether the taxpayer got their money's worth.

"I hope Nick will follow up and let us know this summer how it all worked out. Whether the taxpayer got their money's worth."

We know what the result will be. The underlying causes of gang violence have been accepted and mainstreamed into society so as long as the approach is to simply throw money at treating the symptoms the problem itself will only continue to get worse.