Stockton Police Sweep Guns And Gangs As Part Of Crime-Slashing Effort
STOCKTON (CBS13) — Stockton Police conducted a sweep of guns and gangs on Saturday, and CBS13 was along for the ride.
It's Saturday night in Stockton, and the police were out in full force. CBS13 was there as they arrested two men with drugs on them—one a wanted felon on parole, the other on probation.
"Narcotics is the root of all even, along with gangs," said Sgt. Matt Garlick. "The problems that Stockton has—the homicides, the robberies, all the shootings—majority of that is due to the gang war."
Efforts like this have cut the bankrupt city's homicide rate in half from a record set in 2012.
"We need to focus and keep the pressure on the gang members, and it's working," said Garlick.
Stockton had seen two years in a row of record homicides because of a shrinking police force. At this point last year, there were 66 homicides; this year there have been only 28, and barring a very violent December, the city will take a big bite out of the year's numbers.
"Our homicide rate, our shootings, everything this year compared to last year, which was an all-time high, is down significantly," said Garlick.
Officer Joe Silva says the department has been taking a more proactive approach by putting more officers on the streets and in neighborhoods where repeat offenders hang out.
"Targeting the worst offenders, and getting these guns off the street, which we know could be used in other types of crimes," he said. "The funds just weren't there. That's why we had to think outside the box, be proactive and go out and search for grants that allow us to do these types of sweeps."
Those grants have paid for several outside law enforcement agencies to come in and help.
But the city expects to hire more officers by next year, thanks to Measure A, which was passed on Nov. 5 and increased the city's sales tax. That will mean even more ways to tackle Stockton crime.
"These last couple of years, we have been the most understaffed police force in the nation for a department our size, and for crime that's been here in the city," Silva said. "But with these additional officers, we are basically rebuilding the police force."
Silva says another big help in lowering violent crime has been the community rallying behind the department, reporting more crimes, and using the Stockton Police Facebook page to submit tips.
