A new idea
OPD hopes to create anti-gang zones, seeks school district support
By JESSICA KELLER
ARGUS OBSERVER
Sunday, October 19, 2008 1:49 AM PDT
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| Ontario Middle School students head to classes Friday afternoon outside the Cub Gym. The Ontario Police Department approached the Ontario School Board Thursday about a possible city ordinance creating anti-gang zones, which would restrict access by gang members to school properties and other areas in the city and give OPD a way to enforce such a measure. |
ONTARIO — Although still in its early stages, the Ontario Police Department is working on a draft ordinance that establishes anti-gang zones around schools and other areas in the city.
OPD Capt. Mark Alexander presented the concept, which mirrors the city’s ordinance for sex offenders, to the Ontario School Board Thursday night at its regular meeting.
While the ordinance is still in draft form, the purpose of the ordinance would be to establish “protection zones” for children and others and restrict designated gang members from accessing these zones. It would not prevent Ontario students who are designated as gang members, of which there are 40, from attending school or extracurricular activities, however, if they were not suspended or expelled. OPD can also issue variances to known gang members should they apply for one to attend a school function, Alexander said.
However, he said, there have been problems at Ontario Middle School and Ontario High School of gang members recruiting and intimidating students, and OHS school resource officer Ridg Medford spends quite a bit of time addressing fights and disturbances involving gang members, many of whom are students expelled or suspended from class.
It was because of that, Alexander said, Medford, seeking a solution, researched and proposed the idea of the anti-gang zone for schools.
“And we’re just trying to make a safer environment and a better learning environment, and hopefully have just one less thing to worry about,” Alexander said.
Alexander said after the meeting, before taking an ordinance proposal to the Ontario City Council, which would have to approve the measure, he wanted to inform the school district of the idea and, hopefully, obtain school officials’ approval.
“We could do it, but what I’m looking at is that we have their support,” Alexander said, adding the ordinance would allow OPD officers to arrest gang members for criminal trespass, a misdemeanor, if they violated the ordinance provisions.
To do that, however, OPD needs to have a “victim” to establish gang members have no right to be on school property and support offenders’ removal, Alexander said.
If the ordinance was approved by the City Council, a resolution would be drawn up identifying all of the areas designated as “anti-gang zones,” and schools are great places to start, Alexander said.
St. Peter’s Catholic School and the Oregon Child Development Center officials are also interested in the concept. Other areas, however, could be designated as anti-gang zones as well, such as parks, and temporary anti-gang zones could be established as well if the need arises, such as if OPD had reason to believe gang violence was going to take place in a certain location, Alexander added.
The Ontario School Board members, however, did not vote to support the ordinance at Thursday’s meeting, instead opting to table the issue.
School Board member David Cox said after the meeting, he and board member Nancy Alvarado wanted more time to consider the proposal and hear more about the city’s gang member and affiliate identification and designation ordinance.
“I didn’t even know there was one,” Cox said.
Cox also said the board members present wanted to wait until School Board members John Phillips and Cathy Collins, who were absent, could review the proposal and they all could discuss it.
During the meeting, however, Cox said, he and Alvarado expressed the concern, having too many punitive measures without any remedial programs cause more damage than good. He said both he and Alvarado wanted to know what, if any, resources the city or community has that offer remedial or positive programs and activities for troubled youth to offset punitive measures.
Cox said after the meeting, however, he would act in the best interest of the school district and its needs when making a decision and not oppose the idea because he believes there aren’t enough remedial programs available.
“Where I ended up was I just needed more information,” Cox said. “I probably will support it because it’s our job to do everything we can to make the schools safe, and if that’s a measure that needs to happen, then we’ll support it.”
Alexander said OPD officials are taking great care to make sure the provisions of the ordinance are not too restrictive and offer due process, while at the same time providing officers an oversight tool to deal with these types of problems.
“You’re dealing with people’s civil rights, so you want to make sure that you’re doing the right thing and making sure that it’s fair,” he said.
