By Laura Winn, Voice Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO- Youth violence has long been a problem in South Sacramento, but now local and state agencies are developing new approaches to this growing problem through legislation and community coalitions. Parental responsibility, improved communication, education resources and after school activities are key components to reducing youth violence according to new local and state reports.
On Oct. 11, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed five bills that aim to reduce gang violence statewide. AB 1291 known as "The Anti-Gang Violence Parental Accountability Act" is one of the key bills. AB 1291, sponsored by Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia), makes not only the youth offenders accountable for their acts, but also their parents.
According to the bill, parents of youth gang members could be sent to parenting classes to learn skills to help them identify gang behavior and to deal with this behavior through better communication with their children, help from educational resources and positive recreational activities for their children. The parenting classes would also educate the parents on the legal ramifications not only their children could face for their gang activity, but also the parents could face for "hiding, aiding or abetting their own children when a crime is committed."
The parents would be required to not only attend the classes, but also to pay for them.
“We need to help some parents take back control of their kids. There are many parents who want to keep their kids away from gangs but don't know where to turn for help. There are good parents whose kids, for some reason or another, commit violent crimes," Mendoza said in a press release.
"When someone commits a moving violation we send them to driving school. When someone drives drunk we send them to dependency classes, but when someone can’t control their kids, we look the other way. It’s time we not only require accountability but also step in to help,” Mendoza said.
AB 1291 and the other four bills signed by the governor aim to reduce gang violence for the state as a whole, but local organizations are also working to address this problem.
Sacramento Area Congregations Together (SACT) is one group that is working to build community coalitions in the South Sacramento area to address concerns about gangs and youth violence. SACT is made up of parents, religious leaders, school officials, law enforcement agencies and local government officials such as Councilmember Bonnie Pannel.
On Oct. 11, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed five bills that aim to reduce gang violence statewide. AB 1291 known as "The Anti-Gang Violence Parental Accountability Act" is one of the key bills. AB 1291, sponsored by Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia), makes not only the youth offenders accountable for their acts, but also their parents.
According to the bill, parents of youth gang members could be sent to parenting classes to learn skills to help them identify gang behavior and to deal with this behavior through better communication with their children, help from educational resources and positive recreational activities for their children. The parenting classes would also educate the parents on the legal ramifications not only their children could face for their gang activity, but also the parents could face for "hiding, aiding or abetting their own children when a crime is committed."
The parents would be required to not only attend the classes, but also to pay for them.
“We need to help some parents take back control of their kids. There are many parents who want to keep their kids away from gangs but don't know where to turn for help. There are good parents whose kids, for some reason or another, commit violent crimes," Mendoza said in a press release.
"When someone commits a moving violation we send them to driving school. When someone drives drunk we send them to dependency classes, but when someone can’t control their kids, we look the other way. It’s time we not only require accountability but also step in to help,” Mendoza said.
AB 1291 and the other four bills signed by the governor aim to reduce gang violence for the state as a whole, but local organizations are also working to address this problem.
Sacramento Area Congregations Together (SACT) is one group that is working to build community coalitions in the South Sacramento area to address concerns about gangs and youth violence. SACT is made up of parents, religious leaders, school officials, law enforcement agencies and local government officials such as Councilmember Bonnie Pannel.
SACT has come up with four recommendations for the community to work together to reduce youth violence, according to its website. The first is expansion of "pre-validation hearings," which are meetings at suspected gang member's schools where families can learn more about the situation. The second is improving communication between the school district and parents. The third recommendation is that a death review board for youth-on-youth violence be established in Sacramento. The final recommendation is that the advertising for after school activities and city services be improved because "many at-risk youth and families do not know of the resources that are already available to them."
Information on resources available to fight gang violence can be found on the Attorney General's Crime and Violence Prevention Center website, http://www.safestate.org/.
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