| For Immediate Release September 11th, 2002 |
Contact: | Marc Rozenberg Assistant District Attorney (714) 347-8518 |
The Number of Identified Gang Members in Orange County Drop to Lowest Level Since 1993
SANTA ANA – The number of identified gang members in Orange County decreased to the lowest level in almost 10 years, according to the Office of the District Attorney 2001 Annual Gang Cases Report (Gang Report).
This report covers the activities of the District Attorney’s Gang Unit, the Regional Gang Enforcement Team (RGET) and the Tri-Agency Resources, Gang Enforcement Teams (TARGET). The Gang Report includes the following highlights:
- Last year, 211 gang members were committed to state prison and 28 others were sent to the California Youth Authority.
- Criminal charges were filed against 1,445 gang-involved defendants in 2001. The number of filings in most violent offense categories continued to decline.
- RGET made 44 arrests and seized large quantities of narcotics, weapons and cash. RGET also devoted 4,467 hours in direct support of three law enforcement agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, and U.S. Customs.
- TARGET teams seized 1,088 firearms from gang members in the past 5 years. There were 1,242 targeted gang members in 2001, an increase of 15 percent over the previous year. There were 577 arrests of targeted gang members and 1,645 arrests of gang associates. TARGET deputy district attorneys filed cases against 493 targeted gang members and 91 co-defendants. There were 1,253 probation searches and 289 probation violation filings against targeted gang members.
“Fighting violent gang members has and always will be a priority in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office,” District Attorney Tony Rackauckas stated. “With the cooperation of the fine police agencies in our County, the District Attorney’s office will continue to hunt down and vigorously prosecute those who refuse to abandon the destructive gang life.”
Copies of the 35-page report can be e-mailed by request.