The City of Santa Ana is reeling from a troubling uptick in violent crime since the start of 2016. There have been 55 shootings over the past 50 days, according to authorities, and Santa Ana Police Chief Carlos Rojas said last week was the worst of them all.
Between last Tuesday and Friday, three people died in shootings and two others were wounded. Among the injured was a Santa Ana police officer.
Like many other cops who have seen a crime increase in their communities, Rojas is pointing the finger at Proposition 47. The measure, which was passed by voters in 2014, reduced penalties for some crimes and allowed some criminals to avoid jail time.
“We’re seeing more gang activity now, and I think a lot of that has to do with gang members being released into the community and more of a soft-on-crime approach,” Rojas said. Police union President John Franks concurred, saying the law has created a “perfect storm” by leading to the release of rival gang members who end up battling each other on the streets.
To make matters worse, the city’s police department is already understaffed. There are currently 67 openings in the 305-officer department which Rojas says he is working diligently to fill. In the meantime, Franks said the department is also in need of a specialized force besides the department’s gang unit to deal with the growing problem.
“Some specialized enforcement is needed,” Franks said. “We have a very, very effective gang unit, but again, when you have other enforcement teams, everything helps right now.”
Violent crime in Santa Ana went up 29% between 2014 and 2015, according to statistics from local police and the FBI. The number of shootings, meanwhile, has nearly doubled since this time last year. In response, Santa Ana’s police department began carrying out a series of sweeping probation compliance checks in mid-January, looking for signs of recent gang activity among those on probation.
Read more about Santa Ana’s crime problem here.