From the Salinas Californian, June 4, 2008: The largest businesses in the Salinas area will be asked to host presentations by the Monterey County Gang Task Force to help end street violence, Mayor Dennis Donohue said.
At a Tuesday press conference, Donohue outlined a "social responsibility" campaign the city will undertake.
The campaign has two main elements, he said. The first is a public-relations effort involving billboards and media ads stressing the responsibility of each individual to "make good choices," the mayor said. Bilingual public service announcements will also emphasize the value of reporting information about crimes to the Police Department's anonymous tip line, he said.
"We will ask employers to adopt a billboard or sponsor radio ads," Donohue said.
In the second part of the campaign, the city will reach out to parents, sending law enforcement officers to workplaces to discuss how parents can foster the strong family ties that help prevent gang membership, he said.
"We are going to talk to parents and workers about what (violence) means to the community and the viability of the business they're involved in," Donohue said.
Donohue, past chairman of the board of the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce and now chairman of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, predicted strong support for the campaign.
"Business understands (violence) is not good for business, is not good for the community and is not good for children," he said.
The social responsibility campaign has been in the works for some time, Donohue said, "but the uptick in violence requires us to work harder and faster on plans already under way."
'Not business as usual'
Salinas police Chief Daniel Ortega also spoke, assuring the community that in the wake of 14 homicides so far this year, "This is not business as usual. Your Salinas police officers are working very, very hard. ... The detectives are working super-hard."
Ortega said officers are working overtime to strengthen street presence. He declined to go into further detail about stepped-up police response to the violence.
"I might get into tactics we don't want to put out there (for criminals to see)," Ortega said.
The city is also discussing the feasibility of developing a citizens' auxiliary patrol to help police officers prevent or quell violence, Donohue said, and will accelerate plans to open a police substation in east Salinas, where most of the city's violence occurs.
But he appears to be placing his strongest hope in the social responsibility campaign.
"Public service campaigns work over time," Donohue said, citing campaigns against smoking and drunken driving. "We must do this as a community. When the community comes forward (to assist in solving crimes), it becomes clearer and clearer over time that there are consequences."
By KATHARINE BALL • The Salinas Californian
http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080604/NEWS01...
