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Welcome to the home page of the Monterey County Joint Gang Task Force!

What's New on Gangtaskforce.org

  • We have just added a GTF stats page. Check back here often or click the botton above for information on some of the statistics that the Gang Task Force collects.
  • With all of the news stories about gangs on and My Space and Youtube we have included some information and links to report gang related content to these respective sites. Find it on the "links" page or click here.
  • See the documentry produced by local news affiliates KION/KCBA about the Monterey County Joint Gang Task Force titled "The Black Snake: Inside the Monterey County Gang Task Force". Watch it here.
  • UPDATE: Link fixed 03/25/08.

    Formation of the Gang Task Force

    In early 2004 the City of Salinas and County of Monterey requested federal assistance for the formation of a Joint Gang Task Force (GTF). Senator Barbara Boxer and Congressman Sam Farr secured grant funding through the discretionary grant programs in the FY 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Act for $3.1 million and $375,000 respectively.

    Confident that funds would be received, City and County leadership elected to initiate GTF operations at local expense with the understanding that local expenditures would be reimbursed upon the receipt of federal funds.

    The Gang Task Force was made operational on March 27, 2005. Under the Command of a Salinas Police Commander, the Task Force was staffed with one Sergeant each from the Salinas Police Department and the Monterey County Sheriff´s Office. They supervise four Salinas Police Officers, four Monterey County Sheriff´s Deputies and two Monterey County Probation Officers. A Deputy District Attorney contributed by the Monterey County District Attorney´s Office prosecutes criminal cases brought forth by Task force officers.

    After two weeks of training, GTF "hit the streets" on April 9, 2005. GTF leadership contacted every jurisdiction in Monterey County to informally assess their individual gang problems. With this information, GTF officers have conducted gang enforcement activity in nearly every jurisdiction in Monterey County, oftentimes at the specific request of local law enforcement agencies.

    On January 3, 2007, two Officers from the California Highway Patrol were added to the Monterey County Joint Gang Task Force. With the integration of these two additional officers and another patrol car, the GTF now has the ability to reach out even further into Monterey County.

    Mission Statement

    The continuing gang problem in Monterey County and in the City of Salinas necessitates a coordinated and concentrated effort on the part of all agencies to effectively combat gang violence and gang associated problems. City and County have agreed to work in conjunction with each other to effectively combat gang issues and to investigate gang related criminal activity pursuant to California law. These enforcement efforts shall be accomplished through the utilization of a gang task force concept to supplement individual agency enforcement efforts.

    Use of this task force concept is intended to insure a well-coordinated, countywide enforcement program, and increase the flow of gang related information among various law enforcement agencies within Monterey County. This formalized gang task force shall be called the Monterey County Joint Gang Task Force and the goals and objectives are to:

    1. Reduce the occurrence of gang related crimes.
    2. Identify and apprehend gang members responsible from criminal conduct.
    3. Assist Monterey County law enforcement agencies with specific gang problems within their jurisdiction and coordinate with law enforcement counterparts outside the county, focusing on gang related information.
    4. Gather and disseminate gang information to affected agencies in a timely manner.
    5. Provide training to Monterey County law enforcement agencies upon their request, in the areas of gang related activity/enforcement.
    6. Conduct or coordinate public gang awareness presentations.
    7. Meet with community members to discuss the impact of criminal gang activity and collectively work toward a realistic solution.
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