The following is a digest of information from the 2009-2010 Fresno Mayor's Proposed Budget of items directly and indirectly related to gangs. As updates are learned they will be provided.
Mayor’s Gang Prevention Initiative: The Mayor's Gang Prevention Initiative (MGPI) will be reduced to one Community Coordinator funded by the General Fund, and two grant‐funded staff assistants. MGPI will become more reliant upon grant funding and will take advantage of existing service providers and community partnerships. MGPI will increase its focus on intervening in the lives of gang members, and will allow ongoing proactive prevention efforts to be addressed by Parks and Recreation and the Police Activities League. The following highlights statistical outcomes of the program.
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548 referrals were made to the program in FY 2008‐2009 as the result of outreach community recruiting efforts.
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A total of 3,333 gang referrals have been received since the inception of the program on July 1, 2006.
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205 participants completed the clinical assessment process in FY 2008‐2009.
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747 participants are in various stages of their prescribed treatment plan, based on priority of need since February 2006. Upon completion of one service, a participant enters the next stage of prescribed services until the entire program is completed.
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A total of 222 validated gang members, 287 gang associates, and 486 “wanna‐be’s” are currently receiving services.
The Department is actively tracking arrest rates on all participants in the MGPI program on a weekly basis. The participants who are receiving services from the MGPI are showing progress in recidivism rates. According to the Fresno Police Department’s Crime Alert Notification program, the current recidivism rate for MGPI participants is 7.19 percent compared to 14.2 percent observed last year. Cost: $110,700
PAL/Life Skills Program: The Lifeskills program currently taught in the middle schools will be staffed at the level of funding provided by Fresno Unified. There is currently funding to continue with four Lifeskills Instructors. These Lifeskills Instructors will assist in the MGPI participant screening process and PAL. PAL will now concentrate its efforts on the Martial Arts and Boxing programs which serve over 800 youth in our community. The PAL program will be staffed with two General Fund employees, which will require a stronger volunteer effort and increased support by the Fresno PAL board for funding. These volunteers will continue serving the children and once again build a strong volunteer‐based program. Cost: $412,100
Graffiti Enforcement Bureau: The Graffiti Enforcement Bureau is responsible for abating graffiti, investigating graffiti vandalism, prosecuting the vandals, operating a juvenile offender work program, as well as providing code enforcement related to graffiti on private structures. The Graffiti Bureau components work collaboratively with a singular focus of eradicating graffiti and beautifying our community.
During calendar year 2008, the abatement team removed 4.0 million square feet of graffiti as compared to 3.2 million square feet in 2007, 2.5 million square feet in 2006, and 1.9 million in 2005. Reported graffiti was also removed by abatement team members within 24 hours 95.9 percent of the time in 2008. While the program budget declined by $308,400, the Graffiti Enforcement Bureau will continue with the vision of making Fresno a graffiti‐free community by pursuing additional grant opportunities and maximizing volunteer efforts. Cost: $1,806,700
COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP): The budget includes the re‐establishment of 55 Police Officer positions through this newly created grant program. The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services has indicated that up to $1 billion in grant funding was appropriated for this initiative through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This program falls under a competitive grant designed to address full‐time police officer position needs and has a three year funding life cycle. The CHRP grant will only fund new sworn officers at entry level (i.e., six months at recruit, 12 months at step A, then graduating up to 12 months at step B). The grant pays for salaries and fringe but does not pay for uniforms, overtime, employee leave, and premium pay.
The proposed 55 sworn positions are budgeted with two funding sources‐General Fund and CHRP grant. Due to an anticipated September 1, 2009 funding date, gap funding has been budgeted under the General Fund totaling $779,100. This will provide a financial bridge to fund these positions for the first two months of Fiscal Year 2010. The grant is budgeted at $3,187,600 to cover the remainder of the fiscal year. Cost: $3,966,700
The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Recovery: The JAG Recovery program is authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Program is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. The JAG Recovery Program provides agencies with the flexibility to prioritize and place justice funds where they are needed most. This grant has a four year life cycle and falls under a non‐competitive status, and $1,658,400 has been allotted to the City of Fresno per statistical calculation by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The City will receive this funding by meeting the grant conditions.
The Department’s budget utilizes this grant program to re‐establish 15 permanent and 6 temporary civilian positions. The program is budgeted at $836,600 for re‐establishing positions and $821,800 for re‐establishing most of the positions for FY 2011. Gap funding was not budgeted for this program due to an anticipated July 1, 2009 funding date. Cost: $1,658,400
Byrne Competitive Grant: Along with the CHRP and JAG Recovery program, the Byrne Competitive Grant is also authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This grant is similar to traditional JAG grants and is focused on ensuring job growth and job retention. However, the Byrne Competitive grant is not based on a formula; the BJA administers these funds based on a competitive application process. This program is a one time grant with a 24 month life cycle.
The Department’s budget incorporates this grant program in order to re‐establish 35 permanent and two permanent part‐time civilian positions. Due to an anticipated August 1, 2009 funding date, gap funding has been budgeted under the General Fund totaling $142,600, while the grant is budgeted at $1,664,400 to cover the remainder of the fiscal year. Cost: $1,807,000
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