Cassey Hawkins, Dale Fors, Nathaniel Appel, Greg Deuerlein

La Nuestra Familia

Final Assignment

December 5th, 2016

University of San Diego

Part I

Introduction:

Our proposal for a task force is to the address the problems presented by a gang that originated in the California State Prison System. This same gang also engaged in criminal activity beyond the prison walls, particularly in Northern California. The gang, Nuestra Familia (Spanish for Our Family), presents a serious threat to our communities. This gang has illustrated its power in both the streets and prisons. Not only do they have a powerful influence over local street gangs, but they are also extremely violent. Their violent tendencies can be illustrated by the recent convictions of four Nuestra Familia gang members in a wide-ranging racketeering conspiracy that involved several murders, drug trafficking and firearms offenses, among other related offenses (United States Department of Justice, 2016).

Area:

The four Nuestra Familia gang members were from Lodi, Salinas, San Mateo and Stockton. Historically, their area of operation was primarily in Oakland, but they also directed two gang members to San Jose to murder another gang member suspected of cooperating with law enforcement (United States Department of Justice, 2016). The city that our group will be focusing on throughout this paper is Salinas. In 2013, 49 Nuestra Familia gang members were arrested after a three- year investigation in Santa Clara County (San Francisco CBS local, 2013).The crimes included bank robbery, murder, robbery, drug sales, witness intimidation, weapons and gang activity violations (San Francisco CBS local, 2013). Most of the criminal activity occurred in the cities of Gilroy and San Jose. Our focus will be on the city of Salinas, as this is where the gang originated from in California. The community of Salinas has been plagued by the violence and trouble that has been caused by the Nuestra Familia. It was reported that “Latinos comprise 75 percent of the population” in Salinas (NBC News, 2014). The city of Salinas needs our task force since it has experienced some of the most violent years in history. For example, “in 2009, the agricultural community of Salinas saw its deadliest year in history, with 29 murders, all of them gang-related. That put Salinas at four times the national average for homicides per capita” (NBC News, 2014). The people of Salinas need the assistance of law enforcement personnel to prevent and stop crime from occurring within city limits.

Targeted Gang:

Although the city of Salinas is in one of the most prestigious areas in the world along the California’s central coast, the city has faced an unprecedented amount of criminal activity due to criminal street gang violence. The City of Salinas has recorded an estimated 3,000 documented criminal street gang members with thousands more associates in existence. Hispanic gangs contribute to the bulk of this staggering number of gang members and most represent the Norteno criminal street gang through various subsets who align with the Nuestra Familia. The Nuestra Familia, which formed in the early 1970’s, is also known as one of the supreme prison gangs. These Hispanic “street soldiers” are tasked with various crimes in and around the city to intimidate the community and other rival criminal street gangs such as Surenos. The “street soldiers” also are used to generate money for the “cause” of the Nuestra Familia and help to recruit future gang members to expand the gang's power. Nortenos and the Nuestra Familia have placed Salinas on the map as one of the most violent and crime ridden cities in the nation based on a disproportionate per capita homicide rate (Reynolds, 2014).

Magnitude/Type of Crime

Since the expansion of the Nuestra Familia from the prison gangs into the streets, they have created their reputation as a violent gang involved in drugs, weapons and murder (Guadalupe, 2014). As the Nuestra Familia gang expanded, the crimes they committed expanded as well. Because of the magnitude of the fear of the gang, they can expand to different regions in the United States and plant roots in many locations to keep expanding their control. The Nuestra Familia are involved in various drug crimes. This type of illicit narcotic activity ranges from dealing drugs, manufacturing drugs, extortion, racketeering, robbery and murder (KSBW, 2015). These have been the most common crimes that current members of the Nuestra Familia have been convicted of throughout our study. Other crimes they are likely to commit that are gang-related are auto theft, weapons trafficking, fraud and home invasion (Ryan, 2009). Since the Nuestra Familia started out as a small prison gang, they have been able to rise up and be considered as one of the most violent gangs on the west coast.

Conclusion

Throughout the decades, the Nuestra Familia have worked their way up to become considered one of the most violent gangs on the west coast. The gang began in Salinas (CA) and has vastly expanded throughout the west coast. We have determined Salinas to be our primary target to focus our multi-agency gang task force on since the Nuestra Familia has such strong ties to the city. The Nuestra Familia continue to commit various crimes including manufacturing narcotics, dealing drugs, extortion, assault, robbery and murder. By focusing on the dismantling of this gang, we will be able to help thwart the Nuestra Familia from recruiting new members by shattering the glorified image of high ranking members through arrests and long term prison convictions.

Part II

The City of Salinas’ Norteno gang epidemic has ballooned to a large magnitude due to a multitude of socio-economic factors and individual characteristics. Socio-economically, the City is affected by its geographical location, limited scope of industry, relative poverty and generational succession. The City of Salinas is in the center of the County and does not border any other city. It is essentially located on an “island” with limited exposure to other social impacts. The City is also located near Salinas Valley State Prison and Soledad State prison, which house many Nuestra Familia gang leaders who are influential in recruitment and retention of teens who become gang members in the city. Economically, the City of Salinas and its surrounding area is comprised of a successful agricultural industry which contributes to some of the City’s success. Despite this sole multi-billion-dollar industry, there is a large disparity between the wealthy agricultural businesses and the poverty-stricken farm laborers they employ which make up most of the city’s population. These poverty level farm laborers generally work 12-16 hours a day and are not home to supervise their children or provide guidance, which usually leads to teens in Salinas being easily influenced by the Norteno gang structure led by the Nuestra Familia. Many of the teens who join the Norteno gang and who commit crime in the city live and grew up in multi-family housing settings, have minimal food, no opportunities for sports or activities and are generally poor. Because of this, many Norteno gang members have stated they join gangs out of survival. The City of Salinas is also comprised of one of the lowest educated populations in the United States. Poor educational settings and violence within the schools have also led to the rise in gang participation. Many others succumb to generational gang participation and are influenced by familial gang members. In Salinas, there are as many as five to six generations of Norteno gang members who have been groomed to commit crime and violence.

Since Salinas’s primary industry is in agriculture, they have come to be named the “Salad Bowl of the World,” supplying produce to almost two-thirds of the rest of the nation (Xia, 2015). Agriculturally oriented cities, like Salinas, rely on low-wage workers and thus are often poor and plantation-like in their social structure, creating a vicious cycle (Mathews, 2015). In a 2003 case study, Salinas farmworkers were in deplorable work conditions, working long hours stooped over in extreme heat and cold, without breaks. Farmworkers reported considerable pressure to work long hours at a fast pace regardless of illness or injury due to fear of losing their jobs or losing income (Strochlic, 2003). Per the 2014 U.S. Census, the high school graduation rate is about 61%, and only about 12% continue to receive higher education. Considering Salinas is mostly used for agricultural purposes, there have not been enough diverse industries for people with little education to branch into, making it more difficult for those in the lower class to escape poverty. Salinas is about one hour south of Silicon Valley and San Francisco, and just east of Monterey, which are all higher income communities with higher housing costs. This causes those who work within those cities to seek cheaper housing options in lower income communities, such as Salinas, which in turn drives up the cost of living within those areas. Due to the influx of outside money into the local economy, housing options become priced out of affordability for lower income residents. These socio-economic factors that continue to keep the lower class in poverty have made the next generation of children susceptible to gangs, by offering a life of wealth, family and love through crime, death and drugs.

There are several factors that can help to explain the reason for why the gang culture is so prevalent in Salinas. Certain issues, like gun control, drug-centered arguments, and drug sales all have increased the number of gang-related killings in the city. The homicide rate has increased significantly since last year. For example, Reynolds (2016) states that “the homicide rate has now reached 26 deaths for every 100,000 individuals, which is significantly worse than last year’s rate of 10 murders per 100,000 people.” Education and schooling is one of the biggest differences between Salinas and other cities in California. Matthews (2015) states that “Salinas is younger, more foreign-born, and less educated (12 percent have bachelor’s degrees) than the rest of the state. Youth violence rates and child poverty are among the highest in the entire state.” Education within Salinas was ranked the second lowest in the nation at one point in 2014. Mendez (2014) states that a rankings list was created by WalletHub, who “looked at the percentage of adults 25 and older with a high school diploma, with college experience, the number of doctors per capita, and the percentage of workers with jobs in computer, engineering and science fields, among other things.” The educational system currently set in place in Salinas needs to be improved so that crime can be reduced on a month-to-month basis.

As mentioned earlier, Salinas is located near the Salinas and Soledad State Prisons. The proximity exacerbates the city’s gang problem by creating a major hub for gang activity. Many associates of gang members move close to the prison to be near confined gang members (Cohen & Erlenborn, 2000). The relationship between the Nuestra Familia prison gang and the street gangs in Salinas is a vicious circle. Nuestra Familia which uses the Norteños as its foot soldiers, has a large presence in Salinas Valley State Prison. Newly incarcerated individuals, even if not affiliated as gang members, typically align themselves with Nuestra Familia to survive. Once released, they carry out orders and instructions from Nuestra Familia and further indoctrinate themselves into the gang culture (Clarke & Onufer, 2009).

Many parolees do not remain out long as the recidivism rate (the rate in which they return to prison during a three-year follow up period) is high. The recidivism rate in California among felons age 24 and younger, which aligns with the age of most gang members, is 67.2 percent (Research, 2014). For comparison, the average recidivism rate for all felons released during

fiscal year 2008-09 was 61.0 percent (Research, 2014). With such a high re-entry rate, one can see how the relationship between incarcerated members of Nuestra Familia and street gang members perpetuate the cycle of gang activity in and out of prison.

PART III

The City of Salinas has been having an extreme amount of difficulty within its town limits due to violence, gang activity, and narcotics. One of the issues within Salinas that has been the cause for its sky-high homicide rate is the prevalence of gangs. More particularly, the Nuestra Familia gang is a group of individuals that has illustrated the capacity to be brutal, vicious, and threatening. Civilians in the local community have started to create efforts to hinder gang violence in the city. Beltran (2016) states that “Salinas native Jackie Cruz spoke to families about how she managed to overcome trouble with drugs and law.” In this same article, Beltran (2016) illustrates one gang prevention measure in that it (the City of Salinas) hosted a gang prevention summit to talk about how to avoid gangs and the violence that is associated with them.

Furthermore, there have been other actions taken by different departments within the United States to help prevent gang problems within Salinas. The Department of Justice is one example of an organization that has helped to resolve complications within the city. Salinas is one of just six cities in the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, which began two years ago. At the direction of President Obama, the Departments of Justice and Education launched the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention to begin a national conversation concerning youth and gang violence, raise awareness, and elevate the issue to national significance (“United States Attorney Haag Speaks in Salinas As Part of National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention.”). As stated in the online article, the National Forum was created to explore options as to how federal agencies could help local efforts in stopping gang-associated violence.

Community Alliance for Safety and Peace (CASP) is a group of Salinas stakeholders that includes the Salinas/Monterey County governments, education, and nonprofit leaders. They (CASP) have made it their mission to reduce violence to build a better future for the youth of the community by uniting in a campaign called “For Our Future” (Arreola 2016). CASP is addressing the issue of youth gang violence through a gang intervention initiative that takes place from 2013 to 2018. CASP is utilizing principles from Boston’s 1996 Operation Ceasefire, where local, state and federal agencies came together to fight youth gun violence by using crime data analysis and using a set of intervention tactics that strongly deter violent crimes. The results from Operation Ceasefire reduced firearm violence by 68% in a one year period (NIJ, 2008). CASP is attempting to use similar intervention tactics to deter at-risk youth from joining gangs by creating profiles that prioritize who would be at most risk of joining a gang. From there, the initiative provides tailored resources to assist the youth and their family. The data-driven portion can determine what services would be needed for which youth and recognizes that some may need substance abuse treatment while others may need therapy or family counseling (Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs, 2013). This is a tactic that is ideal to use in the target area to focus on the specific needs of those that are at severe risk of joining gangs.

The Salinas Comprehensive Strategy for Community-wide Violence Reduction combines all stakeholders to one operational structure that manages and assesses the progress of the initiative. The Salinas Comprehensive Strategy for Community-wide Violence Reduction is research and data-driven. Furthermore, it makes sure that the youth are at the center and ensures meaningful engagement with the community (youth.gov 2016). This comprehensive initiative constantly analyzes its progress to determine if changes need to be made to be more effective, while at the same time allowing the community to provide input and ideas, treating community members as partners and not just disregarding them. The City of Salinas understands that they have a gang problem and that the only way to effectively intervene with the problem is by uniting together. By coming together as a whole, they will then be able to address the issue with individuals, families and the community as a whole. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) would be ideal to have in place so that each stakeholder understands their role and how they can help resolve the issues of violence reduction within the community.

To address the violence occurring within the City of Salinas by gang members, specifically the Nuestra Familia and Norteno criminal street gang members, the Salinas Police department along with a collaboration of other agencies has in years past conducted suppression efforts. These suppression efforts have been made through the formation of gang units such as the department’s Violence Suppression Unit and the Monterey County Joint Gang Task Force. Both units effectively suppressed crime by adding additional resources to conduct high visibility street patrols and contact teams. Also, these units both worked with other agencies and conducted probation and parole searches. These searches were performed on identified gang members, residences, and persons to hold compliance. Through these efforts, the units could create intelligence arms and effectively addressed issues arising in the community. Moreover, both units could gain knowledge of how to combat the gang in the most effective way by mapping crime trends, gang leadership and membership. A lot of this information was cultivated through the information of informants.