Pubdate: Thu, 24 Nov 2005
Source: Lake County Record-Bee (CA)
Copyright: 2005 Record-Bee
Contact:  http://www.record-bee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3384
Author: John Lindblom,  Record-Bee staff
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

US CA: THE STATUS OF CRIME IN LAKE COUNTY

LAKEPORT -- Elucidating on the status of crime in the county, 
District Attorney Gary Luck covered areas that have improved and 
those that remain as follows:

Gangs

"We (Lake County law enforcement in total) identified gang activity 
and broke it up two or three years ago. We shut it down in the 
Lakeport and Kelseyville areas where there was a group of gang 
leaders trying to establish toeholds and recruit from our schools. 
Those leaders we were able to send off to prison with tough 
prosecution. They are coming out of prison now, but we have an eye 
out for their reappearing. We are ever vigilant in that area. We have 
some young individuals out there who are wannabes,' but we do not 
have organized gang activity and I don't see it taking hold."

Methamphetamine And Drugs

"We're not alone. This is a huge nationwide problem. It's unfortunate 
that it's reached epidemic proportions in this country. Meth and 
alcohol are involved in probably 90 percent of our cases. In 
prosecuting juveniles, we have learned that it starts out with their 
using marijuana, which is even used in elementary schools. They 
graduate from 11 or 12 and by age 14 are addicted. Probably 80 
percent (of juvenile offenders) have a chronic meth problem that we 
have to try to clean up. But the gateway drug' has been marijuana."

Drunk Drivers

"Unfortunately, we have a disproportionate percentage of our 
population that's into antisocial behavior. It's been that way for a 
long time. It's improving, but we still have a long way to go. The 
reason for the problem is that housing here is cheap. People on 
welfare programs and those who don't want to work came up here and 
rented small houses for $150 to $200 a month. These people network 
and the next thing you know we have an entire community that's into 
that. But the scenario is changing; these people can't afford to come 
here anymore. They have to look to other rural communities."

Crime Movement In County

"Any time you have a rural county you are going to have people who 
don't want to be under a microscope and they're going to try to 
locate themselves where they know law enforcement is spread thin. The 
City of Clearlake had a special problem a few years ago when the 
California Highway Patrol went in to assist. Crime dropped 
tremendously, because you couldn't walk down the street in Clearlake 
without seeing a police car every 10 minutes. Then the crime problem 
moved to Clearlake Oaks, Lucerne and Upper Lake, because the sheriff 
didn't have enough resources for that large an area. But we're 
working with Clearlake Oaks to clean it up.

"We have supported the program in the north shore by prosecuting even 
the lowest type of crime, which in this particular case is public 
drunkenness (rather than letting drunks sleep it off' in jail). Since 
we started that program we haven't had one pedestrian fatality along 
the Highway 20 corridor."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman