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BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDA STATEMENT
Item No.-- I
For Meeting of: February 21, 2012
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ITEM TITLE: Update on Yakima Gang Free Initiative by Lt.
Merryman
SUBMITTED BY: Interim Chief Greg Copeland
CONTACT Lt. Mike Merryman - 575 -6218
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❑ Yakima Gang Free Initiative Update
YAKIMA POLICE DEPARTMENT
MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Yakima City Council
Michael Morales, Interim City Manager
FROM: Greg Copeland, Acting Police Chief
Mike Merryman, Lieutenant
DATE: February 21, 2012
SUBJECT: Yakima Gang Free Initiative Update
Since the last City Council Update on the Yakima GFI, (October 18, 2011), the City of
Yakima GFI Steering Committee and its sub - committee members completed work on the
City of Yakima Gang Free Initiative Community Action Plan. The "Action Plan" is a
product of the Yakima GFI which will serve as the City's blueprint to implement both
short and long -term gang intervention and prevention strategies. Suppression activities,
although not the focus of the effort, are also incorporated in the Action Plan and will
remain the responsibility of the Yakima Police Department.
The City of Yakima Gang Free Initiative was formally adopted as a City anti -gang
strategy in April of 2010. Full implementation of the GFI occurred in October of 2010
with the hiring of our Yakima GFI consultant, Steve Magallan, with funding from the
City. The City of Yakima GFI is based on the five core principles of the Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's Comprehensive Gang Model. This model
and other "Best Practices" are being used by communities across the country to
effectively address gang crime and violence. As of this time we have completed the
initial contract with Magallan Consultancy. Subsequent to your approval of a contract
with Magallan Consultancy for limited technical assistance, the GFI is now working with
the City to recruit applicants for the GFI Coordinator, to be hired as soon as possible.
The RFQ for the Coordinators position was released on February 2 with a close date of
February 27 Our goal is to have the Coordinator in place, under contract, no later than
April 1, 2012.
GFI Plan & the Future
The City of Yakima GFI Community Action Plan was completed and adopted by the GFI
Advisory Group on February 2nd. The Action Plan is designed to meet the goals and
objectives of the City of Yakima related to the reduction of gang crimes and violence as
well as associated youth problem behaviors. The corner stone of the GFI Action Plan
will be the development of a Youth and Family Development Center, (YFDC). Certain
components of the GFI Action Plan will occur at the YFDC. A Yakima Truancy Center,
Referral and Screening, Individual Needs Assessments, Outreach and other related
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prevention and intervention activities will take place in or out of the YFDC. It should be
noted that it is not intended that the GFI or the City will be providing the services of the
GFI Action Plan. But rather, the GFI in collaboration with local stakeholders and service
providers will work to develop a coordinated approach to the delivery of gang prevention
and intervention efforts in the City.
Additionally, the GFI organizing and policy development body, formerly called the
"Steering Committee," has evolved into a new phase of development more focused on
advisory activities. As such, the GFI "Advisory Group" will now take the place of the
former steering committee.
Staff Assignments and Resources
Lt. Mike Merryman with the Police Department is still serving in the capacity of GF1
director with Steve Magallan fulfilling the duties of GFI consultant. Council member
Maureen Adkison is serving as the GFI Advisory Group chair. Council members Kathy
Coffey and Dave Ettl are also serving on the Advisory Group. The GFI's next staff move
will be the identification and hiring of our "coordinator," who will succeed Steve
Magallan. Funding for this position is in the budget process. Options on the table at this
point in time include possible grant funding or funding via the City of Yakima.
Recent GFI Related Activities
The Yakima GFI is receiving more recognition as time goes on as a player in the anti -
gang effort. Our coordinated efforts with local gang initiatives have resulted in a much
closer relationship with the Yakima County Gang Commission, with the YCGC giving
much credit to the Yakima GFI as leaders in our community. It is anticipated that the
approach to the development of our Action Plan will be utilized by the County and other
municipalities to address their gang issues.
Next Steps
At this time the Request for Qualifications for the GFI Coordinator is open. The City
will provide administrative oversight for the hiring of the GFI Coordinator, which we
hope to have in place by April 1, 2012. Funding for the GFI Coordinator was provided
by the City of Yakima.
Also on the table at this time is the additional funding from the City in the amount of
$140,000.00. At this time we are beginning to develop some preliminary budget
suggestions for these funds. However, with the hiring of the Coordinator and the release
of the GFI Action Plan, it has been recommended that we move carefully to ensure this
funding is most effectively put to use.
Lastly, it should be noted that an anti -gang strategy as comprehensive and complex as the
Yakima GFI is expected, in the short term, to take 12 -18 months to complete. The long-
term vision of curbing the level of gang crime and violence in Yakima, due to a lack of
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interest in our youth to join a gang, will likely be realized in 5 year increments. That
being said, the initial stages in gang crime and violence reduction will necessarily remain
the responsibility of those service providers providing suppression activities. For that
reason, the recent move to enhance the staffing of the Yakima Police Department is a key
component to the short -term goals related to reducing gang crime and violence.
Summary:
The effort to address gang crime and violence in the City of Yakima and make our
community safer has been multi- faceted involving members of the community and
representatives of our social network, and has required a clear long -term vision and
commitment on what needs to be done to make that happen. The role of those involved
in this effort has been and will continue to primarily be that of "Vision Casters" and
policy setters. The proposed GFI framework outlines the structure in which an Advisory
Group will operate to carry out the direction of the Council, to "Reduce gang related
crimes and activity within the City of Yakima."
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