By Carolyn Carlson
The Albuquerque Journal
The state already has a Web site that’s supposed to tell us about sex offenders who live in our communities.
Soon, Albuquerque may have one to tell us who the convicted gangbangers are.
City Councilor Ken Sanchez, who represents parts of Albuquerque’s West Side, recently introduced two proposals aimed at giving law enforcement officers new tools to combat gang violence.
One proposal would set up a Web site registry of people convicted of gang-related crimes. Among the information would be what crimes they’re convicted of, their legal names and aliases, birth dates and places of employment. Sanchez said the registry would include gang members’ addresses for police, but not for the general public.
The other proposal would increase penalties for those convicted of gang-related crimes.
“With about 7,000 identifiable gang members and only six (Albuquerque Police Department) gang unit officers, we need tougher laws, more funding for more officers and we need to give police more tools,” Sanchez said Wednesday.
Trish Hoffman, APD spokeswoman, said any additional information regarding gang activity or members is helpful for police officers.
“Anything that would help law enforcement do its job is an added benefit for our officers,” Hoffman said.
Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White agreed. “Anything to make the life of a gang member a little more miserable is fine by me,” White said Wednesday. “But ultimately, the solution is not putting them on a Web site but putting them behind bars.”
The proposals have been introduced but have not been discussed. Sanchez said he hopes they will be on the agenda for the next council meeting, scheduled for Sept. 5. In the past year, several young people have been killed by gang violence.
The cases cited by Sanchez: 14-year-old Jeremy Salazar was shot one year ago today during a drive-by shooting in the North Valley.
Police determined that Salazar’s brother was the intended target.
No arrests have been made.
In April 2006, Brian Carrasco, 17, was shot and killed in the parking lot of a Coors SW gas station by suspected gang members. A 19-year-old was arrested in April of this year.
December, 15-year-old Israel Garcia was shot and killed while he played football in his Valley Gardens neighborhood. No arrests have been made in this case. Police say the shooting was gang-related.
In March, Natalie Mendoza, 12, was shot and killed while sleeping in her upstairs bedroom. Police said the drive-by shooting, which also injured Natalie’s twin sister, was gangrelated.
No arrests have been made.
In less violent crimes, gang graffiti and vandalism take a toll on officers and the public at large.
“This will be an important tool for the Police Department,” Mayor Martin Chávez said Wednesday.
He said that police routinely photograph and document gang members but that this will formalize the procedure.
“It will go a little further by providing background information,” Chávez said.
He said such registries are already in place in some municipalities in California. But tougher laws are not the only resource needed to help keep gang violence down.
Sanchez said more funding needs to be funneled into prevention instead of incarceration. Sanchez said the proposal calls for allowing those on the registry to get off if they complete a gang intervention program.
Sanchez said he has been working with Mayor Chávez, Youth Development Inc. and other intervention programs to draft the proposals.
“Intervention programs are critical and effective,” Sanchez said.