SACRAMENO, CA—Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim) joined Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and other local officials in Oakland last Friday to roll out a new statewide anti-gang initiative to fight gang violence in California.  

“These gangs survive in large part because they are so tightly organized and managed.  We must do the same and form a united front at the local, state, and federal level to resolve the gang problem in California.  This takes leadership, and I am proud to join the Governor’s and Speaker Núñez’s effort to pull together law enforcement and political leaders from up and down the state to tackle the state’s gang problem,” said Assembly Public Safety Committee chairman Jose Solorio.

On Friday afternoon, Governor Schwarzenegger, Assemblyman Solorio, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellumns and other local officials toured the facilities of Youth Uprising, a non-profit dedicated to being a leader in the advancement of youth leadership. 

After the tour, the Governor rolled out a new anti-gang initiative, called the California Gang Reduction, Intervention, and Prevention Program (CalGRIP) that will target more than $48 million in state and federal funding toward local anti-gang efforts.  These efforts will include job training, education and intervention programs, and will give law enforcement the tools to closely track gang leaders both inside state prisons and when they are released on parole.  For more information on the initiative visit: http://gov.ca.gov/issue/anti-gangs.  

“Our statewide strategy must include suppression, prevention, intervention, and proven re-entry programs.  I look forward to working with the Governor and other legislators to pass bills and budget proposals that are balanced and will provide the most effective short-term and long-term results,” said Assemblyman Solorio, who is also on the Assembly Select Committee on Violence Prevention. 

The California Department of Justice estimates that there could be as many as 300,000 gang members in the state.  In Assemblyman Solorio’s home city of Santa Ana, the Santa Ana Police Department reports that there are 118 gangs with more than 5,000 gang members.