Fresno police to crack down on violence after drastic increase since April
Fresno Police Chief Andy Hall has had enough of the violent crimes that have been mounting in the city since April.
Hall on Wednesday announced a citywide violent crime suppression task force in response to an alarming trend of homicides and shootings in Fresno.
The shooting death of 18-year-old Darnaisha Senegal outside a party Tuesday morning was the catalyst to the operation that started on Tuesday, Sgt. Jeff La Blue said.
In September, Hall said, there were 104 shootings and 12 homicides — and 80% of the 42 homicides in 2020 are gang-related.
Since the state’s no-dollar bailout policy was ordered in April amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Fresno Police Department has seen an upswing in shootings (126%) and homicides (55%), Hall said.
“The implementation of $0 bail, state-wide early release from prisons, and revolving doors at our local jail has caused this city’s violent crime to more than double from previous years,” Hall said.
Hall pointed at these crime statistics comparing shootings in September in 2019 and 2020.
▪ In September 2019, there were 22 shootings. In 2020, that number was 104.
▪ From Jan. 1, 2019, through Sept. 30, 2019, there were 32 homicides. In the same span in 2020, there have been at least 39.
▪ In 2019, 65% of the homicides were gang-related. In 2020, the percentage went up to 80%.
“This lack of accountability has caused a surge in gang activity in our city,” Hall said.
Fresno police and Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp recently met with state and federal law enforcement to develop an effort “towards impacting violent crime in our city.”
“We will be using every tool at our disposal to hold those accountable for the violence in our community. This will include high visibility patrols in our crime stricken neighborhoods and federal prosecution for specific gun crimes. We can no longer afford to wait for elected state officials to take action,” Hall said.
Said Smittcamp: “Both Chief Hall and I are working hand in hand with the United States Attorney’s Office and our federal law enforcement partners to put an end to this rampant gun fire, gang activity and senseless bloodshed. Violent gang members in this community are not only taking each other’s lives, but the lives of innocent bystanders.”
Fresno City Council President Miguel Arias said residents have been asking for more police presence to combat the crime.
“It’s long overdue,” he said. “They’ve been making a request for weeks now and not months. I think it’s time for us to reallocate resources away from providing private security to WalMart, Apple and the local bars that we have been as well as providing security for food distribution centers and patrolling schools that are currently closed.
“We need to take an all-hands-on-deck approach and refocus all the resources we have during this pandemic to address the neighborhood crime that’s been increasing in our areas. That’s what the neighborhood and the communities have been asking for months now.”
Last month, residents from the southwest side of the city gathered for a town hall at the Hinton Community Center with a message: stop the violence.
Joby Jones, a program coordinator and director of Fresno Street Saints, led a march on neighborhood avenues to the Hinton Community Center.
At least 100 people joined, among them Fresno police officers, local leaders and community members.
This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 3:24 PM.
