Police say crackdown on gang shootings is slowing cycle of violence in Fresno. Here’s how

A month-long Fresno police operation targeting a spiral of gang shootings and homicides is slowing the violence, but will likely continue through the remainder of 2020, Deputy Chief Mark Salazar says.

The sweep, launched in early October after homicides soared to double digits above the number in 2019, is credited by Salazar with cutting shootings throughout the city by half— from 99 in the previous month, to 50 during the operation.

So far in 2020, there have been 54 homicides in Fresno, and the operation was created after the worrisome trend began harkening back to the dark days of the 1990s, when homicides approached, but never quite reached, 100 slayings.

Salazar is crediting community involvement, along with smart policing, for starting to bring the violence under control.

“The community was feeling vulnerable,” he said. “There was a feeling of not being safe. We had to do something.”

Now, “it’s feeling calmer out there,” he added.

Hearing from Fresno community leaders about violence

Police in Fresno, as in other cities, have previously drawn criticism for a heavy-handed response to crime after officers flooded neighborhoods with officers in an effort to tamp down violence. Salazar said the strategy for the sweep was preceded by meetings between police leadership and about 20 community leaders. He plans a similar session next week and said officers and the leaders have arranged to call one another “any time.”

He said officers are using intelligence units to find out who might be planning a shooting, and using a subdued presence to head off violence.

“Stopping everybody, the community is not going to take that,” he said.

So far, police have seized 165 guns from those who aren’t allowed to own them, and more dangerous gang members are staying in jail, because police have dedicated jail space for them, Salazar said.

Police and the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office are working with federal officials to prosecute the most dangerous offenders for federal, instead of generally more lenient state prison terms.

Officers recently seized 10 guns, including a fully-automatic AK-47 at West Jensen and South Walnut avenues, an area long known as a gang-violence flashpoint.

“We are constantly changing our gang strategy,” Salazar said, to focus on where trouble may next be brewing.

Other steps, including by Fresno County Sheriff’s Office

Salazar said he is hopeful that Advance Peace, a program recently adopted by the city that matches life counselors with those prone to violence, will further quell trouble on the street.

He said efforts are being made to keep overtime low during the operation by changing the shifts of some officers and shifting assignments for special units.

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, which shares boundaries with the city of Fresno, is also taking part in “proactive measures,” to quell violence, according to spokesman Tony Botti.

He said deputies are volunteering to work different shifts, and property crime detectives are being deployed in different assignments So far, the changes have resulted in 14 arrests and the seizure of firearms.

This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 3:24 PM.