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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-01-11 - AGENDA REPORTS - ZERO TOLERANCE GUN VIOLENCE (2)NEW BUSINESS FBIW= SUBJECT:, AGENDA REPORT Cit I January 11, 1994 Zero Tolerance Gun Violence Policy DEPARTMENT: City Council BACKGROUND ger Approval to be presented by: Councilmember Heidt On November 30,1993, Alameda County Supervisor Don Perata wrote to Santa Clarita Mayor Jan Heidt outlining his proposal for a Zero Tolerance Gun Violence Policy. It is Supervisor Perata's desire that cities throughout California adopt similar policies. The Zero Tolerance Gun Violence Policy is a statement of intent by the jurisdiction to "get tough" on those convicted of illegal firearms possession, The policy seeks to have law enforcement, District Attorneys and courts aggressively prosecute and gain mandatory sentencing of those individuals convicted of illegal firearms possession. Council Member Heidt requests that the Members of the City Council review Supervisor Perata's correspondence. RECOMMENDATION Discuss Alameda County Supervisor Don Perata's correspondence relative to a Zero Tolerance Gun Violence Policy. ATTACHMENTS Letter from Alameda County Supervisor Perata to Mayor Heidt Proposed Zero Tolerance Gun Violence Policy Statement for Alameda County Public Hearing Statement by Supervisor Perata JH.MPM.zerotol.agd A Pr 0c, ED 0 DON PERATA SUPERVISOR. �IRD DISTRICT BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CopIES T C Co""T R E C E I V E r, U�r CITY CLERK CITY N vember 3 0, 1993 LU 0 8 1993 Pat CITY COUNCIL CM OF SANTA CLARITA Hon. Mayor Janice Heidt City of Santa Clarita 23920 Valencia Blvd. Ste: 300 Santa Clarita, CA 91355 Re: Zero Tolerance Gun Violence Policy Dear Mayor Heidt: The plaguing problem of violent crime has surpassed California's weak economy and poor schools as the top concern among local residents. The effects of gun violence are staggering. Well beyond our most basic fears about neighborhood and school safety, the steady rise in homicides, random shootings and other gun incidents is clearly having a negative impact on our society in a growing number of cities. Retail, food and beverage, entertainment and public transit businesses are noticeably suffering. Older commercial districts are failing. Property values are plummeting. Private security costs are increasing frantically, Public health costs are surging. Taxpayers now spend over $3 billion each year to treat gunshot victims, many of them adolescents. Violence has become as pervasive a childhood affliction as measles and polio of years past. Officials in Washington have finally heard the alarm. Dozens of measures are underway to address the problem. Yet absent strong encouragement from local communities, these efforts will fail. Alameda County knows this well. After years of inaction in Sacramento. we began a iocal campaign in 1988 to reduce assault weapon violence. It worked. We helped organize statewide to win passage of the Roberti -Roos Anti -Assault Weapon Act. One way to help is to show our own intolerance for illegal gun possession. I recently sponsored a "zero tolerance" policy in Alameda County. It asks local judges to get tough with anyone who jeopardizes the public's right to safety by carrying a gun outside the home or place of business, it says we no longer will tolerate light sentences or outright dismissals. We say "enough!" We have made strong stands against drunk driving and smoking in public. Can we do any less for something even more deadly? 1221 OAK STREET - SUITE 536 - OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 94612 - (510) 272-6693 NOT PRINTED AT COUNTY EXPENSE Zero Tolerance Gun Violence Policy Page 2 Enclosed is a copy of our policy, and my opening statement at the public hearing I conducted. We have won the support of the district attorney, chiefs of police association, mayors and council members, and a host of community, clergy and neighborhood leaders throughout the county. I would encourage you to adopt a similar policy in your city. My staff and I are available to assist you with any question, legal or technical concerns. Please give me or Nfike Wong a call at 510/272-6693, It is time once again for local leadership to represent the day to day realities to our state and federal officials. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerelyl.-� 40 DON PERATA BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DON PERATA Proposed Zero -Tolerance Gun Violence Policy Statement For Alameda County The Board of Supervisors hereby declares a policy of zero -tolerance for illegal gun possession within the County of Alameda. By this policy, the Board of Supervisors requests that the County's Sheriff, District Attorney, and Chief of Probation develop and implement policies, guidelines, and procedures consistent with this policy statement. Further, it is recommended that the Sheriff, District Attorney, and Chief Probation Officer seek the assistance and cooperation of the mayors, city councils, police departments, and any other city agencies within the County of Alameda in developing and implementing this policy. Policy Statement: Alameda County has been hard-hit by the increase in street crime and violence. The proliferation of firearms use has been a key factor for this increase. With more guns in circulation, those responsible for violence have easy access to weapons. Whether stolen, borrowed, purchased illegally on a black market, or purchased legally, there are too many guns which can be used illegally, While it is important to stop the flow of illegal weapons into the county, we recognize the tremendous numbers of firearms already in public circulation. It is estimated by Congressional researchers that there are almost 560,000 privately -owned guns in California alone. We cannot prevent the increase in guns kept in homes and on private property for protection, even though a recent study concludes mortal risks to the innocent rise dramatically when guns are kept in the home. However, we can take strong action against those who will bring guns illegally into the public places of commerce, institutions, or recreation. Gun violence is a critical public health problem. Guns are now the Number One killer of males aged 18 to 30. County health dollars are devoured treating victims of street shootings in emergency rooms and trauma centers. Many of these victims are young people. Illegal possession and use of firearms — especially handguns — are also having a demonstrably negative effect on the commercial business climate in many parts of the county, Street shootings, gunpoint robberies, aggravated assaults, and random vandalism are making once thriving commercial areas de facto off limits to many would-be patrons. 1221 �K STR= - waE 536 - OAK�ND. CALIMRNIA 94612 - (510) 272-6693 - F�; (510) 268-8004 From all perspectives, we must take a clear stand on illegal gun possession, We cannot condone in any way persons carrying concealable and loaded firearms. These are accidents waiting to happen, When guns are easily accessible, they will be used as an expedient "solution" to even the most minor of altercations — traffic disputes, neighborhood arguments, gang fights. Alameda County must take action now. It shall be the policy of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors that illegal firearms possession will not be tolerated to any degree within the county. It is the intention of this board that all offenders be deprived of their unrestricted freedom for a specific time and under specified conditions. We beli ' eve that incarceration, whether actual or custodial, will serve as a major deterrent to the widespread gun violence we are experiencing. This clear and unambiguous response to illegal gun possession reflects the will of the county's residents to address gun and street violence by all effiective means. We therefore request that the District Attorney and all law enforcement agencies implement policies and guidelines to insure effective and complete prosecution of illegal firearms possession, and to pursue the strictest sentences possible for those convicted of such violations. This should include mandatory sentences in plea negotiation. We ask all appropriate county agencies to develop sentencing alternatives in conjunction with strict sentencing, to be applied when appropriate and at the discretion of the court, including electronically -monitored home arrest for 120 days, and community service programs for not less than 750 hours. We further ask the judiciary of the county, in the exercise of its sentencing discretion, to consider the dire impact that illegal gun possession has on the county and its residents. We ask that all appropriate agencies develop whatever policies, procedures, and guidelines necessary, and present their recommendations to the Board of Super -Visors within 60 days. November 30,19,93 DON PERATA SUPE�50R, "IRD DIS�� BOARD OF SUPERVISORS SUPERVISOR PERATA!S OPENING STATEMENT ON BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ZERO TOLERANCE HEARING NOVEMBER 17,1993 If gun violence was a disease, we would be living in an epiden-dc. Given the toll exacted daily on the lives, psyche and economy of this community - and the burden of needless health care costs on the taxpayer - gun violence is America's contemporary public health epidemic. A behavioral epidemic. Onecaused, not by nature, but by ignorance, political indecision and well heeled special interests. As with any health epidemic, the cure is in prevention. The key to prevention is changing the way society tolerates certain conduct. If we tolerate anti -social behavior, we encourage it. Conversely, if we proscribe that behavior, we will inhibit it. Empirical evidence validates this theory. We've seen a remarkable per capita decline in smoking and driving under the influence since the adoption of public and work place restrictions and consistent mass media and classroom education. But those restrictions didn't begin at once, like the opening bell of a horse race. Rather they began fitfully, as one community and then another demanded less acceptance for the public risks caused by drunk driving and secondary smoke. Gradually, entire regions and even states established new community standards. Accordingly, it is the intent of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to declare Alameda County a zero tolerance county for persons convicted of illegal possession of a firearm in any public place.' It is the will of the majority of the residents of this county, enacted by their representatives on the board, to adopt a policy that the law enforcement agencies and district attorney of this county charge and prosecute all violations of illegal gun 1221 OAK STREET . SUITE 536 . OAKLAND. CAUFORNIA 94612 - (415) 272-6693 - FAX 4415) 26111.8004 Page - 2 - possession to the full extent of the law. It is the decision of this board to ask the courts to consider the epidemic nature of gun violence when sentencing those convicted of such crimes. The community's intolerance for such behavior, which places every woman, man and child at risk, can be most suitably expressed by swift, sure punishment that limits the freedom of the convicted for a definite time and manner, whenever deemed appropriate. It is our strong preference to ask the court to sentence all those convicted of misdemeanor possession to one of the following sentences as a condition of probation: HOUSE ARREST: 120 days of electronically -monitored arrest, approved by the sheriff and costs to be borne by the misdemeanant. CONUAUNITY SERVICE: 750 hours of court approved, sheriff or probation supervised community service. COUNTY TAIL INCARCERATION: Six months in jail. In each case, the penalty removes any ambiguity about how serious the county and the court view illegal possession, and our intolerance for it. Hopefully, this policy will add to other existing sanctions and promote still others that collectively will cause a decline in the ominous proliferation and use of guns in our neighborhoods, schools and places of work. While obviously not a definitive prescription to prevent violence, this policy will be a measurable step toward a safer democracy, where the majority declares its intolerance for aberrant behavior by separating the criminal from the law abiding.