East Bakersfield Residents Take a Bite out of Crime

Residents of East Bakersfield are organizing to combat crime in their community with the help of a nonprofit called Faith in Action Kern County.

According to Faith in Action Kern County director Andrae Gonzales, in May of 2006 members from a group of churches in east Bakersfield organized to do some issue identification research in the community. This “local organizing committee” (LOC) of Faith in Action Kern County, known as the East Bakersfield Faith Community Alliance, soon realized that public safety was a huge issue, especially in certain areas. East Bakersfield is very economically depressed and faces problems such as gang violence and graffiti. There was a liquor store across the street from the Kern County sheriff’s substation where a lot of illegal things were alleged to be happening such as fights and prostitution.

Residents and Community Leaders Organize to Address Public Safety Issue

It became clear to the community that there wasn’t adequate staffing or police presence in east Bakersfield. In response, concerned residents from the East Bakersfield Faith Community Alliance created a candidate’s forum for the new sheriff election. At this forum, residents asked candidates to sign a declaration committing to work with the community. Over 300 people came out in support, and about 20 community leaders were involved. There were organizing meetings leading up to the forum with roundtable discussions where residents had the opportunity to hear some different points of view before making their recommendations. Members of the LOC also went door to door in the community to find out the needs of residents, interviewing over 200 people about what they wanted from the sheriff’s department.

In February of 2007, the East Bakersfield Faith Community Alliance organized a community meeting with new sheriff Donnie Youngblood at a local church. About 650 residents attended this meeting, where the sheriff agreed to explore how to better staff the substation and to work on improving the relationship between the sheriff’s department and the residents.

Members of the Faith Community Alliance and the Sheriff have met every 6 months since then, and these meetings often attract a couple of hundred residents.

“This put us in touch with people who live in the community,” says Sheriff Youngblood. “There was no finger pointing or accusations. They came forward with solutions as well as problems. The meetings were productive and there was a give and take on both sides of the perspective. We found out what their issues really were.” Unlike other community meetings that Sheriff Youngblood has attended, meetings organized through Faith in Action Kern County have been notable for not putting anyone on the defensive. “Most other meetings that are called for by the community happen because there is a problem and they think the only way to handle the issue is their way. Here, we have the ability to tell people what we can and can’t do, and they have helped us work through issues in a way that will benefit them.”

Resident Outreach and Engagement Improve Relations Between the Sheriff's Department and the Community

The Sheriff says these meetings have improved relations between east Bakersfield residents and the Sheriff’s department. “What the coalition did was outline things that they wanted to know if we could do- they listed them and held us accountable. At each meeting we checked in to see if we had accomplished each item and how we might do so. It was a non-accusatory and collaborative environment. I have been to meetings where people are pointing fingers, but I think because this is a faith-based organization it set a more collaborative tone. We meet with this coalition every six months and they have stuck around. It’s important that each of us do what we say we will do. We have held each other accountable and the relationship has turned out really well.”

East Bakersfield has benefited from the increased attention from and collaboration with the Sheriff’s department. There are now community programs and foot and bike patrols based out of that substation patrolling the area, with a Sergeant and Senior Deputy assigned to the post. The Sheriff committed to personally walk the neighborhood door to door, and a new gang task force was created. There were several sweeps in the neighborhood, and 90 registered sex offenders were monitored and some arrested for not living where they were registered.

According to Sheriff Youngblood, the meetings and responsiveness of the Sheriff’s department “empowered the community to call and tell us things that we didn’t hear about before. They tend to talk to deputies now as if they are part of the community. That was a result of trust that was built in these meetings. Residents have told us they want the area cleaned up, so we have stepped up code enforcement. We are especially concerned when it comes to safety issues like children living in houses that are not habitable or lacking electricity. We are also addressing code violations like junk cars on lawns and people letting their grass grow to the point that it is a fire hazard. We have taken kids from a youth program we run called the sheriff’s activities league to work on the graffiti and trash problem.”

Some residents have said they feel like crime has gone down as a result of this effort. The sheriff has said with more deputies in the neighborhood there would initially be an increase in apparent criminal activity (more arrests). Residents tell Gonzales that they feel safer now because they see more of a police presence.

“Now gang members can’t hang out on the corner without being contacted by police,” according to Youngblood. “I think we have a long ways to go but we have made some inroads- the gangs eventually go someplace else.”