Loading...
Minutes 09-26-07 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2007, AT 7:00 P.M. CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD PRESENT: Brian Miller, Chair Eddie Mitchell, Vice Chair Belky Cruz Blanche Hearst-Girtman Joyce Mura Victor Norfus Phyllis Stern Brenda Lee Williams YOUTH VIOLENCE PREVENTION PRESENTATION TEAM Stacey Robinson, YVPP Coordinator Lt. Kelly Harris Det. Troy Raines Sgt. Suzanne Gitto Maj. Wendy Unger Becky Walker, Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission I. Call Meeting to Order - Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag Chair Miller called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Ms. Hearst-Girtman led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. II. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll. A quorum was present. III. Recognition of Visitors Self-introductions were made. 1 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 26, 2007 IV. Approval of Agenda Motion Ms. Hearst-Girtman moved to approve the minutes. Ms. Mura seconded the motion that unanimously passed. V. Presentation Chair Miller announced the meeting was a special presentation on Youth Violence. He advised the Community Relations Board had worked for several months to coordinate the presentation with the Boynton Beach Police Department and the Youth Violence Prevention Team. He expressed it was important to reach out to neighborhoods about youth violence and gangs, and about what could be done, as citizens, to intervene and prevent youth from getting involved in the gang lifestyle. Mayor Taylor was present and commended the board for addressing the issue and having the insight to put the presentation forward. He emphasized gangs affect everyone and to address the problem, a two prong approach was needed. The Police Department was working diligently to take gang offenders off the street. The City of Boynton Beach was the first City in the County to pass an ordinance to break and pursue gangs. He emphasized the City takes the problem very seriously; it is a problem for the City and the County. Another effort to address the problem was to provide alternative activities for youth. Many of the youth have nothing to live for and their allegiance is to other gang members. He explained it was not too late for all gang members; some of them could still be reached and shown/taught there is another way to live. Through all of the combined efforts, progress would be made. Mayor Taylor advised Boynton Beach would not tolerate gang activity. · The Violent Crimes Task Force Team - Detective Troy Raines Major Wendy Unger applauded the audience for attending such a worthy presentation. She introduced Detective Troy Raines of the Violent Crimes Task Force to make the presentation. Detective Raines gave his background, and explained he was assigned to gangs through the Violent Crimes Task Force. He noticed different crimes ranging from petty theft by juveniles to homicides that could be traced to gangs. This initiative would be an ongoing endeavor. Eleven detectives were assigned to the unit; and rotation of Police Officers into the unit was now a requirement. 2 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 26,2007 In essence, Florida Statute 874.03 provided for the definition of gangs. Detective Raines clarified the difference between a gang member and a gang associate was gang members had criminal activity documented. The statute outlined eight criteria and two needed to be met to be a gang member. Meeting one criterion made you an associate. Detective Raines explained there was a great deal of media influence related to gangs and the gang lifestyle, such as the rap music industry, movies, video games and "Home Town" products. Internet sites were also a key method used by gangs to recruit. Some of these Internet sites were: . MySpace . C-Pixel . YouTube . Photo Bucket . Fact Book . Black Planet Detective Raines noted "MySpace" was out of control with the gang community. The use of hand signs, colors, clothing and other paraphernalia were all used to identify gang members both on and off the computer. He also noted there were popular rap artists that were members of gangs and whose music depicted the gang lifestyle. Monitoring of computer activity was strongly encouraged. Wearing of sagging pants and displaying telephone area codes on clothing also denoted a gang affiliation. Over 200 street gangs, at a minimum, exist in Palm Beach County alone. The initial influences were from Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Miami. More recent activity has been documented involving gangs from Southern California, Central America, Mexico and Haiti. A graphic visual presentation was given showing gang graffiti and the results of gang shootings. An audio presentation was given showing rap artists singing about the gang lifestyle. Detective Raines commented there were ways out of gangs; however, gangs were recruiting younger and younger members. Gang Resistance, Education and Training (GREAT) is used by the Palm Beach County School Police and required rigorous training, but it was not known if it was being used in the middle schools. At present, legislation is pending in Tallahassee that would make parents responsible for the actions of their children. If a citizen notices increased crime or gang activity, the Crime Prevention Bureau could assist. Additionally, the Boynton Beach Police Department has a website and a Public Information Officer available who could advise more specifically what was available. He explained they would assist citizens coming forward with a problem. 3 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 26, 2007 Detective Raines announced some gang members were leaving because there already was too much of a police presence in some areas. The need to increase community policing was discussed and the Police Department was stepping up that effort even more. Additional information on gangs could be obtained from the following websites: · Nogames.com · Gangsorus.com · Streetgangs.com Anyone requiring further assistance or information could contact Detective Raines directly at the Police Department. · Youth Violence Prevention Program - Stacey Robinson Stacey Robinson, Youth Violence Prevention Program Coordinator, gave a very brief presentation on the issue. She explained her team was the second prong of the effort to curb gang violence. She explained the structure of the program and explained children just want a safe place to congregate and things to do. She explained Boynton Beach was addressing the program through a grant that would help deter youth from entering the gang lifestyle, assist those desirous of leaving the lifestyle and provide life skills for youth. The Youth Violence Prevention Program was developing a website and using churches to help disseminate information on the program was suggested. Vice Mayor Rodriguez was unable to attend but included a note in the program explaining and thanking the public for attending. He acknowledged the seriousness of the issue and he encouraged all to participate in the endeavor. He expressed working together, they would be successful. Mr. Harris, a native of Boynton Beach, announced he had observed male youth without any social structure fell prey to the lifestyle. He advised he had a proprietary program deterring gang involvement and promoting positive behavior. Mr. Harris was referred to the Youth Violence Prevention Project Executive Committee. 4 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 26, 2007 VI. Adjournment Motion Ms. Stern moved to adjourn. Mr. Sorgman seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. '1 C (!J..vJJJ. J4.u:&/i/Y'la1{ Catherine Chefry-Guberman Recording Secretary 100107 5