Recently in Operation Phoenix Category

The National League of Cities' 2009 report on "The State of City Leadership for Children and Families" provides a laudatory assessment of the Operation Phoenix initiative.

Mayor Pat Morris' supporters will surely point to the report as confirmation that the present administration is on the right track. Those on the other side of San Bernardino's political divide, however, will doubtless take note the report does not mention the management troubles that came to light following last year's arrest of youth center manger Mike Miller on suspicion of child molestation.

Miller has pleaded not guilty.

Here is the report's commentary on Operation Phoenix:

In 2006, San Bernardino, Calif., leaders launched Operation Phoenix, a comprehensive citywide crime prevention initiative with a focus on the city's highest-crime, 20-block police district.

This innovative, two-pronged approach of connecting an existing countywide gang prevention effort with a neighborhood-based strategy involves strong mayoral leadership, decentralization of services and unique cross-system collaboration. Mayor Pat Morris has used his "bully pulpit" to build public will and convene key stakeholders. The police chief, city code enforcement officer and San Bernardino County Children's Network guide the initiative.

By leveraging city, county and community resources and partnerships, San Bernardino is able to blend intensive law enforcement with expanded access to multiple services and stronger community engagement efforts in the target neighborhood.
The balanced approach of Operation Phoenix consists of a set of 18 interlocking prevention, intervention and suppression strategies.

Operation Phoenix partners collaborate to optimize their services and programs, and there is continual cross-referral of neighborhood problems and needs. The city has hired new police officers and worked with state and federal law enforcement agencies to track violent offenders with GPS and crack down on illegal gun and drug traffickers. Simultaneously, teams of volunteers and city staff work in the neighborhoods to improve landscaping and street lighting, revitalize neighborhood watches and remove graffiti. The city is also using aggressive code enforcement to demolish abandoned buildings and hold property owners accountable for the environmental
conditions that breed criminal activity.

Other key citywide strategies include:

• Promoting affordable, quality child care and preschool programs;
• Expanding afterschool opportunities and vocational education; and
• Coordinating service delivery at an Operation Phoenix youth center, which offers athletic programs, homework help and parenting and English as a Second Language classes.

More than 30 city, county, state and community partners take part in Operation Phoenix through its steering committee and street teams, which are both staffed by the county Children's Network. Building on a 2005 countywide gang prevention initiative, county departments have strengthened coordination with police and other partnering
city agencies on everything from expanding access to child protection to improving treatment for substance abuse and mental health. Operation Phoenix's target neighborhood is linked to the county's Healthy Babies initiative and the Children Services Department's Family-to-Family initiative, which restructures the child welfare system
by empowering neighborhood-based teams of social workers, foster and birth families and community members. The Family-to-Family approach aims to reduce reliance on institutional care and help children remain safely with their families before out-of-home placement becomes necessary.

Other examples of city-county collaboration are apparent in the Probation Department's efforts to provide parenting classes for families in the target neighborhood,
and the Behavioral Health Department's collaboration with the Fire Department and school district to develop a program for juvenile fire-setters.

Operation Phoenix receives funding from Measure Z, a .25-cent sales tax increase approved by voters in November 2006 by two-thirds of the electorate. In addition, the mayor's office created the nonprofit Operation Phoenix Foundation to garner funds from private sources. Results thus far are promising. After seven months of implementation,
an initial city-county report found that violent crime fell by 38 percent in the target neighborhood in the last six months of 2006 compared with the same time period in 2005.

In addition, residents' perceptions of community safety have also improved since 2006. Since Operation Phoenix began three years ago, the citywide homicide rate
is down 32 percent, vehicle thefts have fallen 23 percent and aggravated assaults have decreased by 20 percent. Operation Phoenix was recently expanded to three additional high-crime neighborhoods. (SB Now note: Only two Operation Phoenix centers are currently open.)

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO -- The City Council on Monday retracted its demand that a local church ban sex offenders or lose its ability to collect money that helps pay for a city youth facility.

The council voted 5 to 2 -- after more than two hours of public comment -- to rescind its ultimatum and apologize to Master's Plan Church of the Nazarene, formerly known as First Church of the Nazarene.

The council's move reverses action the body took on Sept. 26 21 after a still unknown party distributed a confidential Police Department memo that a registered sex offender had performed work for a contractor at the church.

Master's Plan Church hosts San Bernardino's central Operation Phoenix youth center as well as SOAR Charter Academy and Valley Christian Pre-school. In the memo, Police Chief Keith Kilmer reported investigators' view that the sex offender's presence was not illegal.

The council reacted to the memo's revelations by voting Sept. 26 21 to demand that Master's Plan Church prohibit sex offenders from property the city pays money to use or to relocate the youth center.

On Sept. 27 22, Penman sent his office's investigators to the church pass out notification flyers warning of a sex offender's presence.

David Rhone, pastor of Master's Plan Church, considered the city's demand to be an affront to his and his congregation's First Amendment rights to minister to whomever they choose.
"Our church has been slandered and our people maligned," Rhone said to the council on Monday.

"I am commanded to forgive you, and I do," he added.

Rhone has also said the sex offender left San Bernardino before Penman's investigators passed out the flyers.

Dozens of other clergy and parishioners joined Rhone to insist that city officials reverse course.

"We will not comply with the outrageous demand that those who come on to our properties or into our sanctuaries submit to background checks before doing so," said Pastor Joshua Beckley of Ecclesia Christian Fellowship said.

Beckley read from a statement bearing the names of more than 50 local religious leaders or churches. Beckley also said local clergy recognize moral and legal duties to protect children.
Most speakers supported Rhone and his allies, but not all.

"If he (the sex offender) wants to go to church, that's fine and dandy. But not with a school. That doesn't fly with me," said Paul Sanborn, one of speakers who rose to support the city's original stance.

Penman refused to apologize for sending investigators to the church with notification flyers.
He also said that if he had served on the council, he would not have supported the ultimatum, saying further that he does not think Master's Plan Church should have accepted city money to host the youth center.

"You have accepted Caesar's law and Caesar's rule," Penman said after quoting a passage in the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus Christ instructs believers to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God that which is God's.

Councilman Rikke Van Johnson made the formal request for the rescind the ultimatum. Council members Esther Estrada, Dennis Baxter, Tobin Brinker and Fred Shorett supported his move while council members Chas Kelley and Wendy McCammack did not.

Johnson and Baxter were not present for the Sept. 26 21 vote. Brinker and Shorett switched their positions.

"I'm not comfortable with the vote I said last meeting," said Brinker.

Brinker also said he did not want to rush to a vote on McCammack's proposal that would require background checks on all contractors or volunteers who work at facilities subsidized by city tax dollars.

The council also voted Monday to have its legislative committee discuss issues related to such background checks and when the council should be notified of investigations pertaining to sex offenders around city programs.

Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - The pastor of a church presented with a demand to ban sex offenders or lose "rent" from a city youth center expects vocal support at Monday's City Council meeting.

Pastor David Rhone of First Church of the Nazarene said Friday that 60 local ministers are set to ask congregates to support his church when the council considers rescinding the ultimatum.

"Several of us will be speaking," Rhone said. First Church of the Nazarene, which hosts San Bernardino's central Operation Phoenix youth center and other children's facilities, is at the center of a controversy involving matters of religious freedom and government's duty to protect its youngest citizens.

The dispute also fuels election season antagonism between City Attorney James F. Penman - who is running for mayor - and incumbent Pat Morris.

The Morris Administration calls its anti-crime programs Operation Phoenix. New youth centers are one of the higher profile efforts.

Penman views plans to rally church members as a "media event" staged by clergy who support Morris' re-election effort.

"The congregation members don't know that they're being used for a political event," Penman said.

The council made the ultimatum Sept. 21 with a 5-0 vote. Councilman Rikke Van Johnson, who wants to retract the demand, was not present for that meeting.

The body delivered its ultimatum the night council members learned through a leaked memo that a sex offender had performed work at the church.

The memo, signed by Police Chief Keith Kilmer and labeled confidential, reported to City Manager Charles McNeely's office that police checked out the reported presence of a registered sex offender near the Operation Phoenix center.

Kilmer's memo concluded the offender's presence was not a crime nor an immediate threat to children. Penman disagreed and sent his own investigators to the church with flyers warning of a sex offender's presence.

He said the day marked the third time his office had notified the public regarding a sex offender and was the first time he took this action during election season.

Rhone has said the man had since moved away from San Bernardino and no longer worked nor attending religious services at the church. The pastor also said his church has a right to reach out to anyone.

"No government agency is going to tell me to whom I can minister," he said. "If that means no Operation Phoenix, then `see ya."'

But Rhone doesn't want to send away the Operation Phoenix center and feels an obligation to the program. The nonprofit Operation Phoenix Foundation, he said, provided more than $200,000 in private donations to convert an old parish hall into a gym.

He said the city does not actually pay rent but chips in 30 percent of utilities costs to cover the youth center's usage.

Rhone said the center has already generated its share of heartburn for the church. The center's former manager, Mike Miller, was arrested in July 2008 on suspicion of child molestation. He has pleaded not guilty.

City police are investigating how the memo got leaked. Morris referred questions on new developments to Kilmer, who confirmed that police are investigating a report that the document was stolen at City Hall.

Kilmer would not comment on details. Penman said his own office's investigation concluded no actual theft took place.

"Somebody left it (the memo) where they shouldn't have left it and it was a very public place," he said.

Penman's office generated the warning flyers while the Sept. 21 meeting was in progress.

He would not say Friday if his staffers had the memo before it was distributed to the council, but predicted more political fallout at City Hall.

"I have no comment on that right now. I'll wait until the PD finishes its investigation, then we'll let all the embarrassing details come," he said.

Councilman Rikke Van Johnson has submitted a request for the council to rescind its Sept. 1 21 demand that First Church of the Nazarene, home of the city's flagship Operation Phoenix youth center - ban sex offenders from its premises.

The issue is scheduled to be discussed during Monday's City Council meeting. Johnson expects the public to fill the council chambers.

"I expect to have the largest crowd we've ever had at City Hall," he said.

The council voted 5-0 to make the ultimatum after the body received a leaked memo from the Police Department. The memo reported that police had investigated the circumstances of a registered sex offender who performed work on church grounds. Police determined that the man's presence was neither a crime nor a threat to children at the youth center or schools on the church site.

First Church of the Nazarene's pastor, David Rhone, has said the man is a former member of the church but has since moved out of San Bernardino.

Johnson, who was not present when the council voted Sept. 21, said he thinks the council overreacted in issuing the ultimatum.

"We made a decision that I think was crossing the line between church and state," Johnson said.

Councilwoman Wendy McCammack asked her colleagues to support the ultimatum at the Sept. 21 meeting and has said the demand is not a way for government to try to run a church but was intended to protect children using a city facility.

This is not the first time issues surrounding a sex offender have generated controversy at this particular Operation Phoenix center.

The center at First Church of the Nazarene was managed by Mike Miller until Miller's arrest in July 2008 on suspicion of child molestation. Miller has pleaded not guilty.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO -- Responding to a demand that First Church of the Nazarene ban registered sex offenders or to stop receiving city money to host a youth facility there, the church's pastor contended the ultimatum is an unconstitutional violation of his religious freedom.

"I cannot think of anything more antithetical or repugnant to the fundamental values upon which our nation was founded -- freedom of religion, freedom to worship God without interference from the government, freedom to practice Christianity without oppression," Pastor David Rhone wrote Tuesday in a letter to Mayor Pat Morris and the council.

The controversy follows Monday's revelation -- through the leak of a confidential memo -- that a man convicted of incest and lewd and lascivious conduct with a person younger than 14 performed work at the First Church of the Nazarene.

A police investigation determined that the man's presence at the church did not present a danger to children or that any new crimes were committed.

Nevertheless, the issue is sensitive not only because San Bernardino is in the middle of election season, but because the church hosts San Bernardino's flagship Operation Phoenix youth center. That center was managed by Mike Miller until Miller's arrest in July 2008 on suspicion of child molestation.

Miller has pleaded not guilty and is incarcerated while awaiting trial.

The church also hosts SOAR Charter Academy and Valley Christian Pre-school.

Rhone said Tuesday that he would rather sever the church's relationship with the city than let the government decide who can attend services, but he does not expect that to come to pass.
Instead, he expects the council to take back its demand and apologize.

"They've got to reconsider because what they've asked us to do is unlawful," Rhone said.

But City Attorney James F. Penman, whose investigators spent Tuesday passing out fliers reporting a sex offender had performed work at the church, says the council was within its rights to make demands of Rhone's church.

The city attorney said the council did not take over the church's decisions on which sinners can be preached to. Penman maintained the demand is meant to protect children participating in a city-run program and is a condition on partnering with the city.

Penman also thinks Rhone was irresponsible in allowing a known sex offender to perform work near children's facilities.

"There's an old saying that comes out of the Bible: 'Who is without sin can cast the first stone. I don't think Pastor Rhone is a position to cast stones."

For his part, Rhone sees Penman's actions as electoral politics. Penman is challenging incumbent Mayor Pat Morris for the city's top job.

Police Chief Keith Kilmer said Tuesday the mere presence of a registered sex offender in an area does not mandate public notification.

"The threshold is when someone poses a risk to public safety and that would be based on circumstances that are happening, (such as) if someone is hanging around a school and they have no business there," Kilmer said.

Despite the Police Department view that children were not threatened while on church property, all five council members who were present Monday night voted to present First Church of the Nazarene with the ultimatum.

City Councilwoman Wendy McCammack, who recommended the ultimatum to her colleagues, said Tuesday she's not afraid of any legal challenge.

"If it's unconstitutional, then I guess he can sue us," she said. "We have a Constitutional responsibility, local, state and federal, to keep city participants safe."

SOAR issued a statement Tuesday reporting that school officials did not know a sex offender had worked on church property until being notified by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

SOAR also reported the man had no contact with school children. Kristin Kraus, one of the school's co-founders and its assistant director, said that contrary to what was reported in the leaked memo, the man never picked up a girlfriend's child from the campus.

"I don't know what to say about that except that it never happened," she said.

Another point of dispute is whether the mayor or anyone working for him should have notified the council. Penman and McCammack say the council needed to know of the situation, a view expressed by other council members at Monday's meeting.

The leaked memo reports that mayoral aide Kent Paxton told police a sex offender was working on church property on Aug. 26.

Paxton said Tuesday that he called police the same day SOAR administration informed him that the sheriff's department inquired about the sex offender's presence.

As to the question of why the Mayor's Office did not notify the council, mayoral chief of staff Jim Morris said the mayor chose to let the investigation remain a confidential matter for police and Child Protective Services.

"It's up to them to decide where and when to share (information), Jim Morris said.

Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - The City Council voted late Monday night to send an ultimatum to a local church that hosts an Operation Phoenix youth center after council members received a leaked memo reporting that a registered sex offender had performed work on the premises.

The council voted 5-0, following the recommendation of Councilwoman Wendy McCammack, to inform the leadership of First Church of the Nazarene that City Hall will stop paying rent to lease space at the church's campus unless the congregation agrees to never allow any registered sex offenders to set foot on the facility.

Council members Esther Estrada, Tobin Brinker, Fred Shorett and Chas Kelley voted in favor of McCammack's plan. Council members Dennis Baxter and Rikke Van Johnson were reportedly ill and not present at the meeting.

Representatives from First Church of the Nazarene were not present at the meeting to respond.

The unknown party who made a confidential memo into a public concern did so as little more than a month remains before the Nov. 3 city elections.

The sex offender issue arose Monday after an unknown party delivered a confidential memo to each council member's place on the dais. The document was set out before the start of Monday's council meeting.

The document, written by Police Chief Keith Kilmer, reported that a registered sex offender had performed work at the church, which is home to three children's facilities, including city's first Operation Phoenix recreational center.

The council began discussion of the memo when Kelley called attention to the document around the meeting's start. The council then voted unanimously to put the issue on the agenda as a late-breaking item and McCammack read the full text of the memo at the dais.

The council then conducted its meeting as scheduled and did not resume discussing the sex offender issue until after 8:30 p.m.

Kilmer's memo reports that the Police Department learned from the Mayor's Office on Aug. 26 that a registered sex offender had performed work at First Church of the Nazarene, which hosts the central Operation Phoenix center, SOAR Charter Academy and Valley Christian Preschool.

The police investigation determined that the church's pastor knew the worker, who has attended Sunday services and volunteered for the church, was a sex offender.

The man was not a church employee, but has worked for a contractor who took jobs at First Church of the Nazarene. According to the memo, the sex offender "worked largely" on weekends and that arrangements were made so that the sex offender worked away from and did not have access to children's facilities.

The sex offender also picked up his girlfriend's daughter from SOAR, according to the memo.

"At this point it appears that because (the sex offender) was acting as a parent when he visited the school to pick up his girlfriend's daughter, and because the work he conducted at the facility was done at the request of the church, (the sex offender) is compliant with state and local law," Kilmer's memo concludes.

Kilmer told the council during Monday's proceedings that the memo was not prepared for council review and that investigators thus far have found "no detectable criminal offense."

Police Lt. Dan Keil, who also addressed the council Monday, reported that the sex offender had no outstanding warrants and that the report of his employment originated in a dispute between ex-spouses.

An ex-husband, Keil said, contacted authorities and reported that the sex offender was in contact with children being cared for by his ex-wife.

Law enforcement officials have not found evidence, Keil said, to conclude that any criminal activity stemmed from the sex offender's relationship with the reporting party's ex-wife.

Keil also said the sex offender no longer has a relationship with the unnamed ex-wife, has moved to a new address and is not working on the church premises.

Although City Attorney James F. Penman said he was satisfied that the police investigation found no reason to launch a new prosecution, he also said he was concerned that the city could be exposed to liability if the man had attacked a child after San Bernardino officials knew that the sex offender had been present near a city-operated youth facility.

Penman said that he would send investigators to the children's facilities at the church on Tuesday morning to notify parents that a registered sex offender had worked at the location.

The city attorney said he had no knowledge prior to Monday's meeting that a sex offender was allowed to work near the Operation Phoenix youth center.

Before the conclusion of Monday's meeting, his office produced a flier showing the sex offender's face and reporting that the man has been convicted of incest and lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old.

Kilmer emphasized that the decision to notify the community of a sex offender's presence is a sensitive matter and in this case, not mandated by law. Penman, however, said his office has authority to provide notification on its own initiative.

Penman also noted that the Operation Phoenix center near the church has "a history," as it is the same youth facility that Mike Miller managed until Miller was arrested on suspicion of child molestation in July 2008.

Miller has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

The city's parks chief, Kevin Hawkins, dealt with the fallout from the Miller scandal and told the council that he was satisfied with the police investigation and has no reason to believe that children were at risk because a sex offender performed work on the church campus.

"I think our department is uniquely sensitive ... given what we went through last year," Hawkins said.

"If there was any threat, I would tell you. You know I would tell you," he added.

Before casting votes, council members said that they consider the issues raised in the memo to have been important enough to have prompted city leadership to have notified them that police were investigation issues near the Operation Phoenix center.

"I can't urge you enough that in the future, let's communicate a little better," Kelley said.

This item was posted earlier this morning on The Sun's Web site by breaking news reporter Melissa Pinion-Whitt"

Thieves stole several thousand dollars in electronic equipment from San Bernardino's Operation Phoenix Center, forcing the facility to close temporarily.

But police were able to capture several suspects and found the stolen property. Officers said the site is expected to reopen shortly.

Police received reports of four burglaries at the center in the 1600 block of North Sierra Way between July 16 and 20.

Officers on Tuesday arrested the last of five teen suspects. Nearly all of the stolen items were recovered.

Computers were stolen from the central area Operation Phoenix center during a weekend break-in, Operation Phoenix coordinator Kent Paxton said.

Paxton said four or five computers and other property was ripped off from the center, which is intended to provide children a place to play and study. He said there were actually two break-ins, one on Thursday when the alarm scared the thief (or thieves) off and another over the weekend when the thefts occurred.

He ventured that the burglary could have been retaliation for recent police and code enforcement sweeps in the area, as well as activity by the city's graffiti abatement crew.

"It could be random, although I doubt that," Paxton said.

It's possible that a suspect or suspects could have already be arrested. Police spokesman Lt. Dan Keil said he didn't immediately have detailed information on the case but it's his understanding that as of Tuesday night, the investigation was closed.

The central area Operation Phoenix center is at First Church of the Nazarene at 1605 North Sierra Way. The center serves a 20-block area north of downtown that Mayor Pat Morris and other city officials identified as one of San Bernardino's most crime-ridden areas when the program was launched in 2006.

"It's still the most challenged area in the city," Paxton said. "We've made some progress, but it's still a challenge."

Paxton said that during the month of June, there were 1,457 visits to the center.

Mayor Pat Morris sent out a press release today announcing that four alcohol retailers received citations for selling single serve alcohol in violation of their conditional use permits.

"We see public intoxication and all the crime that goes along with it, including high rates of violent incidents," Morris said in a press release. "That's why the city, when issuing its permits for alcohol retailers, has started restricting them from selling these kinds of products."

San Bernardino routinely prohibits alcohol vendors from selling single units of alcoholic beverages. However, this rule is seldom followed. It's easy to find single serve alcohol in many mini-marts or grocery stores, and a recent San Bernardino Counrty Department of Public Health survey of 190 licensed liquor dealers found that 165 of those retailers sold singles.

Singles are frequently sold in big bottles, such as the 40-ounce bottles of beer or malt liquor that are often seen in college parties and in gangsta rap videos from the 1990s. The survey found that the most common size for singles in San Bernardino are 24-ounce containers, followed by 32- or 40-ounce bottles. The city's prohibition applies to any size of single-serve bottle of beer or malt liquor.

The theory behind the prohibition on single sales is that customers purchasing a six-pack or case of beer are more likely to use alcohol responsibly. The assumption is that a package of alcoholic beverages will be taken to a residence, whereas a single can be opened and consumed on the street.

UC Riverside professor Robert Nash Parker advised city officials that singles can be associated with vandalism and other crimes.

"Gang members 'sip' 40-ouncers, they party, they get their courage up," he said in a press release. "For the most part, these are underage drinkers and alcohol plays a central part in their activities."

The anti-40 campaign marks an instance of cooperation between the often squabbling Mayor's and City Attorney's office. Parker is a consultant to Morris' Operation Phoenix program, and investigators from City Attorney James F. Penman's office are checking for unauthorized alcohol sales.

"We are taking this very seriously," Penman said in a press release. "Those who fail to comply could be liable for up to a $1,000 per day in fines."

Mayor Pat Morris' office announced today that the city has been awarded a $400,000 state grant for anti-gang programs.

The money is set to be disbursed under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's program called Califronia Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention initiative.

The city's announcement reports that the grant will be funneled to Catholic Charities and Urban Youth Conservation Corps, which are slated to use the funds in cooperation with the city's Operation Phoenix program.

Catholic Charities is expected to use its portion of the funding in an attempt to reduce recidivism among 50 18- to 25-year old youths with gang ties.

Urban Youth Conservation Corps is set to use the grant to assist 20 "at risk" young people aged 12 to 17 in a program that includes training in forestry management and tree care in the San Bernardino National Forest and San Bernardino city parks.

Here's an article about a Northeastern University study that about homicide trends across the nation.

One of the study's central findings was the observation that homicides in which black male teens were victims or perpetrators, the authors didn't seem to find any specific reasons why the problem was most severe among black youths, but do find data in support of an argument that rising homicide rates are more likely to be observed in urban locales.

The report finds that federal aid to police departments to large cities (250,000 or more residents) has declined precipitously since the early part of the decade. That trend corresponds with another observation - the ratio of cops to residents in large cities has shrunk more severely than in smaller cities.

The study's authors support a "youth bailout," greater funding for youth-oriented crime prevention programs to balance police enforcement.

The study can be accessed online.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

A recent study examining national crime trends concludes that homicides among black teenage males increased for much of the decade at an alarming rate.

The study, written by a pair of criminologists at Northeastern University in Boston, calls for increased investment in crime prevention programs.

"While overall homicide levels in the United States have fluctuated minimally in recent years, those involving young victims and perpetrators -- particularly young black males -- have surged," reads the opening sentence of the report.
Despite the bad news, the study finds that the increase in killings among black teenagers has not led to a situation as bad as existed in American cities during the crack cocaine-fueled violence of the 1980s and early 1990s.

Instead, criminologists James Alan Fox and Marc L. Swatt write that the uptick in homicides is an almost inevitable phenomenon after the national decrease in crime that began in the 1990s.

Fox and Swatt argue that American policymakers, partly because of the focus on counterterrorism in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, turned their attention away from street violence since the successes of the past decade.

Another observation is the possibility that the previous decline in violence has allowed the bloody realities of gang life to fade from the memories of at-risk youths. Fox and Swatt propose that many young men may not realize the dangers of gang life.

Terrance Stone, a former gang member who is now president of San Bernardino-based Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy, agreed that the stigma of gang membership has faded.

"One thing I've seen with gangs ... now it's more acceptable," Stone said, "It's not so much (that) you're an outcast anymore looking like a gang member."

Young Visionaries' mission is keeping youths out of gangs. The U.S. Department of Justice recently awarded Stone's group a $200,000 grant that is be used for efforts including employment training.

In terms of statistics, the Northeastern study finds that nationwide, the number of black male juvenile homicide victims increased by 31 percent from 2002 to 2007.

The number of homicide perpetrators within the same demographic group increased by 43 percent during the same time period.

In San Bernardino County, coroner's statistics show that homicides in which black male teens died as a result of homicide increased from 2003 to 2007.

In 2002, three black male teens were killed in homicides across the county. In 2007, that number had jumped to 13, the highest figure during that time span.

That kind of steep rising trend was not seen in other demographic groups within San Bernardino County.

Among Latinos, 13 male teens were slain in 2002 in the county. There were 14 such victims in 2007, down from a peak of 17 in 2005.

For whites, the statistics show that two male teens were homicide victims in 2002 and the same number in 2007. The peak number of white male teen victims was recorded in 2004, when four members of that demographic group were slain.

Within the county, San Bernardino may be the city that has seen the most severe youth violence in recent years, although City Hall officials issued a media release in November that trumpeted a decline in youth homicides.

According to that announcement, which was sent from Mayor Pat Morris' office, there were 18 juvenile homicide victims who were killed by gunfire from March 1, 2004 through June 30, 2006.

That figure declined to six such victims from July 1, 2006 through Oct. 31, 2008. Morris' office attributed the progress to the Operation Phoenix program, which includes a trio of new youth centers as well as heightened police patrols and partnerships with outside agencies like the ATF.

Seventh Ward City Councilwoman Wendy McCammack wasn't terribly impressed with the Northeastern study. She has questioned her city's ability to fund ambitious crime prevention programs and proposed that school districts are better positioned to lead youths away from violence.

"City governments' efforts can only pale in comparison to the money school districts have to fight and win over the youth crime issue," she wrote in an e-mail. "But I have always said that along with retraining and redirecting the very young, there must be money and training for the caregivers of those kids so that they see buy-in from both inside and outside the home."

Crime statistics aren't the only numbers that matter to policymakers, however. San Bernardino officials are looking at a current-year budget shortfall in the order of $12 million or so, and any program - no matter how promising - could be trimmed.

Sixth Ward Councilman Rikke Van Johnson said he wasn't surprised to hear the Northeastern Study called for increased prevention and intervention efforts and thinks the Phoenix approach is on the right track. Nevertheless, he has no illusions that he and others will have to make tough choices this year.

"It's going to be tough all around and we're going to have to evaluate anything," Johnson said. "There is going to be no sacred animal."

andrew.edwards@inlandnewspapers.com

Mynisha Crenshaw, 11, was murdered in Nov. 2005. This reporter joined The Sun in Jan. 2006 the reaction to the crime was still a frequent topic of news coverage. Much of 2006 was a grim year, as youths continued to fall in San Bernardino.

Sunday's retrospective piece, "Turning Point," provides some time to reflect on the news of the past three years. Here are some thoughts:

1. In the face of the recession, crime remains San Bernardino's most serious issue. Although Police Department statistics show that crime has dropped through 2008, but the numbers tell the story of a very bad situation improving to the status of being not quite as bad.

For example, SBPD reports that through November 2007, there were 44 criminal homicides in the city. Through November of this year, police report 32 criminal homicides occurred. That's still a lot, and city officials' may not face a more important decision in 2009 than who will serve as San Bernardino's next police chief. Current chief Michael Billdt has said he will retire in March.

2. Although official numbers show that crime is down this year, it's possible that Mayor Pat Morris may have made a political miscalculation earlier this year when he announced that crime was is at its lowest in San Bernardino since 1985.

Aside from setting off a debate between himself and Councilwoman Wendy McCammack over statistical methodology, it's somewhat doubtful that even though police report a decrease in crime, the average San Bernardino resident feels significantly safer now than during 2006 or 2005. Even if the mayor's calculations were dead on, Morris was at his political best in 2006 when he constantly made his case that the city needed to do more about crime and that San Bernardino needed more resources.

That style of leadership was crucial in convincing voters to pass the Measure Z sales tax hike. Residents aren't likely to say "yes" to any new taxes while the national economy is suffering as it is now, but the point isn't whether people are willing to pay even more for crime fighting.

People generally seem to respond better to vibrant leaders who ask their constituents to rise to the challenges of the day (FDR, Reagan) rather than those who bemoan a crisis of confidence or make premature declarations of "mission accomplished." Morris may be able to rally more public confidence in the city's direction in the coming year if he returns to his 2006 leadership style rather than rest the laurels on short-term improvements.

3. This summer's molestation scandal does not mean that the underlying concepts behind Operation Phoenix are flawed. Community center Mike Miller's July 2008 arrest on suspicion of child molestation opened the door to serious criticism of Phoenix, but it would be premature to close the door on Morris' efforts to make crime prevention a core element of city services.

Morris responded to Miller's arrest by restructuring Phoenix's management structure and it became clear though news reports that the chain of command needed improvement. Another fact that came to light is that the city's Parks, Recreation and Community Services department - essential to the youth services that are part of Phoenix - was severely underfunded over the years when compared to other San Bernardino departments.

The city's current budget crisis and political fallout from this summer's events do not seem to be reasons enough to scuttle the program. McCammack has repeatedly made the case that Phoenix-related youth programs may not result in dividends for several years, and she's right that money is going to be scarce. But as the City Council approaches the challenges of drafting the city's next budget, a strong case could be made to establish crime prevention programs apart from essential police services as a core component of city operations.

Fire prevention is recognized as a key aspect of city government and it would be hard to imagine any excising fire inspectors from its budget. Whether or not the crime prevention strategies that are currently part of Phoenix are the best strategies for the city could be subject to debate, but while attending an anti-gang meeting earlier this year in Apple Valley, this reporter observed what seemed to be a consensus among law enforcement that authorities cannot simply arrest society's way out of the gang problem.

Indeed, the budget shortfall could even serve as an opportunity for the city's elected officials to engage in a hard-nosed discussion and determine a baseline for city resources devoted to crime prevention strategies. Anticipating a long term approach, City Hall can plan for how resources can be allocated to recreation and youth services over the long term.

Here's some additional thoughts from City Attorney James F. Penman in relation to "Turning Point," a retrospective on the Mynisha Crenshaw murder that was published in Sunday's edition of The Sun.

Penman and Mayor Pat Morris were competing against each other in the 200-06 mayoral campaign. When Mynisha, 11, was killed in a gang shooting. The crime highlighted the issue of crime in that campaign.

Here is a follow-up on Penman's thoughts concerning how the shooting affected San Bernardino politics and policy:

City Attorney James F. Penman says the Nov. 2005 murder of 11-year-old Mynisha Crenshaw highlighted San Bernardino's crime problem, but only for a while.

"It had a short-term effect. It resulted in, first of all, there was a real spotlight on policing in San Bernardino by the press," he said.

Aside from affecting the mayoral campaign between himself and eventual winner Pat Morris, Penman said the short-term impacts of the shooting were a change in leadership in the Police Department and an influx of San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol officers who were assigned to assist patrol efforts in San Bernardino.

"That concentration of officers drove the crime rate back down," Penman said.

But Penman - who said San Bernardino needs 100 more cops - believes that city officials are now not doing enough to fight crime. He is concerned that City Hall has not been aggressive enough to eliminate illegal parolee housing.

Although the Measure Z sales tax has given city officials a tool to promise 40 new police officers over the 2006 force strength by June 30, 2009, Penman is not satisfied. He points to a recent ranking of San Bernardino as the 36th most dangerous city in the U.S. - actually an improvement over 2005, when the city was in 18th place - as evidence that San Bernardino has not done enough to improve safety.

"It's great to laud and say the chief is trying and really working hard, I think he is. We have some of the best police officers in the country, there are just not enough of them," Penman said.

Sunday's edition of The Sun featured an extensive retrospective of the events that followed the Nov. 2005 shooting death of 11-year-old Mynisha Crenshaw. This posting is a reprint of the small companion piece that focused on Mayor Pat Morris' thoughts on how the shooting affected San Bernardino.

Here is Morris' perspective:

A subsequent blog-only posting will provide a similar treatment to City Attorney James F. Penman's views. Penman was Morris' opponent in the 2005-06 mayoral campaign.

Mayor Pat Morris was still a candidate and a Superior Court judge when Mynisha Crenshaw was slain.

"That tragedy really did document or highlight the tragedy of juvenile violence in our city," Morris said.

"She was the epitome of innocence," he went on. "She wasn't a gang member. She wasn't involved in any of the gang sets in our city."

The child's death led to Morris and his opponent, City Attorney James F. Penman, to focus on crime during the last months of the 2005-06 mayoral campaign.

Crime remains a central issue in San Bernardino politics.

Voices like Morris' contend that a reinforced Police Department assigned to patrolling streets and solving crimes also needs a robust offering of youth services that can help steer young people away from drugs and gangs before they wind up as a suspect or a victim.

Penman and others reply that although social services may reap long-term benefits, San Bernardino still faces an immediate need to invest more resources into fighting crime.

Policy debates aside, Morris said San Bernardino still has a lot of work to do before the city can escape its reputation as a place of violence.

"We still have a long ways to go before we can brag about the day when we have no children gunned down," the mayor said.

Here's a followup to our story on former Operation Phoenix director Glenn Baude's decision to retire. This is an extended version of the article that will appear in The Sun.

Baude was under a gag order for much of the time that Phoenix-related developments and controversies dominated the news during the summer. He's now able to speak his mind.

Note: Comments from Councilman Tobin Brinker and Rikke Van Johnson were added on Monday, Dec. 1.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO -- Glenn Baude, the former leader of the city's Operation Phoenix program, says he's never been told whether any specific error on his part killed his career with the
city.

"I'm still wondering what I did wrong," Baude said Wednesday.

Baude has been cleared of wrongdoing by a pair of official investigations, but has nonetheless chosen to retire after spending about three months on administrative leave.

Now free to discuss Operation Phoenix-related matters that he was previously forbidden to talk about, Baude acknowledged that he and others made some mistakes in the difficult days after youth center manager Mike Miller was arrested on suspicion of child molestation.

But he also maintained that Operation Phoenix remains a worthy program to reduce crime and improve the lives of San Bernardino youth.

And he's worried that this summer's controversies have dealt too grievous a blow to the anti-crime initiative.

"You've destroyed a program that was the best program we've ever had in my tenure," he said.

Baude also served as the city's Code Enforcement director until being placed on paid leave in late July. He was Mayor Pat Morris' Operation Phoenix point man for about two years before the allegations against Miller inflamed city politics.

Interim city manager Mark Weinberg and City Attorney James F. Penman both confirmed today that former Code Enforcement and Operation Phoenix director Glenn Baude has agreed to end his employment with San Bernardino.

Here's the complete text of Weinberg's email:

"The City's investigation into allegations of misconduct against Glenn Baude have been concluded and the results have cleared him of any wrongdoing. During the proceedings, Mr. Baude indicated an interest in drawing his service with the City to a close. We have respected his wishes and negotiated a mutually agreed upon separation package that is modest yet reflects the City's appreciation for his years of dedicated service to the residents of San Bernardino. We wish Glenn well in his future."

Mayor Pat Morris put Baude in charge of coordinating Phoenix-related projects when Operation Phoenix was launched in 2006. On the surface, things seemed to be going along swimmingly until Phoenix center supervisor Mike Miller was arrested on suspicion of child molestation in early July.

After Miller was arrested, it became clear that Phoenix had a problematic management structure that made it difficult whether Miller - technically a parks employee - reported to Baude or his superiors in Parks, Recreation and Community Services. News reports published in The Sun over the summer also revealed that before being arrested on suspicion of serious crimes, Miller had allegedly participated in serious on-the-job misconduct, including pellet gun wars on city property.

Asked for comment on Weinberg's message, Baude's attorney James Curtis said "I guess that means we won."

Here's a slightly longer version of the story that's set to run in Tuesday's edition of The Sun.

The article is mostly about an intense argument that erupted over 3rd Ward Councilman Tobin Brinker's to change the council's leadership structure. At first glance, the issue can seem boring but 1st Ward Councilwoman Esther Estrada and 7th Ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack argued that Brinker's move was really about retaliation.

Brinker's proposal would have reduced Estrada's authority. As the council's most senior member, she has power to assign council members to different city committees. Brinker's proposal would allow the council to elect one of their own to fulfill that role.

Making his case for his proposal, Brinker said his idea is more democratic than the current arrangement and creates more accountability within the body.

Estrada and McCammack contended that Brinker made a move against Estrada because of Estrada's support for a council-issued subpoenas to investigate Operation Phoenix. Brinker, and every council member but Estrada and McCammack, has voted against launching a council-led investigation of Phoenix.

The longer version of Tuesday's article follows the jump: