Recently in Operation Phoenix Category

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: