ARYBA TX-NM, Operation No Gangs


operation No Gangs Anthony, NM

ANTHONY, NM


Photos by Rob Gallardo, All rights reserved.

POSTPONED INDEFINITELY 11/26/07  -  reschedule date to be posted soon

    SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2007          
Anthony Residents for Community Action  (ARCA) will hold its 12/1/07 "The Streets Belong To Us!" 10 pm curfew ordinance initiative march through the streets of Anthony, New Mexico. Marchers will meet at 9:30 p.m., will receive safety and protocol instructions, will sign a Signatures of Support document, and will then march at exactly 10 p.m. through a designated marching route. The march is being held to bring attention to the need for community unity and vigilance in light of two recent two gang-related homicides and an upsurge in graffiti and late-night criminal activity in the area. The march is intended to additionally signal to the Dona Ana County Board of Commissioner's the community's support for a 10 p.m. minor curfew. Participants from all parts of the Paso Del Norte regions (El Paso, Juarez, Las Cruces and Dona Ana County South Valley) are invited to take part in the march. Marchers will wear a white clothing item with the number "10", will carry flashlights and small placards with the words "It's 10 o'clock. Do you know where your children are?" Participants, who will march in groups of 10, are additionally asked to bring along bells and whistles during the course of the march through a designated section of the town. At the end of the march, local clergy will make a call to the participants to seek unity, build community and look out for each other. The Dona Ana County Sheriff's Department will have patrol vehicles and personnel ensuring the safety of marchers and signalling support of the curfew intiative. Students from area schools will be encouraged through a series of contests to develop related posters and logos.  Inquiries about the curfew march can be directed to Rob Gallardo, Curfew Committee Coordinator at either (575) 201-4365 or (505) 346-0679.

In an initial town meeting of Tuesday, July 17, 2007
the people of Anthony, New Mexico conveyed their commitment to
a. becoming educated about the youth gang culture and how it destroys families, communities and futures
b. becoming actively and continually involved in community endeavors to prevent gang affiliation in their families and neighborhoods
c. watching out for each other so that gangsters do not continue their destructive and time-wasting activities
d. learning how to communicate with each other and the various community entities to report graffiti and gang activity in order to curb and eventually curtail this activity altogether
e. place a focus on the education and exhibition of positive behavior of their kids
f. take responsibility for the raising of their kids
g. support their community leaders and law enforcement officials
h. work together without quibbling, finger-pointing, in-fighting or inter-organizational competition to put an end to gang violence and activity in the great community that it is

The adage is true: "It takes a village."


Anthony Crime Statistics period 1/1/07 - 7/1/07, El Paso Times


















Learning from experience:

(from Los Angeles Daily News, 9/29/04 regarding ignoring the gang gang growth warning signs)
"... the number of gangsters has grown nearly 10 times faster than the region's population, while the resources used to battle them have grown only modestly, or in some cases even declined.

And many communities from the high desert in San Bernardino County to the coastal plain of Ventura County failed to respond by hiring more police or creating intervention programs as the tentacles of gangs spread throughout Southern California.

Fontana police Chief Larry Clark said his city and others experiencing high growth naively ignored the warning signs and allowed gangs to take hold so they now face problems similar to those in poor inner-city areas.

'If you're real honest, the public put its head in the sand, and said, we don't have a gang problem. By the time they realized you have to do something, it was a major issue and we were behind the curve. That has a lot to do with it.' "

Operation
NO
Gangs

Prevention
Education
Jail Diversion
Advocacy


(575) 201-4365
(505) 346-0679

Anthony, NM
El Paso, Texas
Cd. Juarez, Chih

 2007

Interested in a presentation to your business, church, civic group or classroom? List of Gang/Drug Awareness Presentation topics







www.moli.com/arybatxnm