About half of those who responded
to the Argus-Courier’s online survey Feb. 12, 2009 said that recent assaults by
gang members have made them feel less safe walking in their neighborhood at
night.

About one-third said that they
have altered their clothing choices when out in public because of recent
gang-related attacks on victims wearing the color red. About one-fifth said
they know someone who has been harassed or assaulted in Petaluma because they
wore colors “claimed” by gangs.

Here are some of the comments by
those who responded to the survey:

” “

“We are in the process of moving
out of Petaluma because we do not want our 4-year-old boy to grow up in this
atmosphere. This is very sad, as we were born and raised here. City officials
kept their eyes closed to the issue too long and now it’s too late. The old
Petaluma is dead.”

” “

“The gang issue in Petaluma is
real and getting worse. I know personally many who have been victims of these
same young men!”

” “

“Petaluma at night is a scary
place!”

” “

“We need maximum enforcement on
these gang members.”

” “

“The gang problem has been around
for a long while. It is highlighted now since the attack occurred in a ‘nice’
neighborhood. Our young children can become caught up in gang life early (upper
elementary and middle school). Parents should be alert to signs that their
child is possibly associating with friends who are already involved in gang
life. Induction happens this early for the reasons the children are more
vulnerable and are more easily influenced.”

” “

“The police need to do a better
job at eliminating gangs in Petaluma. It used to be such a great town.”

” “

“I hope that this is really
gang-related. I’m afraid of the public backlashing and stereotyping the
‘people’ they think are in a gang. I go to the Safeway shopping center at night
and see a large group of Anglo men around cars and no one seems to worry about
them gathering. Let’s educate our less fortunate at an early age so we don’t
have to wait until it gets to the point of being afraid to walk in suburbia.”

” “

“The courts should become stronger
on punishment of these kids. Instead, they slap the hands and send them home.
The parents should also be held responsible. Since our county has become a
sanctuary for certain people, it seems the gangs have become more prevalent.”

” “

“Gang violence? Small wonder.
Parents working two jobs to make ends meet and not being involved with and
supervising their children, what do you expect? If the kids can’t find
acceptance at home, they’ll find acceptance some place else. And don’t blame
the police, they can’t be all-knowing and all-seeing, especially nowadays with
the number of police in decline due to city budget cuts.”

” “

“Makes me want to move from
Petaluma. I have a 10-year-old son and cannot believe truly that I have to
think about what color T-shirts he will wear to junior high. Why are we
fighting terrorists abroad when they are in our back yard and more threatening
daily.”

” “

“It’s ridiculous to not be able to
wear red and blue, the colors of the USA. All known gang members should be
deported immediately. Get out of Petaluma!”

” “

“It’s about time that our
community said a loud ‘no’ to those who choose violence over reason. Law
enforcement and the legal system must be proactive in protecting the public.
This is a cancer on our culture that must be eradicated before it is allowed to
spread any further. It is a low-class Mafia acting with impunity throughout our
urban and suburban communities. A blight that could threaten all of us in the
future.”

” “

“When police want more budget
money, the amount of crime goes up? Coincidence?”

” “

“It is amazing the response you
get from thugs when you exercise your 2nd Amend-ment rights. These clowns
wouldn’t last 10 minutes in East Oakland, Compton or the barrios of L.A.”

” “

“It sucks to be a 49ers fan.”

” “

“This has gotten way out of hand.
As public servants, politicians and police need to take aggressive action to
correct this problem. Otherwise, I fear Sonoma County will continue to plunge
into a Third World type of environment.”

” “

“I have a feeling this is just
wannabes, They are not your everyday gang members. These are just kids that
want to make a name for themselves ” not your group gang.”

” “

“Has it ever occurred to you that
not all walk the same paths in life?”

” “

“Eviction time!”

” “

“I am a gang member.”

” “

“Honestly, gangs begin in poverty
and usually stay there. In more urban and liberal areas, there is no doubt of
gang activity. This sudden ‘crackdown’ on gangs is a waste of time. Police
should be worried about a bigger problem; that actually has a solution, rather
than going after uneducated people that don’t understand that they’re actually
doing wrong. No matter what, the good or the bad say; where there’s smoke
there’s fire, and in these recent attacks, both sides should share the blame.
And what I don’t understand is that in the summer, there was another
gang-related stabbing and no arrests or ‘investigations’ were made, so why
start now?”

” “

“There are no weapons of mass
destruction ” or gangs.”

” “

“Tell Mike Kerns to get off his
big useless rear end and put the funding back into to our gang task force and
our resource officers back on our school campuses!”

” “

“You’ve already had this topic
open for discussion. Now do something about it! It would be a good start to
disclose the names of all these gang members whether they are under age or not!
We need to know who they are and where they live so we can watch out for
ourselves because the city sure isn’t doing it.”

” “

“What happened to our quiet little
town?”

” “

“These isolated incidents are
overblown scare tactics.”

” “

“Didn’t you already ask this
question?”

” “

“Was it last year when the chief
said that there was no more gang activity than usual? Funny, seems like more to
me.”

” “

“Jeez, my down-filled vest is
either blue or red (interchangeable.) I have never been harassed.”

” “

“Can’t we all just get along?”

” “

“Regarding the first question, I
answered ‘no’ as we no longer walk at night .”

” “

“Does the City Council have a plan
other than a quarter-cent tax to pay for safety officers? Maybe some retail tax
dollars would help the budget.”

” “

“These kids are hopeless, sorry to
say. They have no regard for society. Lock them up or deport them.”

” “

“Throw the illegal aliens out of
the country and you will eliminate the bulk of the gang problem. Oh, I forgot.
That is racist.”

” “

“Without sufficient city revenues,
I am afraid that our city budget will be forced to cut back in public safety.
Will crimes then be committed because the criminals will know that we don’t
have police officers to respond? Is the 911 response time going to be longer if
we make these budget cut backs? That doesn’t make me feel very safe!”

” “

“I’d like to see the Petaluma
Police actually acknowledge that there is a gang problem in Petaluma. It
doesn’t matter how small the presence is, it should be addressed as a problem
before it escalates. Keep the constituents informed.”

” “

“Gang members are cowards.”