" Profiling! Works everytime. We all know the root of this evil and the cause..as well as the general description of the perpetrators. Just open our eyes..identify the problem(s) and detain, arrest, deport. "

" Identify the source. Why do some men grow up with the desire to collectively harm others? Where were their fathers during their upbringing? Why do the parents of teen gangs allow their children to wander aimlessly on the streets waiting for an opportunity to direct their collective anger on another individual or group? Males who grow up wanting to destroy others; how do they find eachother? Is there something identifiable, a pattern of cultural support for this type of behavior; unavailable fathers, families too busy or simply unwilling to intervene? On some subconscious level, do their parents think gangs are "cool"? What happens to these gang members in adulthood? Most importantly, do they ever become self sufficient? If these males are simply spreading their seeds and moving on to the next available incubator without any consciousness about feeding, clothing are nurturing their offspring, the outcome is a no brainer. it's a pattern of nothingness, no where to go continuance. Society should be boiling mad about it. Truth is that we support it, feed it, and ignore it until it's in our face. We have to deal with the "now", fix what presently exists. But we can make a difference for the future. Do we want to encourage a population explosion of fatherless children who are aimless? We need to send a clear message that it's socially unacceptable bringing children into the world who cannot be supported without public assistance. If young people are unable to feed, cloth and nurture their offspring independently, they should NOT have children, period. Why is it they CHOOSE to not use birth control? Babies are not some type of pierced eared trophy for display. Responsible reproduction needs to be popularized at the junior high level. "

" I'm glad to see the Napa Police Department doing something about the shootings, stabbings, break-ins, vandalism, and whatever happened last week on El Capitan Way wiht at least a half dozen police cars that went unreported. I, as a citizen, saw what out Police Department was doing about this ongoing crime... A speed trap on Highway 29 really deals with gang violence. Four motorcycle cops and a SUV making stops for speeding. I think these fficers could do more to make Napa safer by dealing with the violent crime we are having. Once we don't have to live in fear of being shot, stabbed, or our personal property we work so hard for to be stolen, then the Police have time for speed traps. By the way, I obey the speed laws and was not stopped, but many were that only slightly exceded the speed limit. Come on, Chief, do domething about the real problems of this city before all the productive members of our community high tail it out of here. "

" This job is much too large for the police and I doubt there is much that can be done on the city government level either. What needs to happen with the law enforcement end of things is basically what is being done; a concerted effort among the local police, probation and parole officers, the sheriffs dept and federal officials working within their jurisdictions and basically just all doing what they are trained to do. One of the main tools they should be using is infiltration, which of course is much easier said than done, and very dangerous. This is difficult especially when most of the time law enforcement officials are totally mistrusted. This takes us back of course to the bad immigration and other laws that make fringe criminals out of otherwise useful citizens. Its much easier to go after the users, drunks and the homeless, easier prey. Heaven knows there is no shortage of people engaging in illegal activities out there. My heart goes out to those in law enforcement committed to such a task. I would have to say that admitting that there is a gang problem is a good place to start. To vocaldelocal: I was born and raised in Napa and ended up a bad boy despite my extensive membership (which included working starting at six years old) at the Napa Boys club and winning the Optimist oratorical contest at eleven. I was one of nine children and got no support or supervision from my parents until it was too late and that was all negative. I Thank Jesus and one caring policemen for my being saved. Families who care and are involved and have morals whether from God or ??? These are what can truly stop this madness. "

" All I think right now is that every one should think family!! AS the main educatin our kids have comes through us the parents! no words i can say can probably make the boys mom ease the pain but i hope god can give her and her family the strength they need. "

" Latina: Your point is well taken. Family is everything to a child. The security of a home and the support of family makes a big difference. Well done. With a smile, I hope you are not a democrat. :) "

" WOW! What a baiter. Vocal-De-Local begins with why Men are not men. I’m interested in his/her definition of a Man. I definitely agree that Men have become castrati from the Steinham/Abzug era yet it is just another indication of declension. Some women have to employ the very old Mediterranean female guilt “trip” surround us males. How do they find each other? Magnetism. Real men are no different the real women. We don’t need to “belong”. We should grow up knowing we are individuals immune from media hype and political correctness. Much ado about nothing, tempests in a teapot. Vocal, you are on the right track. There is much to discuss. Oldnapakid? Your offering was quite revealing. The beginning was vanquished by your ending. Stay with us here. We can reason together where that option did not exist before. Hate is not debate. "

" Why don't we stick to th ecurrent plan - accept and ecourage illegal aliens to settle here and build more "affordable housing" to help them along the way? "

" Beef up the anti-gang task force, enforce immigration laws, send out more probation officers, recruit informants and start some neighborhood watch programs. That would be a recipe for progress. "

" Declension, very nice J.C. "

" welll its pretty funny how most of you want to judge the latin community and it all comes down to immigration as far as history goes everyone in this country is an immigrant unless your a native american and can we talk about these young white kids that also get involve in gangs do to a lack of attention or did we forget about the shooting that happened in 98 when a youn white kid that was in a gang shot two innocent by standers walking home from school and one of the victims recently died from this incident hey have you checked out the sex offenders page in napa have you noticed how most of them on there are white what does that tell you ??? "

" concerned citizen you are so ignorent to the whole situation you need to do alot of research and go out around your neighborhood and around napa and you'll see that its not just hispanic people doing the so called crimes and it isnt only hispanics involved in gangs come on now. "

" Number 1: Tougher punishments for Gang Violence and Activities. Number 2: More police. Number 3: Education. In order to decrease the gangs in Napa the community needs to come together with a Zero Gang Tolerance mentality. The community as a whole needs to be educated on how to deal with and ultimately stop these “thugs”. Let’s hold a city meeting (yeah, I know . . .) and put some steps together on how to educate the parents, teachers, police, business owners, neighbors, and every day citizens. How about setting up some classes for these parents, teachers, etc on what they can personally do to help these young teens who are in danger of or already a part of gang life. Basically we need to make getting gangs out of Napa a priority. Obviously this will take $$$, so we might need to borrow from our tourist fund. "

" JimClark, you're missing the point. I stated "Why do 'some' men grow up with the desire to collectively harm others". Notice the word 'some'? Are you implying a flaw in my argument? If so, exactly what part do you not understand? You hijacked my post and diverted attention to 'Men are not men'. Puzzling yet transparent. Read again. My post attempts to address the issue of a lack of paternal nurture, guidance and availability as the root cause of gang formation. It's truth telling and not a particularly comfy subject for some people to address. Politically incorrect it might be, suggesting that the offspring of fathers who choose abandonment will seek a sense of 'belonging' elsewhere and that it's a direct result of fathers who abandon their kids. Sometimes a grandpa, uncle, or male member of the community will fill that void. But it's wrong to blame the police, the city council or other governmental agencies (with the exception of those agencies who inadvertently promote higher reproduction rates in populations who cannot afford it). Sure, we can put our resources into more and more street patrols who respond to increasing levels of pack violence: but really, shouldn't our resources also identify the underlying cause? Society should be mad as hell about fathers who bring children into this world because it's cheap and therefore they feel they can abandon them. I think it's an issue worthy of discussion. No, I cannot be silenced by words such as 'declension'. I feel strongly that responsibility is too often shifted onto innocent people when children lack a strong caring, male role model. Do an internet search on Pilanesberg game park, elephant behavior, and Bob Simon to further educate yourself on this subject. "

" Vocal-De-Local: I'm not going to parse words with you. When I was in K-12, there were expectations on dress and behavior. Although my generation was supposed to become the well-adjusted geniuses of the “new age”, it became a population of useful idiots indoctrinated by arrogant and self righteous social democrats. It has to do with principle, ethics and self-esteem. In a word, The People are beginning to realize they were and are misled. Would that not be true had my generation not been infected by “social democracy”? The lame saying that if one lived in the sixties, they wouldn’t remember it is the typical mentality that existed back then. I watched too many of my friends and others my age fry their brains. I don’t find that cute, funny or indicative of a “new age”. Just take a gander at all too many of our children. Our “children” once meant each of us had some personal investment their behavior and conduct. That came when they were being deprived of their “rights” unless some social worker or the aclu had dictated the terms. Bastardy is in epidemic proportion? Despicable language and behavior by young castrati who think they are men when they can bully, intimidate or kill others for what? Territory? Power? We pay a great deal of money for protection and it isn’t there. If one protects them self from one of the de evolved creatures, they will be subject to charges. Who has become the bad guy? Because we protect our Constitutional rights where nobody else will? The law automatically exonerates judges, psychologists, psychiatrists and social worker when any of them manage to put an abject criminal back into our society. I believe I will leave it at that for now. "

" JimClark, I lean in a direction toward social democrat, although, no party owns me because I want to maintain flexibility in my views. I was a grade school kid in the sixties and there were both good and bad happenings from what I recall. I cannot dismiss it as all bad or all good. That said, the issue I have with our social fabric (and this has a lot to do with my education in science) is that in the real animal world, the one that doesn't pick up all the pieces that have fallen, populations are kept in check. In a pack of wolves, there is an alpha female and her mate. The pack generally tolerates only two alphas and when they weaken, yes, they can be replaced by bullies underneath, but lower level bullies who too often get out of line are typically thrown out of the pack. Most of them do not survive on their own. Because humans try to not behave like other animals, we actually encourage the expansion of a bully population. Why? Nature does not tolerate supporting offspring who cannot care for themselves. Bullies typically prioritize brawn over brain. I do not promote the idea of throwing people out of the pack to fend for themselves, but on the other hand, I do not think we should be rewarding them for greater levels of reproduction. We are harming the balance of our social structure because we feed, cloth and shelter their offspring and I believe that it devalues them on some level, from the perspective of the parental generation. High cost limits reproduction. We cannot handle a population explosion of people who reject economic independence and then retaliate because they want to blame everyone else for their inadequacies. "

" To Justathought707: Although gangs are not comprised entirely of Latinos, the gangs here in Napa are mostly Latino. I even knew a Japanese boy back in high school that joined a Latino gang. It all depends on where you live. In L.A. there are Latino gangs, white gangs, black gangs, Chinese and the most feared, Korean gangs. In New Mexico where I briefly lived there were Navajo indian gang members as well as Latino gangs. The Hells Angels gang is predominantly white. The point I'm trying to make is that illegal immigration is part of the gang problem, but not all of it. As with other problems in life there are usually multiple causes. Things aren't always so cut-and-dry. If we virtually eliminated illegal immigration I guarantee that would cut back our gang troubles to some degree. Latino gangs have roots in Mexico to their crime organizations as well as some of their "bosses" in major prisons. By eliminating illegal immigration it will help sever that connection. "

" My family moved from Napa about a two years ago. I was talking to a friend who lives in Napa and she was telling me about the gang problems that have been going on. I was born and raised in Napa and it makes me so sad to hear what is going on. All I can say is just teach your children from right from wrong "

" What can be done? Change our whining attitude about those 'poor gang members' who shoot and kill each other. Fewer gangbangers for us to have to deal with. "