Seaside discusses public safety, gang violence at town hall

One Central Coast city said it is experiencing violence at a level it’s not seen for decades. The spike in gang crime is causing residents in Seaside to demand answers from the city’s top cop. Hundreds of residents said they’re fed up with gang violence in Seaside. Many people gathered at the Oldemeyer Center to hear the numbers for themselves.

Seaside police said the cards are stacked against them with the lowest number of officers on the peninsula per capita. The department thinks the violence is happening because of a multi-generational effect of children of parents who went to prison in the 1990s for similar crimes. Over the past two weeks, Seaside police said it’s investigated three shootings and one home burglary. In those cases, Chief Vicki Myers said arrests have been made, because officers are working hard to solve cases.

“Every one of those perpetrators at least one of those people are in custody and we’re seeking charges and we’ve recovered weapons and some of them are going away for a very long time,” Myers said.

Police said the community is really stepping up right now, to report what they see on the streets. But residents we spoke with said they’re not convinced these community meetings to discuss public safety are accomplishing much.

“They need to dog these gangsters constantly, they need to keep after them all the time,” said resident Richard Hellum.

Seaside said it’s working with the other Peninsula police departments to hire a regional crime analyst this spring. Myers said that person would be responsible for compiling information, allowing departments to operate more efficiently.