With homicide record on horizon, Salinas tries to stop bleeding

2015 is beginning to look a lot like 2009 in the city of Salinas when it comes to homicides. With a triple homicide on Monday, that brings the total 27. In 2009, Salinas saw a record 29 violent deaths.

“They are alarming. We are alarmed by those homicide numbers,” said Salinas Police Chief Kelly McMillin. Despite that, the chief isn’t changing his approach.

“(The) long-term strategy has resulted in a year-by-year gradual decline in youth violence and youth victimization and we intend to stick to that strategy. Which is to say as a potential record-breaking number of homicides this year, we can’t just drop everything and panic and try and think of something different to do,” said McMillin.

The goal is focus more on stopping the number of shootings versus the number of homicides. The reason, McMillin said, is because the difference between a homicide and a shooting depends on where the bullet strikes the victim.

The aforementioned long-term plan is designed to target the most violent, the most vulnerable and potential repeat-offenders coming to the community from jail or prison.

“Making sure they stay out of trouble through job opportunities, job skills, education training things like that,” McMillin said.

“We continue to work towards a safe and liveable community and prioritize it, put money towards it, put effort towards it and hopefully, with some long-term planning we’ll get there,” said Salinas council member Kimbley Craig.

“The people at risk of being shot are the same people that are doing the shooting,” McMillin said, which is usually the case, but sometimes it’s a different story for kids like 16-year-old Carlos Robles.

Robles, a North Salinas High School football player, was shot and killed at the beginning of September.

He had no gang ties, police said.

“At the end of the day there are 27 homicides and that’s unacceptable by any measure and that’s what we need to address,” McMillin said.

Right now, the Salinas police’s entire investigations bureau is working to solve these homicides.

While McMillin said his plan of slashing special assignment positions and putting those officers on patrol affects his department’s ability to be proactive, he said it’s hard to tell how much of an influence that has.