South County cities receive $850k grant

The four largest South Monterey County communities are getting a big boost to strengthen the relationship between law enforcement and the community.

Four Cities United, made up of Gonzales, Soledad, Greenfield and King City, was awarded an $850,000 grant from the Board of State and Community Corrections last year. That money will be used to build a regional approach that will “mold a culture of trust.”

“We’ve clearly had some violence in South County over the years so there’s that need,” said Gonzales City Manager Rene Mendez. “With the current environment nationwide as far as the uncertainty beyond our communities and our police departments, there’s that sort of increased awareness and education. Not only do we expect not only our communities hopefully to understand us but us to understand the issues and the challenges and the real fears facing our communities.”

The grant money will help the four communities launch several new programs.

The first is to develop a citizen policy academy to facilitate community problem solving, enhance community image and support economic development. Gonzales and Soledad police will host a joint CPA, while King City and Greenfield will host the other.

“In any relationship, whether personal or profession or the government to our communities,” Mendez explained, “Understanding each other better and listening to each other is healthy and it’s positive.”

The second program would have all officers undergo Crisis Intervention Training to better handle people who need mental health support. Several officers would be trained, then would train their colleagues.

The third program, which has already started, diverts troubled youth from getting into the justice system.

“Youth that come into the system for the first time are supposed to go into the probation system and juvenile hall system,” Mendez explained. “We’re trying to divert them to get them the services they need and their families need to hopefully get them out of getting in trouble.”

And lastly, the cities want to cultivate cultural awareness.

“We’re going to try to understand our Oaxacan communities that we have in South County,” Mendez said. “So there’s a cultural sensitivity awareness, so our officers are going to get more in depth training by experts in the field on how to communicate, relate, understand our Oaxacan communities that we have in South County.”

The Salinas Police Department and the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office also received money from that same grant. Parts of their program included the “Why’d You Stop Me?” campaign, which is designed to give both police and the community an understanding of what the other group is experiencing in police contact. That can help build empathy and trust and reduce violence.