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Santa Ana police highlight Measure X support for gang prevention, youth programs and enforcement
Summary
Deputy Chief Jose Gonzalez told the Measure X committee the police department uses Measure X funds for gang suppression, community engagement, and youth programs including Santa Ana Police Athletics and Activities League (PAL); the gang unit reported an 80% increase in arrests for a unit-specific comparison year-over-year.
Deputy Chief Jose Gonzalez presented the police department's Measure X-funded public-safety work to the Measure X Citizen Oversight Committee, describing how dollars support gang prevention, intervention, education and enforcement as well as community programs designed to reduce violent crime.
Gonzalez said Measure X funds support a comprehensive approach that includes the Gang Suppression Unit (GSU), directed enforcement teams, patrol, the community engagement team and partnerships with county and federal prosecutors. "The bottom acronym of s a p a l is, stands for our Santa Ana Police Athletics and Activities League," he said, describing a department-run youth program that provides tutoring, mentoring and sports camps.
On enforcement, Gonzalez described visible suppression, undercover surveillance, and combined "Trojan horse" operations that pair undercover work with uniformed officers. He said the department maintains task-force relationships with the Orange County District Attorney, the U.S. Attorney's Office, FBI and ATF for complex cases and prosecutions.
Gonzalez presented unit-level statistics comparing 2023 and 2024 activity and said the gang unit recorded an 80% increase in total arrests in the year-to-year comparison for that unit. He explained the change in part by noting that a separate violent-crime suppression team had been reformed into a narcotics-focused team, leaving the gang unit as the sole team responsible for certain suppression activities; the presentation compared the gang unit's standalone activity in 2024 to a period when multiple suppression teams operated concurrently.
Committee members asked whether Measure X funds are used for programs outside the municipal police department. Gonzalez said Measure X revenues fund several police functions and related quality-of-life work citywide; the city also collaborates with the Santa Ana Unified School District's police for intelligence and youth outreach but Measure X funds the municipal police department directly.
Gonzalez and members discussed performance metrics such as response times and the value of administrative staff funded by Measure X to free sworn officers for street duty. Committee members asked for comparative data on response-time trends and hiring to be shared ahead of the March meeting so the committee can use the information in its budget recommendations.
