Fresno Police continue to step up city wide patrols which
focus on taking guns and violent criminals off the street.
The reason behind this increased effort is that there have
been 34% more shootings in the first two months of this year compared to last
yea
CBS47 was invited to ride along with Officer Vincent Zavala Sunday night. He stays extremely alert as he patrols
southwest Fresno, which is always a hot spot for gang activity and shootings.
“You’re looking for most of the time different vehicles, just
anything that looks suspicious,” said Officer Vincent Zavala of Fresno Police.
A guy riding a bike catches his eye, so he stops and
searches him. The man comes up clean, but
Zavala says he could have very well been armed.
“There is definitely an urgency because the guns are just
everywhere now,” said Zavala.
That’s why last week it was announced that local, state and
federal agents are teaming up to slap federal charges on dangerous people who
are illegally carrying guns.
“This operation is a positive way to help put these people
who are doing these crimes away for a long time,” said Zavala.
Police can’t clean up the streets alone, they need good
witnesses. Which is why a new public
awareness campaign has been launched encouraging folks to call 621-GANG to
report violent behavior. The reward for
credible tips has been increased from $300 to $600.
“A lot of times it’s just a little point in the right
direction. A name and then we can do the
work up and take it from there,” said Zavala.
Zavala says one thing you can count on is that his city wide
tact team will never be content.
“The guys we work with are well driven and they’re out there
to get the worst of the worst,” said Zavala.
Another strength to this operation is there is now a detective
strictly devoted to guns. He digs deep
into the history of every firearm seized to make sure suspects are prosecuted
to the fullest extent of the law.