Santa Ana has seen an uptick in violent crimes, most notably homicides, since the start of 2021, city officials announced Thursday.
From Jan. 1 through mid-March, the city has reported eight homicides compared to only one during the same time period last year, the Santa Ana Police Department said in a news release.
Of the homicides that have occurred this year, three were related to illegal gambling establishments, four others were gang-related and one was related to domestic violence, the department said.
To stem the rise in homicides and violence within the city, Santa Ana police officials have enacted a program called “Operation Community First.”
As part of the program, over the last two weeks, the department has deployed some of its specialized units, including the gang unit, to target areas — including those near illegal gambling sites — where police have seen problems occur repeatedly, officials said.
Department officials added that, within the past two weeks, police have also been able to shut down 36 of 41 known illegal gambling sites in the city. The operation has also led to more than 300 arrests by going to those gambling areas and neighborhoods that have seen an increase in gang activity and violent crimes, authorities said.
Police officials suspect the that the crimes involving the illegal gambling establishments are possibly connected.
“What we’ve determined, and we still have various active investigations, is that there is a tie to Asian organized crime that oversees a large part of this industry. It’s not exclusive but it’s a large part,” Santa Ana Police Chief David Valentin said during a Thursday news conference. “Unfortunately what they’re doing is hiring gang members to provide security, armed gang members in and around these facilities.”
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