Successful Practices & Strategies Vol. 1 | No. 10

Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department

Sacramento, California

www.sacsheriff.com

Community policing element

Community partnerships

Problem/issue

Gangs

Problem description

In 2009, the result of the nation’s financial troubles culminated in the decimation of the Sacramento 

County Sheriff’s Department (SCSD). Unable to curb budget deficits, the department released more than

400 law enforcement personnel from employment and caused a wave of problems throughout the 

county. 

The response time to pending calls, criteria used to establish secondary investigations, and prosecution 

guidelines were in a constant state of flux. During the same period, the citizens of Sacramento County 

also experienced higher unemployment rates, the end of many useful programs, and fewer publicly 

accessible resources. A significant result of this tumultuous time came in the form of increased youth 

gang membership and violence culminating with increased gang-related homicides in 2011.

Community policing strategies implemented

As a result of the COPS Office grant, the SCSD created the IMPACT program. The program’s design 

consisted of three separate units working collaboratively to curb youth gang violence: 

• The IMPACT Youth Services Unit. The grant allowed six deputy sheriffs and one sheriff sergeant

to focus on youth outreach and provide exposure to kids in practical life-enhancing programs as

an alternative to gang membership.

• The IMPACT Gang Suppression Unit. The grant resources provided the ability to obtain funding

for nine officers dedicated toward the investigation and arrest of gang members. The task force

membership increased after gaining regional support from local, state, and federal law

enforcement agencies.

• The IMPACT Intelligence Operations Group. The grant allowed the distribution of four

intelligence deputies assigned to investigations and corrections. The group works directly with

gang teams and other regional units.
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This full-spectrum targeting of regional gang problems has drawn significant support from neighboring 

local, state, and federal agencies. Neighboring agencies were so supportive of the program that many 

executives provided additional staff to work with the grant-funded personnel. This bolstered the Gang 

Suppression Unit into a 31-person task force comprised of four different teams.

Change and/or impact as a result of these community policing efforts

The regional impact is both tangible and systemic. The 360-degree gang responsive IMPACT program, 

made possible by COPS Office resources, is rapidly changing the quality of life for citizens in the 

Sacramento region. Unlike a traditional program of arresting, prosecuting, and providing after school 

programs, the IMPACT focus redefined collaboration. 

For the IMPACT Youth Service Unit, the mission of the program is to control the law enforcement 

message that residents and youth receive. In addition to providing positive interactions during high-risk 

times when youth are more susceptible to gang-related activities, the Youth Services Unit impacts kids 

by providing them positive contacts instead of only encountering law enforcement during a negative 

situation. Last, through activities and events, the youth gain a positive understanding on the community, 

thereby reducing the capacity of gangs to recruit them. To date, the Youth Services Unit has developed 

33 different programs and provided unique opportunities to more than 37,000 youths. 

While the Youth Services Unit plan is to work with the communities, the Gang Suppression Unit focuses 

its energy on investigating and arresting gang members operating in the Sacramento Region. By 

diligently investigating criminal organizations, the Gang Suppression Unit collects various pieces of 

information needed by the Intelligence Operations Group. By working together, the Gang Suppression 

Unit and the Intelligence Operations Group determine the center of gravity associated with the different 

gangs and target the elite members of the organizations. To date, there have been 521 arrests, 561 

firearms seized, over 7 lbs of cocaine, 5 oz of heroin, 500 lbs of marijuana, and 10 lbs of 

methamphetamine. 

For the Intelligence Operations Group, the mission is to collect all of the available information and save 

it into one network that is 28 CFR Part 23 compliant. The group supports the Youth Services Unit by 

examining the communities and identifying the areas in which youths might be more susceptible to 

recruitment. In addition, the group collects community and youth surveys as a process of monitoring the 

region’s gang exposure. On the enforcement side, the group collects all of the Gang Suppression Unit 

information and determines the elite members of the organizations. By targeting the leaders, gangs 

have difficulty maintaining the continuity of operations. To date, the Intelligence Operations Group has 

collected and analyzed more than 500,000 individual items of information.
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The opinions contained herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the 

U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, products, or services should not be considered an 

endorsement by the author(s) or the U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement 

discussion of the issues. 

The Internet references cited in this document were valid as of the date of publication. Given that URLs and websites are in 

constant flux, neither the author(s) nor the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services can vouch for their current validity. 

Published 2014