Click on the video above to learn more about the results of Operation Safe Neighborhood.
A coordinated crackdown on gangs, illegal guns, and individuals in violation of probation is making Fresno a better place to live, Police Chief Paco Balderrama said Tuesday.
Balderrama’s remarks came at a news conference highlighting the results of the two-week-long Operation Safe Neighborhoods effort involving police and county probation officers.
Here are the highlights cited by Balderrama:
— 279 arrests, including 139 on felony charges;
— 58 gang members arrested;
— 57 illegally possessed guns seized, including 15 ghost guns.
About the seized guns, the police chief said, “We don’t sell these guns … and, ultimately they are destroyed. Some people don’t like that, but I sleep better at night knowing these (guns) won’t be used to murder or shoot anybody else.”
Fresno County Chief Probation Officer David Ruiz said that his agents made 53 probation-related arrests and seized seven firearms during the enforcement effort.
Fresno Homicides Down Dramatically
Fresno has had 10 homicides this year thus far. That’s down from 21 at this point last year.
