16month Probation Targeted Response Operation Results in Hundreds of Arrests

San Bernardino County Probation officers arrested more than 300 people following 16 months of proactive enforcement to decrease a reported spike in gang activity throughout the area. As a result of the increase in gang activity, Chief Michelle Scray Brown ordered the Targeted Response Operation, which targeted both adult and juvenile offenders who were members or associates of local criminal street gangs and who were on active supervision with the San Bernardino County Probation Department for violent and/or weapons offenses. The Criminal Intelligence Unit, Gang Unit and Probation Apprehension Team within the San Bernardino County Probation Department came together to form the Targeted Response Operation. Their objective was to identify and contact gang members on active supervision. During the elaborate operation, 105 firearms were recovered. In addition, during this same time frame, probation recovered an estimated 57 additional guns during routine probation fieldwork. Chief Brown stated, “I am so proud of our probation staff, who worked tirelessly over the last year. This is an example of why probation must have a balanced approach in providing services and enforcement. 162 firearms removed from the streets equates to safer communities and reduced victimization."