IRVINE : Safety Task Force Will Be Expanded

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved adding two members to the Safe Community Task Force in order to increase the diversity of its members.

The city and the Irvine Unified School District created the task force in December after Irvine’s first drive-by shooting, allegedly committed by local high school students. The 15-member task force was formed to represent school and city officials, police, parents, teachers, students and community members.

During the task force’s first weekly meeting this month, residents complained that task force members inadequately reflect the racial, geographical and other constituent groups in the city. Two members are Asians, and a black mother of a high school junior was added after the first meeting to fill a vacancy. The rest of the task force members are white.

The task force agreed to ask the City Council and school board for permission to add more members to increase diversity. Since the council and the school board set up the task force’s size, both governing bodies had to approve the expansion.

On Tuesday, council member Christina Shea, a member of the task force, brought the request to her council colleagues. On Jan. 19, the school board recommended adding two members to the task force to provide broader community representation.

The city and school district created the task force to look for the causes of violence and gang activity in the city and suggest how the city and schools can work to decrease the problems of gangs and violent students. The task force has been asked to report its findings by the end of February.

In November, two high school students in the parking lot of a popular lunch-time hangout were injured when an occupant of a passing car began shooting at a group of students. The incident shocked the community, which for years had escaped gang-type violence.