Help Keep Teens Out of Trouble : The alarming increase in local gang activity and youth violence affects everyone. It will take everyone to reverse it.

I left the smog and traffic of Los Angeles over 16 years ago and moved to Orange County, attracted by its cleaner air, open space and less-congested roadways. My husband and I bought our first home in Irvine, a model city that provided security to its residents and a desirable environment in which to raise our three children.

Since we moved to Irvine, significant changes have occurred. Formerly an expansive agricultural flatland with the scent of orange blossoms, Irvine, following its master plan like an expert seamstress mindful of effectively integrating the pieces of a patchwork quilt, has parceled agricultural areas into multiple community villages, business parks and commercial centers. Despite the divergent political perspectives found among its constituents, Irvine has received national acclaim for its child-care facilities, recycling efforts and senior services.

During the 1980s, population, prosperity and cultural diversity increased in Irvine, and its crime rate remained one of the county’s lowest.

During the 1990s, however, gang-related shootings and tagging have occurred. Graffiti began appearing on retaining walls and public buildings, and gang members from other areas have been sighted in Irvine, developments that do not bode well for the future.

Before late last year, I did not regard gangs as a serious problem in Irvine. The city’s inclusionary housing program seemed to guarantee a certain measure of comfort and security. Lower-income wage earners live in neighborhoods alongside more affluent residents, creating a more cohesive and homogeneous community. This minimizes gang activities often observed in neighborhoods with only low-income housing. Local villages, through community associations, have adopted standards and provisions regarding the maintenance of housing, parks and greenbelts.

I was stunned last November by drive-by shootings, one at a local pizza parlor and another two days later, violence occurring within only a few weeks after my election to the Irvine City Council. Following those shootings, Greg Smith and Tom Burnham, board members of the Irvine Unified School District, and I recommended discussing the shootings in a public forum. The result was a joint session of the school board and City Council.

Residents voiced their concerns about campus safety, the increase of youth violence, the easy access to handguns and other lethal weapons, and campus tensions resulting from ethnic and cultural differences. In response, a Safe Community Task Force was appointed in January. Its membership represents the cultural, political and professional diversity of Irvine.

With experts on gang violence leading the discussions, the task force gathered information from teachers, child psychologists, church leaders, probation officers, weapons experts, community and business leaders and local teen-agers. After more than 1,000 hours studying a complex and not easily solved social problem, the task force presented its comprehensive report May 26 to a joint meeting of the school board and the City Council.

The good news: Irvine is still the safest community in Orange County. The bad news: Gang activities and youth violence are on the increase locally and nationally, posing problems for all communities--problems that neither Irvine nor any other city can afford to ignore. To maintain our safe and secure neighborhoods for families and children a cooperative effort from all segments of our community is required.

The business community, nonprofit groups, homeowners associations and public agencies, during this time of limited financial resources, must work together to provide additional teen activities--a large portion of whose time is discretionary.

Experts heard by the task force recommended that parents improve parenting skills, set limits for their children’s behavior and teach personal responsibility. My two daughters are teen-agers, and from personal experience I know that adolescence is a difficult period for parent and child. The most devoted parents still must cope with the increasing independence and personal choices of their youngsters. We really need to be more involved in our children’s lives. The time we invest provides more stability and helps them face the future and become productive citizens. The stronger the family ties, the less chance of gang involvement.

To limit future gang violence and decrease lawlessness, city and county agencies must share information about potential gang activities and adopt consistent procedures for coping with violence. Adolescents’ behavior is undoubtedly affected by the heavy violence they view in films and on television.

After serving on the Safe Community Task Force, I am pleased my Monday evenings are again free for family walks and personal endeavors. But I cannot forget the disturbing information I learned during those five months: that gangs and youth violence constitute a national health crisis; that the second leading cause of death among our teens 15 through 19 is homicide; and that increasing violence affects communities throughout the nation.

To ensure safe neighborhoods and communities requires efforts by businesses, churches, families, schools, and state and local government; indeed, it requires effort by each member of each segment of each community.