6/16/05 When a Lompoc teen-ager was shot while walking along North F Street in April, police quickly labeled the incident as gang-related.

Although gang violence has been on the decline since the creation of a special gang unit by the Lompoc Police Department last summer, the shooting was a reminder of how dangerous the longtime problem can be even in a small town with a population slightly more than 40,000.

Police blame these gangs and others for violent crimes, drug-dealing and vandalism, but say they are bringing the gangs under control and crime is decreasing.

"Since the creation of the gang enforcement team, major crimes have dropped. Gang-related aggravated assaults are down by 12 percent and simple assaults are down by 14 percent," said Officer George Berrios, a member of the gang unit.

There are two main gangs in Lompoc - the Southsiders, with about 100 members, and Varrio Lamparas Primera, which claims the city's westside and has about 200 members, according to police.

Despite affiliation with particular areas of the city, there are no real territorial boundaries between the two groups. Rival gang members are often neighbors - a situation that often leads to violence, Berrios said.

Despite the reduction in major crime, Berrios said, the amount of graffiti vandalism has increased all over town, affecting apartment complexes as well as private homes.

"We're seeing more of it because the graffiti buster van is not able to clean all of it off quick enough," Berrios said, referring to "graffiti buster" volunteers sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce to clean up the gang graffiti.

"A large portion of the apartment complexes in town have graffiti in them because for whatever reason, apartment managers don't remove the vandalism," Berrios said.

Police Sgt. Don Dodson, who supervises the department's anti-gang efforts, said the battle against graffiti is critical because it gives rival gangs a way to speak directly to one another, to stoke their anger.

Berrios echoed Dodson on that point: "Graffiti leads to violence and so it's important to clean it up," he said.

Violence, such as the April shooting of the 17-year-old Lompoc boy, encourages gang members "to be talking about each other in the form of graffiti," Dodson said.

The shooting victim was hospitalized with injuries to his face that were not life-threatening. San Luis Obispo resident Fabian Angel Castillo, 20, was arrested in connection to the incident and is awaiting arraignment. A hearing is scheduled for June 21.

More "Graffiti Buster" volunteers are needed to keep up with the tide of vandalism, Dodson said.

"One of the key elements of fighting gangs is to remove graffiti immediately," Dodson said. "We're having problems with finding volunteers in the area to paint over the graffiti, so people interested in volunteering should join the graffiti abatement program."

To combat gang activity, the police unit - Berrios and Officer Vincent Magallon - patrols apartment alleys and neighborhoods, looking for gang members dealing drugs, tagging, or fighting. They wear special uniforms and ride in a gray sedan that, despite being unmarked, is familiar to gang members.

Their goal is to be proactive, to stop criminal activity before it happens by their familiar presence, Dodson said.

The officers patrol 12 to 20 hours every day, Berrios said, often working in conjunction with the police narcotics unit. The combined team is called G-Net.

Police said community support is needed to help combat gang activities. One way is to report graffiti, which is as important as cleaning it up, Berrios said.

"People are afraid to call us because they think we'll identify them when we arrest a gang member," he said, adding that police never identify a reporting party to incident suspects.

Berrios said the No. 1 deterrent to gangs is parental involvement in their children's lives.

"Parents use the excuse they are too busy and have two jobs," he said. "Still, you should be more involved and know where your kids are."

Magallon said parents should look out for gang-related issues in their pre-teen children.

"When they're 18 years old, children are less likely to listen to their parents," he said. "Parents want us to fix their kids. All we can do is talk to the kids and encourage them to straighten up. It's really up to them."

Berrios said the biggest challenge of his job is trying to change the mentality of gang members by encouraging them to take school seriously so they can become productive members of society.

"I joined G-Net because when I was executive director for the Police Activities League, I found that the kids who tried to get away from gangs couldn't," Berrios said. "As part of the gang/narcotics enforcement team, I talk to the kids and try to encourage them to stay away."

Magallon agreed.

"You want to try to help the kids," he said. "We find a lot of associates and "wanna-be" gang members. Those are the ones we're most likely to help."

For more information on how to join the city graffiti removal program, call 736-9684.

Staff writer Neil Nisperos can be reached at 736-2313, ext. 108, or by e-mail at nnisperos@pulitizer.net.