More police officers are on the streets of Fresno.
It’s the department's new strategy to combat a rise in gang violence.
Detectives and other officers who would not be in uniform are patrolling the street.
Gang shootings in Fresno are up 12 percent this year.
While many families were sitting down to dinner, Fresno police pulled over a Bulldog gang member. Police say he has a history of stealing cars.
“They resort to anything that will support the furtherance of the gang,” said Sgt. James Fowler with the Fresno Police Department.
Patricia Diaz lives nearby. She was worried when she saw the police. But she’s glad they're trying to reduce the violence.
“It's not fair for the ones who didn't do anything and all the sudden get hurt,” Diaz said
These patrols are just part of the effort to reduce gang violence in Fresno.
Officers who work on school campuses and investigate crimes are now in patrol cars for part of their duties. It puts 20 to 30 extra officers on the street.
In Southeast Fresno, officers are focusing on gang hangouts.
They arrested a known gang member about a hundred yards from where an 18 year old woman was killed when a gang member came up to a sliding glass door and started shooting.
The arrests are also getting drugs off the street.
Methamphetamine and marijuana found in the car of a Bulldog gang member. He tried to argue with officers - it wasn't enough meth to take him to jail.
“He's admitted possession, we've witnessed possession, we pulled it off of him and he's going to jail,” Sgt. Fowler said.
At the police substation there are pictures of guns taken off the streets of Southeast Fresno this year. So far there are more than a hundred.
“We take one gun off the street I'm sure one gun could be responsible for multiple crimes,” Fowler said.
The hope is that having more officers on the street will stop problems before they start.
