AUTHORITIES AIM `SPOTLIGHT' AT HIGH-CRIME AREAS

Yvonne Zamarripa remembers it like it was yesterday, walking to high
school one day last October only to have a young hoodlum pull out a
knife, threaten to kill her and chase her down the street.

Weeks before, her father had been pelted with beer bottles by a group
of men who attacked him while he was working at home on his car in the
unincorporated community of Burbank. When Zamarripa's mother
intervened, she, too, was attacked.

Though the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department was called, no one
was arrested. But with the later intervention of a deputy district
attorney, suspects were caught and punished -- and improvements were
made to the Zamarripas' home.

Prosecutors used that incident as an example of how they hope to make
a difference with new strategies on crime, including one explained to
Burbank residents at a neighborhood meeting Thursday.

With its high rates of crime, drug use and gangs, and a lack of
support services, Burbank is one of the obvious places for the
district attorney's office to test community prosecution.

On Thursday, such community leaders as county Supervisor Jim Beall --
who promised to fund more resources for the neighborhood -- Sheriff
Laurie Smith and San Jose Police Chief William Lansdowne addressed the
concerns of about 200 Burbank residents.

As part of a program called Operation Spotlight, the district
attorney's office, along with the Restorative Justice Project, plans
to spotlight certain blighted areas to develop strategies to both
decrease crime and improve services.

``It's a way of dealing with problems beyond crime,'' said Deputy
District Attorney Hector Moreno, who works in Burbank and Mountain
View. ``We not only deal with issues about crime but quality of life.
This is a way of getting involved from the very beginning.''

When Moreno learned about the attack on Zamarripa's father, he pursued
it and prosecuted three men who were subsequently sentenced to 60 days
in jail after pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault charges.

While investigating the case, Moreno noticed that the Zamarripa home
was a shambles -- rotting floors, broken appliances, mildew on the
walls. He contacted the landlord, who was forced to make repairs.

As a partner in the county's experimental Restorative Justice Project,
community prosecutors work with city and county agencies that include
the sheriff's department, San Jose police and the probation and public
health departments to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods
such as Alum Rock, Milpitas, Gilroy and certain crime-ridden pockets
of San Jose.

Several areas were chosen by the project because of their poverty and
high volume of crime, including child abuse cases and an inordinate
number of domestic violence incidents.

Working as community prosecutor for the past year, Moreno has
concentrated on the Burbank neighborhood, which recently received
money through the project to finance after-school recreation programs,
gang intervention and other support services.

In December, another prosecutor, James Shore, was added to work the
Alum Rock and Milpitas areas.

``We want to know what we can do for a particular neighborhood to make
sure they feel safe and that the crime in that area is being
addressed,'' said Assistant District Attorney Marc Buller, who
supervises the community prosecution team.

One approach of community prosecution is to focus on non-traditional
areas such as blight, nuisance abatement and landlord issues, which,
in turn, help decrease crime, Buller said. ``Justice is our business,
and that doesn't mean just in the courtroom,'' he said.

Typically, Moreno canvasses neighborhoods, knocking on doors, hanging
out at local hot spots, meeting with community groups and even holding
meetings on a resident's lawn to learn about the problems plaguing the
area.

At Thursday's meeting, residents complained about litter, damaged
sidewalks, graffiti and gangs.

``I don't even let the kids go out and play because of the shootings
and stabbings,'' said a parent, Ruby Del Real. ``We need more
intervention programs to get these (gangs) off the streets.''

Burbank and Mountain View residents with concerns about their
neighborhoods may call Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney
Hector Moreno at (408) 792-2719. For Alum Rock and Milpitas, call
Deputy District Attorney James Shore at (408) 299-7400.