Bay Area law enforcement teams up to prevent sideshow activity
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sideshows are a growing problem all over the Bay Area. To try to combat the problem in a regional approach, the San Jose Police Department has started what it calls the "Bay Area Working Group on Sideshows."
In a statement about the working group San Jose police said:
"The San José Police Department is tackling sideshows head-on as they continue to threaten public safety. We are no longer dealing with simple donut tricks. We are dealing with violent, mob-mentality events that demonstrate pure lawlessness."
Like many other crimes, sideshows are an issue that do not respect city or county boundaries. So now, police and prosecutors from across the region are teaming up to find solutions to the problem.
When sideshow participants attacked a reserve San Jose police officer who was responding to a call for help, the officer could not even get out of the vehicle.
"I think it is unconscionable. This was a vehicle responding to a call for service for a spectator who had been hit by one of the cars and the officer was prevented from doing so," said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.
Earlier this month, police announced the arrests of seven people in connection with this incident.
But one thing really stood out: "Six of the seven were not from San Jose. It just gives you a sense of the fact that this phenomenon is spread out, we see people quickly convening from throughout the region and sometimes from other parts of the state," Mahan said.
On Wednesday, San Jose police convened the first meeting of the sideshow working group. In all about 20 agencies – including both San Francisco and Oakland police, Alameda County and Santa Clara County sheriff’s departments, and the CHP – all attended the meeting.
Most of the departments which attended the meeting already have plenty of first-hand experience like a recent high-profile sideshow in April that shut down westbound traffic on the Bay Bridge.
"So we are sharing information, talking about operational coordination, sharing best practices. Making sure that together we are getting smarter, have strong working relationships, we are highly coordinated," said Mahan.
After the first meeting of this working group, no formal policies nor plans were released. Law enforcement and prosecutors hope that by continuing to work together, and meeting regularly, they can develop shared strategies to help cut down on sideshow activity.
"Through this Bay Area network, we are leveraging our collective resources and knowledge to best address this regional problem. Whether through strategic plans, policies, or other forms of collaborations, we hope that this Working Group can result in tangible solutions to address these violent sideshows and hold all involved accountable,"the statement from San Jose police said.