The Salinas Police Department is preparing to cut its gang-task force by about half, as the department faces budget cuts. The cuts have eliminated 19-vacant officer positions. That’s forcing police officials to transfer 10 of the officers assigned to the city’s Violence Suppression Unit to regular patrol duties. The specialized unit is expected to continue operating in collaboration with state and federal agencies to tackle on-going gang activity in the area. The re-shuffling move is expected to be made July 1st.
