I appeared on a few local news programs Tuesday to discuss the effectiveness of San Diego’s curfew sweeps. I talked about the investigation we published Sunday, some of the feedback we’ve received and a few new details from my weeks of reporting.
If you missed the programs, you can still catch a couple of them online. KPBS has posted audio of our conversation on Midday Edition and a clip from Evening Edition. You can also watch the video below.
On Midday Edition, I added more details about how residents, police and elected officials have reacted to my analysis of the sweeps. Ramla Sahid, a community organizer for the Midcity Community Action Network, also joined us in the studio to talk about the sweeps in City Heights and we took a couple callers.
One call came from a man who identified himself as a Rancho Peñasquitos resident and a former peace officer. He said police had arrested his daughter during a curfew sweep and the whole situation left a sour impression on him. “I’m highly skeptical of the efficacy of these programs and of the intentions behind them,” the man said. He explained why on the program.
On Evening Edition, I talked more about the curfew sweeps and added my thoughts on whether kids actually know about them. I shared a story that Capt. Tony McElroy told me about the odd collection of kids that police arrested when they first started doing regular sweeps in City Heights.
Our reporting on curfew sweeps is part of Speak City Heights, a collaborative project between voiceofsandiego.org, KPBS and other local media. For the next couple months, we’ll be focusing on public safety issues affecting the City Heights area.
After we published our story Sunday, our friends at the Media Arts Center of San Diego produced a video about a curfew sweep in City Heights last month. You can check it out on the Speak City Heights’ website or below.
Keegan Kyle is a news reporter for voiceofsandiego.org. He writes about local government, creates infographics and handles the Fact Check Blog. What should he write about next?
Please contact him directly at keegan.kyle@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.550.5668. You can also find him on Twitter (@keegankyle) and Facebook.
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