Gang members apprehended in Mexicali in 2012

Gang-related crimes have decreased by 44.5 percent since 2009, says a new report from the City of San Diego's Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention.

Despite the downward trend, there are still 4005 documented gang members in the 76 reported gangs in San Diego. According to a 2012 study, the average age of newly inducted gang members is 13 years old.

The commission is set to present their report to a city-council committee during a November 17 meeting.

According to research, the number of gang-related homicides, attempted homicides, and assaults with deadly weapons are down compared to the same time last year. In regards to attempted homicides, the commission documented 3 incidents in 2016, compared to 13 during the same time last year. The number of assaults with deadly weapons decreased from 200 in 2015 to 133 in 2016; the number of homicides also was cut in half, from 6 in 2015 to 3 this year.

Research shows that gang-related crimes peaked in 2009 and in 2012. In 2009, San Diego reported 20 attempted homicides and 9 gang-related killings. In addition, there were 225 reports of assaults with deadly weapons. In 2012, while the number of assaults decreased to 200, the number of homicides spiked to 16, with an additional 11 attempted homicides.

To try and combat the proliferation of San Diego's gangs, in 2015 the city adopted a "trauma-informed approach" that focuses on the social, physical, and emotional impacts involved with being a gang member. The strategy has allowed the commission, the city's police force, and other partners to delve into the roots of violence in low-income communities.

"Evidence also suggests that residents in low-income and underserved communities will have greater exposures to various forms of toxic stress including violence that is either experienced or witnessed."

The city and San Diego County's law-enforcement agencies have turned to community youth courts in an effort to reduce early and frequent exposure to jail and juvenile courts for troubled youth. Community-court panels have the authority to dole out community-based assignments to teens involved in gangs.

Members of the commission will present the report to the Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee at 6 p.m. at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation in San Diego's Encanto neighborhood.