With gang activity increasing in the Pacific Ridge neighborhood of Des Moines and a police force stretched thin by funding cuts, Police Chief Roger Baker realized that he needed help.

This year alone there have been eight gang-related shootings along Pacific Highway South in the area around South 216th Street.

Baker's request for assistance resulted in a six-month investigation by a task force of seven local, state and federal law enforcement agencies into criminal activity in this neighborhood, including 71 officer operations.

Their efforts culminated on June 26 with the arrests of 16 gang members, most of whom are from the Pacific Ridge area.

The next day, task force members made three more arrests in the Pacific Ridge area-and they're not done yet. Late last week they were still searching for 11 other individuals, seven of whom they have obtained arrest warrants for.

All arrests were for drug trafficking and distribution as well as firearm possession.

Although the Des Moines community rallied behind its police department last year by passing a property tax levy lid lift, Baker didn't wait for new officers to be trained and in the field before addressing the Pacific Ridge gang problem.

The levy lid lift restored police department staffing to 1999 levels-prior to the statewide passage of Initiative 695, which eliminated the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax that provided funds for local governments.

Coordinated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the task force included the FBI, U.S. Attorney's Office, state Department of Corrections, King County Sheriff's Office, and the Des Moines and SeaTac police departments.

"It's not often that we need a large task force," Baker noted. "Because the levy has passed we will only need them occasionally and for specific things now that we have the manpower. The people of Des Moines are going to get what they paid for."

ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Kelvin Crenshaw called the actions of the Des Moines Police Department "unique and admirable. They were over budget and stretched thin but they doubled and even tripled their resources by asking for other agencies to come in and assist."

Crenshaw hopes that other communities will follow the example of Des Moines.

"If a community is having issues, I would encourage them to reach out. We are all in it together. A problem is not just a community problem, but a law enforcement problem," said Crenshaw.

Des Moines Police Sgt. Bob Collins added that these gang members know no city, county or state boundaries.

Gang members "are transitory in nature," Baker said.

Task force members hope the arrests will have a long-term impact.

"Our objective is not to displace violence but to remove it," Crenshaw said. "The bottom line is [local residents] have been held hostage in their own community and this is about turning it back to its citizens."