HEMET - A multi-agency gang task force arrested 16 adults and one teenager during a sweep operation in the Hemet-San Jacinto region, a sheriff's spokesman said today.

The sweep started at 3:30 p.m. Friday and ended at 11 p.m., said sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez. An unspecified number of law enforcement officers visited 50 locations in and around Hemet and San Jacinto, according to Gutierrez.

"We target violent gangs every day in the city of Hemet, but today we gave them a little extra attention," Hemet Chief of Police Richard Dana said in a prepared statement.

"The regional gang task forces are very effective in their communities, but when we bring them together like this they are able to strike multiple targets at once," Dana said. "It's impressive and effective.

"The citizens win and the bad guys lose when we pool our resources," he said. The Riverside County Gang Task Force is a collaborative effort of 25 law enforcement agencies with the goal of combating criminal street gangs, according to the Sheriff's Department.

This event was staffed with members of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, Riverside County probation, police from Banning, Beaumont, Riverside, Temecula, Moreno Valley, Palm Desert, Coachella, La Quinta, Corona, Murrieta, Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Indio, Desert Hot Springs, state Parole, the Department of Justice, the

Federal Bureau of Investigation, the California Highway Patrol, and the Border Patrol.