Capping his first 100 days in office, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown on Wednesday announced progress on two of the region’s most pressing problems, jail over-crowding and gang violence.

Brown -- who took office Jan. 9 after pledging action on a five-point plan during last year’s campaign -- launched a blue-ribbon panel to explore available jail alternatives and unveiled plans to deploy anti-gang teams in both the North County and South Coast.

At an informal news conference that harkened back to the heated contest against former Sheriff Jim Anderson, Brown signaled that he had reached his goals: “I am pleased to report today that we have made some significant advances in all areas of the five point plan.”

While some department problems approached a resolution before Brown donned his new uniform – deputy recruitment and retention, for example – Brown lauded progress on numerous other fronts during his tenure, including promises to re-organize the once-troubled Sheriff’s Council charity and modify the department promotion system.

To address one of the county’s most pressing challenges – jail over-crowding – Brown said he would convene the first Blue Ribbon Commission on Jail Over-Crowding April 26.

He encouraged the panel to consider a broad range of short-term options to alleviate the chronic problem, including using Lompoc’s jail, revamping the county’s small Santa Maria jail and converting administrative areas into bed spaces.

In the long term, Brown said he prefers a smaller project to the 800-bed, $153-million proposal that has stumbled without a funding source for years. But he noted that a state partnership could end up bringing the larger plan to fruition.

“There is a strong possibility that we can enter into a promising partnership with the state to build a combined jail and prison re-entry facility,” Brown said. Citing high recidivism rates, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has expressed interest in creating a prison model that would give inmates, through job training and therapy, a better shot at a successful transition back to society.

Brown mentioned the jail again when asked about Monday’s shootings at Virginia Tech. He called for greater ties with local services to treat people with mental health needs before they get to jail.

“Our jail has become the largest default mental institution in the county,” said Brown, explaining that about 17 percent of the jail’s 1,100 inmates take a psychotropic or mood-managing drug. Perhaps even more suffer from undetected psychological problems, he said.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to work on some alternatives to incarceration,” said Brown. Responding to the Virginia incident, he affirmed that UC Police Department and Sheriff’s Department could handle a similar situation if it erupted locally.

To combat rising gang activity, Brown said he has created two four-person teams operating out of the agency’s special operations division alongside officers in the narcotics bureau. He took a similar approach while serving as Lompoc’s Police Chief, a job he relinquished to join the county.

Beyond enforcement, Brown said the county must combat gangs by focusing resources on prevention, and working with community organizations to stop things like “multi-generational” gang membership.

“This is a problem that is going to be solved one person at a time,” he said.

Because gangs often coincide with drugs, Brown said he met with school superintendents in hopes of restoring the D.A.R.E. anti-drug program in dozens of K-12 schools that was eliminated by Anderson. Brown added that several schools would bring back D.A.R.E. this fall, with others to follow.

For the Sheriff’s Council, which has kept a low profile since the charity re-organized in January, Brown foresees a more traditional philanthropic foundation -- more removed from the Sheriff’s Department than in previous years.

The controversy surrounding the council played a key role in Brown’s victory against the former incumbent. An organization that once raised millions at glitzy charity balls, the council in late 2005 erupted in chaos, corruption charges and lawsuits.

While Brown during the campaign discussed expanding the council’s pool of beneficiaries to include all law enforcement agencies in the county, he now seems to resist the idea. Explaining, he said at least one jurisdiction – the city of Santa Barbara – demurred from the concept.

The Sheriff’s Council will focus when possible on obtaining big-ticket items for the department – things that could benefit all agencies, he said, including a common radio system and search and rescue helicopter.

While recruitment and retention of deputies once ranked high on the department’s list of woes, Brown said most vacancies are filled. But he also noted that the agency would need to prepare for a spate of retirements in early 2008.

Calling his new job a “privilege,” Brown warned the 700-person department’s successes shouldn’t overshadow pressing challenges, including jail over-crowding and future budget shortfalls.

“Despite our progress, many challenges remain.”