Gang presence growing in the'burbs
Gang presence growing in the'burbs
Panel says young hoods, often white and working, making inroads
Sunday, May 14, 2006
BY PETER N. SPENCER
For the Star-Ledger
Street gang members don't always fit popular stereotypes of gun-wielding African-American and Hispanic hoodlums hanging on the street corners of urban ghettos.
They are often white, have regular jobs and families and keep their gang associations and criminal activities well-concealed.
And over the last decade, they have also made headway into the rural towns and tony suburbs of Somerset and Hunterdon Counties.
These were some of the messages state and local enforcement officials tried to convey at a community education program at the Somerset County Courthouse last week. Organizers of the program, entitled "Gangs -- What You Need To know," said it was a wake-up call for New Jersey communities that feel they are immune to gang violence.
About 75 people attended the program, which was sponsored by the Somerville Citizen's Advisory Committee and the Minority Concerns Committee of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Somerset/Huntderon/Warren County Vicinage.
Superior Court Judge Paul W. Armstrong, chairman of the committee, said the turnout was the largest he has seen for any of the group's programs, but also seemed skeptical the message would reach the right people.
"We always seemed to be preaching to the choir," Ross said, before introducing the two presenters Thursday night. "We're not going to talk to the people we need to talk to -- which are the parents not paying attention to their kids."
One of the presenters, Somerset County Sheriff's Officer Ahmed Mackey, an instructor in the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) Program, and a School Resource Officer who works mainly in Franklin Township, characterized Somerset and parts of Hunterdon county as having a "gang presence."
"A presence means we know they are here. We don't have a gang problem. We don't have all of the shootings like (other counties) have," Mackey said.
But he added: "If you have a presence, they are going to be a problem."
According to 2004 survey conducted by the state Department of Law and Public Safety, 143 municipalities across the state reported the presence of gangs in their communities -- more than twice as many reported in a survey conducted three years earlier.
During the same period, the number of gangs reported by police departments increased from around 300 to more than 700. Total gang membership across the state is estimated to be more than 17,000.
Those members accounted for 17 percent of all homicides in state last year, according to State Police statistics.
Another surprising finding from the survey: 70 percent of the respondents who reported gang activity are from communities considered urban suburbs or suburbs. Because many municipalities did not participate in the voluntary survey, gang experts believe those numbers could be even higher.
About 40 percent New Jersey's gang members belong to three national "super-gangs": the Bloods, the Crips and the Latin Kings. Somerset County authorities have reported arrests of members of all of these gangs.
There are also a number of indigenous gangs in the area with connections to the larger urban gangs, Mackey said. Alleged members of the "Chip Set" gang from Franklin Township's Parkside housing complex -- who have reported connections with Bloods from Newark -- recently pled guilty to robbing a man at gunpoint last January.
Mackey also substantiated reports that membership in "MS-13," a Central American street gang known for its brutality, has been on the rise throughout the area, with arrests made as far as Flemington. Gang experts believe MS-13 -- which stands for Mara Salvatrucha, "posse of tough Salvadorans" -- started in Los Angeles in the 1980s by Salvadorans fleeing a civil war. After many were deported back to their home country, they recruited members from nearby Honduras and Guatemala.
MS-13 now has an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 members in 33 states, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics.
"They have been popping up in a number of places," Mackey said.
Lt. Edwin Torres, a youth gang expert and commander of the Gang Management Unit of the Juvenile Justice Commission, said "immigrant" gangs like the MS-13, and La Mugre have spread to the area because they find opportunities here.
"They look for pocket areas (in which) to operate," said Torres. "They take advantage of other immigrants who may not be here legally and are either suspicious of or unwilling to speak to police."
Today's street gangs are far more sophisticated than their predecessors, recruiting and marketing themselves on the Internet, diversifying their businesses from traditional drug trafficking and theft to identity fraud and extortion.
The fastest growing segment of gangs are female gangs, which both experts said are often more violent than their male counterparts.
By and large, however, gangs are still comprised of disaffected youths; kids under 17 account for about 66 percent of all gang membership. They are influenced by a number of factors: peer pressure, low self-esteem, the need to belong and the glorification of the "Gangsta" lifestyle by popular media.
Reaching children at a young age is also the key to keeping them away from such influences, Torres said. He has spoken with thousands of young gang members in his 18 years in law enforcement and almost all of them have told him they don't want to continue being part of gangs.
For the parents, teachers and youth instructors in the audience, Torres offered a simple remedy to what he and other experts call "gang addiction:" stop it before it starts.
"Speak with you kids, know where they are, know who their friends are," Torres said. "You think they're gonna hate you because you give them tough love, but when they grow up, they'll thank you."
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