Gang Units: Be Inclusive not Exclusive
In the last few years all across the nation, law enforcement agencies and municipalities formed gang units. This action was a direct response in a spike or uptick of gang violence, street crimes and narcotics trafficking.
Law Enforcement is typically a reactive entity. Something happens we react. The news media gets a good story, citizens complain, politicians get asked that question, “what are you doing to…?” So we in law enforcement react. The simplest approach is to send officer’s out there, make arrests and send the ‘bad guys to jail.’
In the last fifteen years we have seen street gangs move across the country. Back in the early eighties it was the Bloods/Crips, in the early 90’s Asian street gangs, in the late 90’s and early part of the century it was Sureno’s. Now we have the threat of MS-13. Where even the FBI has a task force created just to address the issue of MS-13.
Let me take you back a few years to a training opportunity I was allowed to attend through my department. In the November 2006 I attended the 3rd annual Chicago Gang Crime Summit. This is a one day course for Chicago Police Tactical Officers and Metropolitan Police Officers to learn about gang trends, current conflicts and to see what truly works against entrenched street gangs.
The Chicago Police Department has to be the most tech savvy department in the country. They have officers who can view live video feeds from “POD Cams”. They have sophisticated crime analysis software and deploy additional manpower based on the results. They have Commanders and Captains with Blackberry devices, video cameras in several squad cars and even automated license plate reading patrol vehicles.
While I sat through this very well attended training and received some very valuable information I came to a realization that they were missing something very important. What are they doing for prevention and intervention? What has Chicago done to improve quality of life? I also was thinking are we truly getting the most bang for our buck?
Chicago has been for decades one of the best cities for sending their problems elsewhere. As the Chicago Police Department increased it’s tempo on street gangs, street crime and narcotics sales, they also went after problem buildings.
Chicago Police Department’s Problem Building Section went after homes, apartment buildings and property owners in an effort to reign in drugs and gangs. Ultimately they condemn the property, seize it, raze it or rebuild it. But because the property that is taken over, becomes pricey, that the local community members cannot afford it. Those that love the neighborhood and want to stay there, can’t keep up with urban renewal. Ultimately Chicago PD displace their problem onto someone else.
This displacement results in gang members traveling to communities that are not prepared for such activity or are just unable to see the problem arise until it is too late. As the problems continue to rise, communities will see increased street violence, property crime and substance abuse. Along with the increase in crime comes the demand for increased services through other agencies, including schools, medical and social.
Several years ago in Plano, Texas they experienced multiple deaths from high quality Heroin. The response to this issue was slow, because it wasn’t seen immediately. In early 2006 and across the Midwest overdoses from Fentanyl laced heroin caused hundreds of deaths. The response was slow, over 6 months before agencies starting communicating. The EMS agencies knew there was a problem, social services saw the problem, but law enforcement frequently says “it’s a junkie, so what?”
In order to address the gang issue, drugs and crime we need to attack it from all sides. Not to sound like a psychotherapist, but what is the root cause of the issue? I do not mean, all combined. I mean individually. There are reasons why young people in central Illinois travel several hours to Chicago’s west side to purchase their drugs. What are they lacking in their home communities that turn them to heroin use.
When we form task forces, gang units and street crime suppression units, we should be coordinating with everyone from schools, community groups, parents, businesses and religious organizations. Why? So that when these tasks forces go into play there are in place alternatives for young people to turn to. Activities such as sports, jobs, job skills training, tutoring, mentoring, spiritual guidance and counseling.
We need to train those officers about the available resources, teach them to begin mentoring young people from that first street stop. There is a gang cycle going on. That cycle repeats itself and has been repeating itself for over 50 years. We need to start interrupting it by not displacing the problem. We can no longer believe that where our borders end our problems stop.
If we didn’t learn that prior to September 11th, we had better learn it now. Look what happened after Hurricane Katrina. Hundreds of thousands of people displaced, no jobs, little hope, no homes, stuffed into already struggling communities across the nation. Crime jumped, no wonder why? I am sure we all thought thank god that’s not my community.
Law Enforcement is typically a reactive entity. Something happens we react. The news media gets a good story, citizens complain, politicians get asked that question, “what are you doing to…?” So we in law enforcement react. The simplest approach is to send officer’s out there, make arrests and send the ‘bad guys to jail.’
In the last fifteen years we have seen street gangs move across the country. Back in the early eighties it was the Bloods/Crips, in the early 90’s Asian street gangs, in the late 90’s and early part of the century it was Sureno’s. Now we have the threat of MS-13. Where even the FBI has a task force created just to address the issue of MS-13.
Let me take you back a few years to a training opportunity I was allowed to attend through my department. In the November 2006 I attended the 3rd annual Chicago Gang Crime Summit. This is a one day course for Chicago Police Tactical Officers and Metropolitan Police Officers to learn about gang trends, current conflicts and to see what truly works against entrenched street gangs.
The Chicago Police Department has to be the most tech savvy department in the country. They have officers who can view live video feeds from “POD Cams”. They have sophisticated crime analysis software and deploy additional manpower based on the results. They have Commanders and Captains with Blackberry devices, video cameras in several squad cars and even automated license plate reading patrol vehicles.
While I sat through this very well attended training and received some very valuable information I came to a realization that they were missing something very important. What are they doing for prevention and intervention? What has Chicago done to improve quality of life? I also was thinking are we truly getting the most bang for our buck?
Chicago has been for decades one of the best cities for sending their problems elsewhere. As the Chicago Police Department increased it’s tempo on street gangs, street crime and narcotics sales, they also went after problem buildings.
Chicago Police Department’s Problem Building Section went after homes, apartment buildings and property owners in an effort to reign in drugs and gangs. Ultimately they condemn the property, seize it, raze it or rebuild it. But because the property that is taken over, becomes pricey, that the local community members cannot afford it. Those that love the neighborhood and want to stay there, can’t keep up with urban renewal. Ultimately Chicago PD displace their problem onto someone else.
This displacement results in gang members traveling to communities that are not prepared for such activity or are just unable to see the problem arise until it is too late. As the problems continue to rise, communities will see increased street violence, property crime and substance abuse. Along with the increase in crime comes the demand for increased services through other agencies, including schools, medical and social.
Several years ago in Plano, Texas they experienced multiple deaths from high quality Heroin. The response to this issue was slow, because it wasn’t seen immediately. In early 2006 and across the Midwest overdoses from Fentanyl laced heroin caused hundreds of deaths. The response was slow, over 6 months before agencies starting communicating. The EMS agencies knew there was a problem, social services saw the problem, but law enforcement frequently says “it’s a junkie, so what?”
In order to address the gang issue, drugs and crime we need to attack it from all sides. Not to sound like a psychotherapist, but what is the root cause of the issue? I do not mean, all combined. I mean individually. There are reasons why young people in central Illinois travel several hours to Chicago’s west side to purchase their drugs. What are they lacking in their home communities that turn them to heroin use.
When we form task forces, gang units and street crime suppression units, we should be coordinating with everyone from schools, community groups, parents, businesses and religious organizations. Why? So that when these tasks forces go into play there are in place alternatives for young people to turn to. Activities such as sports, jobs, job skills training, tutoring, mentoring, spiritual guidance and counseling.
We need to train those officers about the available resources, teach them to begin mentoring young people from that first street stop. There is a gang cycle going on. That cycle repeats itself and has been repeating itself for over 50 years. We need to start interrupting it by not displacing the problem. We can no longer believe that where our borders end our problems stop.
If we didn’t learn that prior to September 11th, we had better learn it now. Look what happened after Hurricane Katrina. Hundreds of thousands of people displaced, no jobs, little hope, no homes, stuffed into already struggling communities across the nation. Crime jumped, no wonder why? I am sure we all thought thank god that’s not my community.
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