POLICE SAY PENTICTON IS 'RIPE' FOR GANG ACTIVITY

Does your teen wear a special bandana every day? Does he stay out too
late at night? Is he secretive about his new friends?

Two members of the RCMP's Aboriginal Police Service spoke Monday night
at Okanagan College about how to recognize the possibility that there
are street gangs in town. Their presentation was called Straight from
the Streets.

"In Penticton, we're certainly ripe for gang activity," said
Penticton's RCMP Sgt. Rick Dellebuur who introduced the pair. "In
Penticton we're aware of right now we have a young teenage gang.
There's some teenagers here in town, they basically do some petty
crimes." They call themselves Mob 8, he said.

"They come under our radar. It doesn't take long before they get a
foothold in your community. We know in the summertime the bars are
full of gangs. They're coming up here, they're scouting."

Penticton has a drug problem like every other community, said
Dellebuur, and selling drugs is a lucrative business which can spark
gang conflicts. Awareness and education about gangs is essential to
the community, he said.

"Everybody in this room is part of the solution," said RCMP Cpl. Mike
Moyer, now stationed in Prince George. About 50 people turned out for
the cost-free Speaker Series at the college.

Moyer, an aboriginal officer who grew up off reserve in Merritt,
specializes in the area of First Nations, along with Const. Cory
Quewezance, now stationed in Merritt. Both have been RCMP officers for
11 years.

The RCMP has specialized members working on gang issues. "There's
other investigators that work on other gangs and gang-related issues
in the province," said Moyer.

In Canada, Winnipeg was a No. 1 source of street gangs, noted
Quewezance. During the 1970s and '80s, it was not a big factor, but by
1994, there was a huge rise in street gangs. By 2000, the gangs were
spreading to rural areas of Manitoba. When Correctional Services
Canada stepped in, most of the street gangs stepped out, spreading
around in Western Canada.

"Youth are being recruited," said Quewezance.

Canada now has more than 434 youth gangs with about 7,000 members
nationally. Almost half - 48 per cent - are under the age of 18, and
39 per cent are between 16 and 18 years old. There is a growing
percentage of female gang memberships in Western Canada.

According to the RCMP, there can be signs indicating the establishment
of a street gang. They include increases in graffiti, in violent
crime, unknown subjects loitering in neighbourhoods, suspected
narcotics activity, gang colours and signs in the community and
schools and an increase in community fear that makes witnesses and
victims reluctant to talk to police.

Moyer said it usually takes about two years for youth to become fully
engaged in gang activities. "It's that two-year window. When they get
recruited into the next level, we've lost them."

If police run across a group of a dozen young people hanging out with
similar clothing, headgear and hand tattoos, they must check things
out.

"We're learning the hard way," said Moyer. "It's important for the
community to step up and help us. You'll see young people who start to
hang out with these groups with little tattoos (on their fingers and
hands)."

Gang members have even sprayed graffiti on police vehicles, he said,
and some communities have installed bylaws preventing the sale of
spray paint to teens under 18.

Getting out of a gang can sometimes be a tough challenge. It depends
on the person's status within the gang and their usefulness. Just
being a member of a certain street gang can greatly increase the risk
of physical danger, according to the RCMP. Youth wanting to get out
should speak to their family and seek out community resources for
professional help, said Moyer.

"We can't help you when nobody talks to us," said the corporal. "You
are our eyes and ears. Sometimes we can't solve certain crimes because
somebody is sitting on the evidence."