PARENTS DELIVERED MESSAGE ABOUT GANGS

High schools and teenage parties are the recruiting grounds for gangs like
the Independent Soldiers, according to RCMP Const. Leslie Smith.

Gangs use the lure of drugs, easy money, respect and protection to draw
youth into the gang life, she said. Smith was speaking at a parent and
youth information session hosted by the Prince George District Parent
Advisory Council, Monday.

"We see gang members selling drugs at our schools. That's how they're
recruiting, it's 'easy' money," she said. "But once you're in, it's hard
to get out. (And) you will never be out of debt. I have yet to meet a
newly-recruited member with a bank account - with anything to show for
it."

Gangs are essentially pyramid schemes, she said. The gang lords and
upper-echelon gang members do make money, but the majority of lower-level
gang members and pawns just make enough money to survive.

Expensive clothes, "bling," cell phones and cars are often used to reward
gang members - and give the appearance of wealth.

Getting people addicted to drugs like ecstasy, crack cocaine and
methamphetamine (meth) is another common recruitment technique, Smith
said. Marijuana is used as a gateway drug to tempt youth to try other
drugs, she added.

"I have yet to meet someone who tried crack, or meth for that matter, four
or five times and didn't get addicted. So many addicts I've talked to,
crack is their life," she said. "(And) you don't know what is in that pill
press. You don't know how your body is going to react to those chemicals."

Many lower-level gang members are drug addicts, Smith said. They work as
crack shack operators, drug mules, street-level drug dealers and
prostitutes to feed their addictions.

'Gifts,' of free drugs, clothes or other items often come at a heavy cost,
she said.

They are used to get people into debt with the gang. Once you owe the
gang, they own you and won't let you get out of that debt.

Violence is used as means of collecting unpaid debts and keeping gang
members in line, Smith said. Gang members are often brutalized by the same
gang which claimed to offer protection and belonging.

On Oct. 28, 2008 a young man was kidnapped from a house on Irwin Street
and taken to another drug house, Smith said. The young man owed money to
the gang.

He was beaten and tortured to send a message to other gang members, Smith
said.

"He was sexually assaulted with a beer bottle. He was sexually assaulted
with a golf club," she said. "He was forced to ingest his own bodily
fluids. He was forced to ingest drugs to get him more in debt to the
gang."

On March 2, 2008 four gang members came to a house on Ahbau Street, Smith
said. A man and a woman were at the home.

The man was attacked with a machete while the woman was sent to get the
money they owed the gang, she said.

"I came out to this call. There was blood everywhere in this apartment,"
she said. "They tried to cut off his ear. His hand had to be put back
together like a jigsaw puzzle."

Members of the Independent Soldiers murdered three people in Prince George
last year, she said, and there was over a dozen shootings linked to the
gang.

"That's why gangs concern me: they're bad shots. Every one of those
shootings was supposed to end in the person being dead," she said.
"They're bad shots and they've got lots of guns."

In several of the shootings, it is only good luck that no innocent
bystanders were hurt or killed, she said.

In Prince George, there are a number of mid-level gangs at work, Smith
said. Mid-level gangs tend to be newer and less-organized than traditional
gangs like the Hells Angels, Mafia and Asian gangs.

Some of the mid-level gangs known to have operations in Prince George
include the Independent Soldiers, Renegades, The Crew, Game Tight Soldiers
(GTS), Redd Alert and Indian Posse.

The Independent Soldiers are particularly concerning to police because of
the high level of violence associated with them.

"When I first came here (five years ago), The Crew were cutting off hands
and such. But in the last year or two, the Independent Soldiers have been
the big concern," Smith said.

Smith urged parents to talk to their kids about drugs and gangs. Youth
with low self-esteem are often the most vulnerable to being recruited,
Smith said.

Being involved in sports, school activities, having friends and a
supportive home are some of the best ways to prevent a youth from getting
involved with gangs, she said.

The best way to avoid problems with gangs is to not get involved, Smith
said. But there are groups that can help if you've gotten in too far.

Youth can call New Hope at 250-552-0890 or Reconnect at 250-562-2538 if
they need someone to talk to.