GANGING UP ON GANGS

Forum Stresses Once Again The Dead-End Life Gangs Provide

Gary Yip spent about half his life in a gang--and he's only 37 years
old. Now he's trying to keep other young people from being lost to the
underworld.

The former member of the Lotus gang in Vancouver told his story to a
crowd of about 150 people at Sardis secondary Thursday night, as part
of a forum, Power of Community, the purpose of which was to help
Chilliwack develop a response to gangs and gang violence.

Yip said he joined the gang because it provided him with companionship
when he was young. He said his parents were immigrants who had to work
all the time to provide for the family, so they were not always
available for the children. In response, Yip looked for male role
models elsewhere, and that's where the gangs came in.

"I thought I'd just hang around them . . . but when you hang around
with them, you become like them," he told the audience.

Spending 19 years in a gang, he moved his way up to the point where he
was not handling drugs directly but working more as a broker. He would
travel to the U.S. regularly, transporting hundreds of thousands of
dollars. On one trip in 2003 though, he stepped into a church into
Tacoma, Wash., and realized what he had sacrificed: his family life
and spiritual life. It took him a couple of years to completely break
free from the gang lifestyle but eventually he did. Now he speaks
publicly about his experiences and wants to train to become a police
officer.

"In the underworld, you don't have a second chance. It's either do or
die," he said, "and I didn't want to die."

Yip was just one of several speakers at the forum. Also on the agenda
were RCMP members Cpl. Chris Gosselin and Const. Angelina Bowen, who
work with young people. Rick Stewart, a longtime member of the
Edmonton police force with an extensive background in gang issues,
gave the keynote address. To start his multimedia presentation, he
used some humour in the form of a classic Monty Python skit about
roving gangs of grannies addicted to crocheting and who terrorize
their neighbourhoods using their purses as weapons.

"They make light of it, but it's nothing to make light of," he
said.

Stewart then moved on to more serious matters, such as the pressures
gangs place on public safety and emergency services, property values,
even insurance rates.

One of the challenges is that gangs keep changing and the numbers
appear to be growing. In 2008, there were an estimated 900 organized
crime gangs in the country operating in all provinces except Prince
Edward Island.

He argued for preventive measures, saying every dollar spent to fight
gangs through education and prevention are equal to $5 or $6 spent to
suppress them. He said it was important to get the message out to
young people that gangs only pretend to look out for young members--in
effect, to have their back.

"People who care for you--and I tell this to kids--have your front,"
Stewart said.

Mayor Sharon Gaetz credited the efforts of many in bringing together
the forum and for taking a look at the challenge of fighting gangs.
She said the community needs to be diligent on all fronts such as
tackling marijuana grow-ops.

"They're the economic engine for gangs in our community," she
said.

Gaetz also recommended other measures such as cleaning up graffiti as
soon as it goes up and challenged businesses that sell expensive goods
such as vehicles to avoid doing transactions in cash.