COMMUNITY LEARNS TO SPOT DRUG, GANG ACTIVITY

GREENSBORO -- Frightening. Enlightening.

That's how Goldie Wells described a session Wednesday night with Greensboro
police, who spent an hour teaching residents the signs of drug use and gang
activity by local youths.

More than 40 people attended the meeting, which is part of the department's
new "School Watch" program.

Police want to inform people about drug use and gang activity among teens
before the problems spiral out of control. Participants are encouraged to
contact police if they see criminal activity in their neighborhoods,
particularly around schools.

The program includes a component to train teachers, and possibly students,
in Guilford County Schools. Police initially broached the topic with the
Guilford County Board of Education at the beginning of the 2004-05 school
year. The board delayed voting on School Watch until police could get
community response.

So far, police say, the response has been positive. An initial meeting on
Jan. 11 drew 50 to 60 people. Another meeting has already been set for
March 17 with about 40 people expected to attend, said Capt. Harold Scott.

"You need to go forward," Wells encouraged officers after the meeting when
she heard the program was not in the schools. "We'll do all we can."

Wells and Faye Caple, members of the Concerned Citizens of Northeast
Greensboro, plan to get their neighbors involved. Caple grabbed a handful
of pamphlets describing different drugs to take back to her community.

The audience learned Wednesday that "sipping syrup" means drinking cough
syrup to get a buzz off the alcohol. "Special K" or "Cat" is an animal
tranquilizer that is used to get high, said Detective James Armstrong.

Gangs use the alphabet and American Sign Language to create secret codes.
Wearing the same clothing does not mean teens are in a gang, but clothing
can be used to "represent," or show gang affiliation, said Detective Ernest
Cuthbertson.

They threw out statistics that brought gasps from some audience members:

. 12 -- the average age for a first drink of alcohol

. 14 -- the average age for first marijuana use

. $25 billion -- the amount spent nationally on the black market for
prescription drugs in 2002

. $31 billion -- the amount spent nationally on cocaine in 2002

. 187 -- the gang code for murder; a reference to the California penal code
for that crime

. 1,400 -- the number of items, many of them easily obtained household
products, that can be used as inhalants to get high

"We want to educate you guys to know what your kids are doing and the
problem we might have," Armstrong said.

The meeting was full of good information, Greensboro resident and teacher
Frances Upchurch said. Several teachers who belong to a professional
educators' sorority attended the meeting.

"It just made us aware," Upchurch said. "It might help us understand our
students a little bit better."

Wells said she came because her community has been experiencing a lot of
criminal activity.

"I realized I don't know that much about drugs and gangs. So I came to
learn," she said. "It's been enlightening and frightening."