FIGHTING BACK

We Must Gang Up On Gang Terrorists

While the overall crime rate has decreased in Florida, according to
Attorney General Bill McCollum, gang-related crimes are increasing
"substantially." That's a reality of great concern to medium-sized
cities such as Tallahassee as well as to large urban areas where
gangs are regrettably more a part of the streetscape.

The capital city saw a spike in gang activity this past year with
the Tallahassee Police Department reporting some 150 to 200 young
people thought to be involved in gangs - including more and more
girls. The Department of Juvenile Justice says gangs are recruiting
youngsters as young as 10 years old.

Statewide, reports the Florida Department of Corrections, there has
been a 61-percent increase in the number of felony convictions of
gang members over the past three years, a figure that no doubt
prompted Mr. McCollum to host the two-day Gang Reduction Strategy
Summit in the Capitol this week. Here in Tallahassee, the police
have said about 10 shootings in the last two years have been tied to gangs.

The findings of this summit about the pervasiveness and increase of
gang activity largely due to drug trafficking may shock middle-class
citizens who haven't given much thought to gang activity. But these
days, no socioeconomic group is immune from gangs. They get bolder
in areas where they feel there is not much competition in dealing
drugs or committing other crimes - the situation police say they
find here. Home invasions, which are far more dangerous and
terrifying than burglaries that occur when no one is home, may
be one signal that bolder criminals are at work, for example.

Combating gang activity requires not only awareness but a broad
battle front, including intervention and prevention programs aimed
at identifying youngsters who are at risk of gang involvement. This
is not just a law-enforcement problem, but one in which education
and outreach must be ignited in schools, by churches, in youth clubs
and recreation centers and definitely by parents, who must be
willing to address the reality of their children's lives.

Tallahasseeans have organized town-hall meetings to get parents,
schools and neighborhoods informed and alert, and since last year a
Gang Intelligence Work Group that includes law enforcement from
various agencies from around the region has been meeting regularly.

Gangs may be going about their business as usual, but there is no
time to waste in coordinating comprehensive approaches to fighting back.