New wave of gang violence worries cities
Loose-knit affiliations are different, but toll on communities is the same. Police and residents are taking action.
By LAURA BAUER
The Kansas City Star
In cities as small as Moline, Ill., and as large as Kansas City, the memories of gang violence in the early 1990s linger.
Police can’t forget the neighborhood gang wars, drive-by shootings and fears of letting children play outside.
That is why a recent surge in gang activity has some cities across the nation — Topeka, Wichita and Springfield among them — worried about what would happen if gangs again gained a foothold.
“A lot of people don’t remember how it was 10 years ago,” said Tom Stolz, Wichita’s deputy police chief. “It was the OK Corral around here. We had drive-by shootings every night.”
In the past two years, the shootings, assaults, burglaries and robberies committed by suspected gang members have returned to some cities. Though the violence may not have reached the levels of the 1990s, police are resurrecting gang units and communities are working with law enforcement.
Lawmakers in at least 13 states want new legislation to improve gang laws and slap members with heftier prison sentences. They say it is time to stop gangs as they resurface in small and rural communities as well as big cities.
In Moline, police told residents at a neighborhood meeting last week that they needed to work with them to prevent more gang-related crimes in their city of about 43,000 residents. In Tallahassee, Fla., residents of the state capital packed a town hall meeting to discuss their gang concerns with police.
“All the ingredients are there for the perfect storm we had 12-14 years ago,” said Steve Nawojczyk, a national gang and violence expert. “I think it’s just trending back around again. … I hope the country learned from the history we suffered.”
If police departments in the Midwest and elsewhere are any indication, it did.
•Kansas City police spent much of last month searching for Shauntay Henderson, a gang member they said was in the middle of recent violence that included several shootings. Even after her arrest, police stayed concentrated on the violence, publicizing mug shots of wanted gang members and asking for the public’s help in finding them.
•When officials in Topeka first noticed an increase in assaults and graffiti last year, they revived their gang unit and identified possible members and their activities.
•In Springfield, community involvement has mixed with police action to address gang problems. The city tallied 31 shootings in a four-month period last year, a big increase in a town with a relatively low crime rate.
Gangs these days are different from a decade ago. They are not tightly knit, highly organized groups loyal to their cause.
“Used to be once a Blood, always a Blood,” said Topeka Police Maj. John Sidwell. “Well, shoot, they change from one to another in what we see now.”
Kansas City police said they did not see the organized-gang crimes that had terrorized cities like Los Angeles and Chicago for years.
“It’s more, ‘I have drugs I’m selling, and I don’t like that you’re my competition, so I’m going to rob your drug house,’ ” said Capt. Rich Lockhart, a Kansas City police spokesman. “It’s gangs, but it’s ‘gangs’ with an asterisk by the word. When you say that word, there’s an image that conjures up, and that’s not what you see in KC.”
Police officials in smaller cities admit this recent surge in gang activity caught many of them off guard.
When gang activity flattened out in the late 1990s to the early part of this decade, police reassigned officers. Gangs went on the back burner.
Sidwell likens police work to firefighting: Officers go to the hot spots.
“And gang activity wasn’t a hot spot for a while,” he said. “We went on to address other major issues.”
While violent crime was down across the nation, departments began dealing with an increase in property crimes.
“We were trying to address residential burglaries,” Sidwell said. “And while that was being addressed, the other (crimes associated with gangs) started coming.”
Nationally, violent crime in 2005 increased for the first time in five years, and experts pointed to gangs.
In Springfield, school officials first waved the alert flag in 2006. They started reporting that students were coming to school and leaving after they had peddled their drugs. Gang members were recruiting at middle and high schools.
“The school people were basically saying, ‘We need help,’ ” said Greene County Prosecutor Darrell Moore.
Not wanting to go back to the early 1990s when Gangster Disciples from Chicago had a presence in the city, Springfield police doubled the size of its gang unit from six to 12 officers. By December a grand jury had handed down 39 gang-related indictments.
“My goal was to try and stop the escalation,” Moore said. “We indicted people for robberies, assaults, weapons and drugs.”
Police in Kansas City and Wichita agree that a surge in gang violence requires fast action. If they do not solve those crimes quickly, retaliation starts. A recent Wichita homicide sparked at least four drive-by shootings.
“When cops tell you it’s important we make arrests on this, that’s why,” Stolz said. If they do not, the gangs will “take care of it themselves.”
Police are also quick to say they cannot solve the gang problems alone. The community has to get involved.
In Springfield, community members feel empowered by what they were able to do, said Chris Davis, gang prevention coordinator for Community Partnership of the Ozarks, a Springfield organization that works with other city agencies.
“It’s not a police problem, not a school problem. It’s affecting everyone in this community,” Davis said. “A stray bullet can hit anybody.”
To reach Laura Bauer, call (816) 234-7743 or send e-mail to lbauer@kcstar.com.
By LAURA BAUER
The Kansas City Star
In cities as small as Moline, Ill., and as large as Kansas City, the memories of gang violence in the early 1990s linger.
Police can’t forget the neighborhood gang wars, drive-by shootings and fears of letting children play outside.
That is why a recent surge in gang activity has some cities across the nation — Topeka, Wichita and Springfield among them — worried about what would happen if gangs again gained a foothold.
“A lot of people don’t remember how it was 10 years ago,” said Tom Stolz, Wichita’s deputy police chief. “It was the OK Corral around here. We had drive-by shootings every night.”
In the past two years, the shootings, assaults, burglaries and robberies committed by suspected gang members have returned to some cities. Though the violence may not have reached the levels of the 1990s, police are resurrecting gang units and communities are working with law enforcement.
Lawmakers in at least 13 states want new legislation to improve gang laws and slap members with heftier prison sentences. They say it is time to stop gangs as they resurface in small and rural communities as well as big cities.
In Moline, police told residents at a neighborhood meeting last week that they needed to work with them to prevent more gang-related crimes in their city of about 43,000 residents. In Tallahassee, Fla., residents of the state capital packed a town hall meeting to discuss their gang concerns with police.
“All the ingredients are there for the perfect storm we had 12-14 years ago,” said Steve Nawojczyk, a national gang and violence expert. “I think it’s just trending back around again. … I hope the country learned from the history we suffered.”
If police departments in the Midwest and elsewhere are any indication, it did.
•Kansas City police spent much of last month searching for Shauntay Henderson, a gang member they said was in the middle of recent violence that included several shootings. Even after her arrest, police stayed concentrated on the violence, publicizing mug shots of wanted gang members and asking for the public’s help in finding them.
•When officials in Topeka first noticed an increase in assaults and graffiti last year, they revived their gang unit and identified possible members and their activities.
•In Springfield, community involvement has mixed with police action to address gang problems. The city tallied 31 shootings in a four-month period last year, a big increase in a town with a relatively low crime rate.
Gangs these days are different from a decade ago. They are not tightly knit, highly organized groups loyal to their cause.
“Used to be once a Blood, always a Blood,” said Topeka Police Maj. John Sidwell. “Well, shoot, they change from one to another in what we see now.”
Kansas City police said they did not see the organized-gang crimes that had terrorized cities like Los Angeles and Chicago for years.
“It’s more, ‘I have drugs I’m selling, and I don’t like that you’re my competition, so I’m going to rob your drug house,’ ” said Capt. Rich Lockhart, a Kansas City police spokesman. “It’s gangs, but it’s ‘gangs’ with an asterisk by the word. When you say that word, there’s an image that conjures up, and that’s not what you see in KC.”
Police officials in smaller cities admit this recent surge in gang activity caught many of them off guard.
When gang activity flattened out in the late 1990s to the early part of this decade, police reassigned officers. Gangs went on the back burner.
Sidwell likens police work to firefighting: Officers go to the hot spots.
“And gang activity wasn’t a hot spot for a while,” he said. “We went on to address other major issues.”
While violent crime was down across the nation, departments began dealing with an increase in property crimes.
“We were trying to address residential burglaries,” Sidwell said. “And while that was being addressed, the other (crimes associated with gangs) started coming.”
Nationally, violent crime in 2005 increased for the first time in five years, and experts pointed to gangs.
In Springfield, school officials first waved the alert flag in 2006. They started reporting that students were coming to school and leaving after they had peddled their drugs. Gang members were recruiting at middle and high schools.
“The school people were basically saying, ‘We need help,’ ” said Greene County Prosecutor Darrell Moore.
Not wanting to go back to the early 1990s when Gangster Disciples from Chicago had a presence in the city, Springfield police doubled the size of its gang unit from six to 12 officers. By December a grand jury had handed down 39 gang-related indictments.
“My goal was to try and stop the escalation,” Moore said. “We indicted people for robberies, assaults, weapons and drugs.”
Police in Kansas City and Wichita agree that a surge in gang violence requires fast action. If they do not solve those crimes quickly, retaliation starts. A recent Wichita homicide sparked at least four drive-by shootings.
“When cops tell you it’s important we make arrests on this, that’s why,” Stolz said. If they do not, the gangs will “take care of it themselves.”
Police are also quick to say they cannot solve the gang problems alone. The community has to get involved.
In Springfield, community members feel empowered by what they were able to do, said Chris Davis, gang prevention coordinator for Community Partnership of the Ozarks, a Springfield organization that works with other city agencies.
“It’s not a police problem, not a school problem. It’s affecting everyone in this community,” Davis said. “A stray bullet can hit anybody.”
To reach Laura Bauer, call (816) 234-7743 or send e-mail to lbauer@kcstar.com.
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