Less crime despite growing membership
by Erica Grimaldo, Outpost staff
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Source: Reno Police Department's 1999 Annual
Report on the Status of Gangs in the City of
Reno. |
Gang membership in Reno is up an estimated 13.1 percent while most gang-related crime rates are down, according to the 1999 Reno Police Department's Annual Gang Report.
The report, based on information compiled by the Community Action Team's gang unit and prepared in conjunction with Gang Alternative Partnership, sets active gang members and "associates" at about 1,481 -almost three times the population in 1992.
Arrests of gang members decreased eight percent, felony crimes were down 11 percent and school gang or race related incidents were down 22 percent, the report said.
Graffiti and misdemeanor crimes such as battery where up about 38 percent each.
RPD Lieutenant Jake Wiskerchen, head of the gang unit, said this trend is linked to a shift in gang composition.
"Many of these individuals might be identified as gang members but they don't necessarily participate in criminal acts," Wiskerchen said. "What we see is about 250 of them [engaging in criminal activities] on a month to month basis."
Gangs are extremely fluid groups. They are constantly gaining new members and interacting with one another.
Only a core made up of 10-15 percent of gang members commit most of the crimes and as they leave the scene either from incarceration of disassociation, they might not be immediately replaced.
"This area has had a significant influence from California-based gangs, either because of members visiting relatives down here for a period of time or because people have moved with their families in an attempt to transplant their kids from the gang environment." Wiskerchen said. "Often times the kids will bring that attitude with them."
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Reno
Police Gang Program |
CAT was established in 1991 in response to a then-new wave of gang activity. It started with just one officer but over the past decade has grown to include 16 officers and two detectives.
The unit began with a plan for gang suppression, intelligence gathering, gang diversion, community education and graffiti abatement, but after a surge of violent gang crimes in the summer of 1995, intervention became secondary to law enforcement.
However, officers will take time to notify parents when their child is first identified as a gang member or gang associate. It's usually done by mail but occasionally CAT officer Chris Burke will go talk to the parents in person.
"They're unhappy [when we tell them] what's going on," Burke said. "But they're unwilling to control the situation."
In some cases officers will take a step further and reffer the youngster to a local agency such as Gang Alternative Partnership.
Then they'll go back to solving crimes.
"Most of what we deal with is destruction of property and graffiti," Burke said. "It's busting windows, car theft, that sort of thing."
But what make gang related crimes different from others in Reno are turf issues.
CAT officers Freelove (left) and Burke. |
"The key element in criminal gang activity is that when rival gangs have a conflict it doesn't end there," Wiskerchen said. "We can be assured there will be retaliation. We've got to pay close attention because it's the sort of thing that can fester and get out of control."
The fact that many gang crimes go unreported makes the need for proactive monitoring crucial. Also, cooperation with the police is frowned upon in gang culture which makes it harder to get information, even from victims.
"When we have constant monitoring and there is a drive-by shooting, we can usually gather information and localize the individuals within the next few hours," Wiskerchen said. "We might not make an arrest then but we'll try to suppress the situation as soon as possible."
Officer Burke believes that's the main reason gang members are moving out of the city of Reno to commit crimes in other areas of Washoe County, including neighboring Sparks, which have no specialized gang units.
"The majority of them don't like us because we know who they are and what they're up to," Burke said. "They've told us that."
And that, ultimately, might be the reason why gang-related crime went down in Reno last year.
Posted Feb. 25, 2000
Copyright 2000 Nevada Outpost
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