By Kathy Amoroso
June 27, 2005

"One gang operation can have as many as 30,000 members across state boundaries and that number is growing. These gangs are engaging in narcotics and weapons trafficking, murders, sexual assaults, robberies and other serious crimes," said Conference Vice President Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill, speaking to a standing room only crowd of mayors, police chiefs and other city officials at the Community Policing Workshop on The Fight Against Growing Gang Violence at the Annual Conference of Mayors in Chicago, June 10.

The workshop was funded by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and conducted by The Mayors' Institute for Community Policing as part of its effort to focus on the growing problem of gang violence in cities. "We do believe that community policing is an effective and proven method of dealing with crime, and we are glad that the COPS Office is supporting our efforts to address this problem," said O'Neill.

"Many Americans consider gangs to be a big-city problem, one that can be safely ignored if you live in a suburb or small town," said Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in his address to the session. "But like every other urban problem, this one is seeping into the suburbs of Chicago and most other big cities. In the rural areas, we see mounting drug problems. Gangs, and the violence they bring, will not be far behind. Because, as we all know, illegal drugs are the lifeblood of our criminal street gangs."

"Our gang strategy relies on a combination of modern technology; better management of police resources; gathering of intelligence; cooperation at every level of government; and community participation," said Daley. "For over ten years, Chicago has emphasized community policing — with residents working together with the police and other city departments to remove the conditions that lead to crime. That means removing gang graffiti, getting rid of abandoned buildings where gang members traffic in drugs, and driving gang members out of public parks and street corners where they congregate."

Chicago Police Department Superintendent Philip J. Cline displayed one of Chicago's high-tech surveillance cameras, showing video footage of criminal activity and the resulting police response and arrest of the perpetrators. "These cameras cost us $30,000 a piece," explained Cline. "But what's good about it is we don't use a taxpayer dollar to pay for these cameras. They're paid for with forfeiture money, so the drug dealers are actually paying to surveille themselves."

"Our innovative violence reduction efforts focus on using intelligence and technology to rapidly deploy our resources in areas where we experience violent crime. In short, we're now better at preventing violent crime instead of responding to it," said Cline. Chicago's tactics include targeting open air drug markets, disrupting gang activity, recovering more illegal guns and placing more officers on the street. Last year the Chicago Police Department recovered more than 10,500 guns and dismantled over 50 open air drug markets. As a result, Chicago's homicide rate declined by 25 percent to a 38-year low.

Long Beach Chief of Police Anthony Batts then outlined efforts to stem gang violence in his city. "We are the most ethnically diverse large city in the United States," Batts told the group. "Gang members constitute approximately one percent of the Long Beach population, but 33 percent of the homicides in Long Beach are gang related. And 50 percent of the homicides in L.A. County are gang related. Our strategies to combat this problem include suppression, intervention and education."

"It's important to emphasize greater community participation and to energize a sleepy community. We call what we do 'Community Oriented Public Safety' because to call it 'Community Oriented Policing' puts the emphasis on the police department," said Batts. "We like to put the emphasis on community to encourage community oriented governance, taking a 360 degree view of the problem. This comprehensive approach has resulted in a 20.7 reduction in overall crime in Long Beach from 2002-2005."

Turning the workshop's focus to MS-13, O'Neill introduced L.T. Chu, Senior Policy Analyst with the MS-13 National Task Force at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), to discuss the gang's surge in membership and activity on the West Coast. "A lot of people may ask, why is the FBI specifically targeting MS-13, why not the Bloods, why not the Crips, why not any other type of gang" Chu said. "For one, MS-13 has a high propensity for violence. In December of last year in Honduras, MS-13 gang members gunned down 28 people in cold blood, six of which were children. What was their message? Well they left a message on the windshield — 'Back Off! This is a response to police crackdown on MS-13.'"

"What does it have to do with us? Well, the immigration issue. Most of these gang members are coming from Central America — Honduras, El Salvador — into our borders; repeat offenders. The immigration issue is huge. Most of these members are illegal immigrants and they are highly adaptive. They're following the construction and the meatpacking trades. We like to say they're the hardest working gang in America. That's why they migrate," Chu explained.

Tawana Waugh, Senior Public Liaison Specialist with the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), U.S. Department of Justice, closed the session by thanking the mayors for their continued support of the COPS Office, and outlining what the COPS Office offers to fight gangs. "We can all agree that federal, state and local budgets are stretched to their limits. At this time there is no pot of money available to help you eliminate gangs from your cities and towns," Waugh said. "However there are several things that you as mayors can do to address the spread of gang violence across America. As the chief government official you can communicate, collaborate and educate your constituents about the kinds of disorder issues that result from gang activity."

"Communication is a key element in developing your anti-gang strategy. Talk with your peers as you have done here today. Other mayors can tell you what they're doing in their communities. They are an excellent source of information."