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Posted by: PBC FL Cop

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Gang Unit lets youths see better side of life

By Kelly Glista SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM & GAZETTE


Boys & Girls Club members sail on Indian Lake as part of a three-week anti-gang camp put on by the Worcester Police Department.

SPENCER— While some sit at home in front of the television or hang out on the streets, about 100 Worcester youngsters finish up swimming, horseback riding and a soccer game — and that’s all before noon. What they may not realize is that all this fun is intended to be an alternative to involvement in more dangerous activities.

For the fourth year in a row, the Worcester Police Department’s Gang Unit is running its three-week Gang Awareness for the Next Generation camp for Worcester youth ages 8-18. Splitting their time between Worcester State College and Camp Marshall 4-H camp in Spencer, the youths are given the chance to enjoy the outdoors while interacting with the same officers that some of their peers may have encountered in far less amicable circumstances.

“A lot of people, when they see the word ‘gang,’ they get nervous,” said Sgt. Miguel A. Lopez of the Gang Unit. “What we stress at the camp is positive interaction between cops and kids.”

Sgt. Lopez and six other Worcester police officers work with youths at Camp Marshall, along with 10 youth mentors and staff from the Worcester Boys & Girls Club. Over last week and the next two, 300 city youths will attend the program this year, up from 184 last year.

But camp attendance isn’t the only rising statistic that city police are witnessing. In the first half of 2007, there were 15 shootings with 18 victims, as opposed to last year’s 10 shootings with 11 victims. According to the department’s Crime Analysis Unit, stabbing and aggravated assault numbers have also increased. There were three homicides in Worcester, while there were none during that time period in 2006.

Teenagers are both victims and suspects in many of the crimes.

Police Chief Gary J. Gemme believes that the high numbers make programs such as the GANG Camp that much more important, since it provides youths with the opportunity to stay busy in the summer months, rather than turning to the streets.

“I think that’s where you have your problems,” he said, noting that the Gang Unit’s effort helps to make the summer safer for the city of Worcester.

The number of shootings in the past six months are reminiscent of the summer of 2004, which, according to Chief Gemme, was one of the most violent ever in Worcester and prompted the formation of several Police Department programs. “It really is exciting to see,” he said. “The Gang Unit is showing them alternatives to the attraction of the streets.”

The chief is convinced that the rising crime statistics are not a sign of failure for the GANG program. Only two out of the 184 kids who attended camp last year have had any negative contact with the police, he noted.

“We know these kids in the gangs and they’ve never been a part of the programs,” Sgt. Lopez said. “The core kids that we deal with are not the kids doing the shootings.”

The program started four years ago when the Gang Unit decided to expand on its cooperation with the Boys & Girls Club by adding a summer camp. The first summer saw 50 kids come through the program in one week. Since then it has extended to three weeks and this year the young people were split up by age group, with a different group in each week. The week of activities always ends with a pizza party and awards ceremony at Indian Lake Yacht Club, where campers receive trophies for their various endeavors.

The program started using Camp Marshall last year after facility director Penny Marston saw a flier for the GANG program and suggested to Sgt. Lopez that the camp and the program would be a great fit.

The chance to get outside and enjoy nature is something that many city youth never get to experience in Worcester, said Ms. Marston. The 275-acre Camp Marshall provides activities such as boating, fishing, archery and sports to the GANG program participants.

“I think that’s what makes our partnership really special,” she said.

Joe Hungler, director of operations for the Boys & Girls Club, agreed that being outdoors makes a difference.

“I mean, what 10-year-old from inner-city Worcester gets to ride a horse?” he said with a smile.

The kids are divided into seven different teams using what Sgt. Lopez calls the “spoke approach,” deliberately placing kids from different areas of the city on the same team. The intent is to break down the turf barriers that often lead to gang violence.

The program also includes a day of drug prevention education that involves the police K-9 Unit, activities designed to encourage relying on teamwork, and for the older youth, a tour of a detention center.

Mr. Hungler said it all makes a huge difference to the kids.

“The Gang Unit sees potential in our kids,” he said. “For kids to feel valued by a police officer is incredibly positive.”

The 11 officers of the Gang Unit help run different programs with the Boys & Girls Club that also are attended by many of the GANG program participants. According to Mr. Hungler, that relationship building is especially important for the older youth.

“The reality is that they need the support,” he said, since it is during their teenage years that young people make decisions that carry great consequences. Hearing the same message from police officers that they hear from the Boys & Girls Club helps reinforce the importance of making good choices.

“I think it’s more urgent for the teens, but equally important for all the groups,” said Mr. Hungler.

The officers of the Gang Unit and the Boys & Girls Club staff hope that through the activities the youth will learn a foundation of teamwork, confidence and accomplishment, and that every participant becomes successful in some way, Chief Gemme added.

“Hopefully, they’ll walk away with a different sense of the future,” he said.

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Posted by: Deuce

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