Manassas Hosts Gang Prevention Summit

Members of the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force, FBI, local law enforcement agencies and community and faith-based organizations participated in a gang prevention summit Monday evening to address residents on the importance of their involvement in preventing gang activity in the area.

 The various speakers, which included Manassas City Police Chief Douglas W. Keen and members of the local NVGTF, had a common theme: the government cannot combat gang proliferation alone, there has to be community involvement.

Chief Keen said the prevention and intervention side of gang proliferation is “equally important to the suppression [law enforcement] side.”

The various speakers said parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, preachers and teachers need to reach out to young men and women who are susceptible to joining a gang because of a lack of acceptance, attention and involvement at home.

An assessment by the NVGTF in 2008 identified middle school-aged youth as a target for gang recruitment.

Chief Keen said the purpose of the meeting was to inform the public of the actions the government is taking against preventing gang involvement among youth, so those who interact with at-risk youth on a daily basis can help with the effort.

Congressman Frank Wolf (R-Va.) has secured federal grants over the years that have enabled the NVGTF to become a success and a national model for gang prevention and enforcement.

“The gang problem is as minimal as can be for an area as large as Prince William County as a result of efforts by the NVGTF,” said Manassas City Manager Larry D. Hughes.

The success of the NVGTF model has resulted in other areas, such as southern and western Virginia to adopt the model Manassas City, Prince William County, Fairfax County and other local law enforcement jurisdictions use successfully.

 Part of its success rides on the fact that the NVGTF allows law enforcement jurisdictions to share resources they might not otherwise have access to, Chief Keen said.

Dan Hess, who works with the Prince William County Police enforcement component of the task force, said the NVGTF model is “truly a team effort.” He said the detectives on the ground share resources and that helps with the success of the investigation.

“The NVGTF has not jurisdiction lines,” Hess said.

 Hess provided the following indicators for parents/guardians to look for if they think their child/children might be involved in a gang or gang-like activity:

• Gang members often post videos/pictures on MySpace and Youtube

• Tattoos (particularly in between the fingers)

• Gang members often carry weapons, including brass knuckles, knives and machetes

• Use of hand-signs

• Common Dress or colors of clothing

• Tagging, graffiti and gang writings in school notebook or on bedroom wall

• Referring to a peer group as ‘family’

Richard Buchholz, who is part of Prince William County’s Gang Response Intervention Team (G.R.I.T.), said his job is to coordinate community prevention and intervention agencies and groups with law enforcement efforts by:

•  Sharing strategies in response to gang involvement 

• Educating and involving the community

• Analyzing existing resources

 Buchholz identified Manassas’ Georgetown South and Coverstone communities as targeted areas for gang activity.

G.R.I.T. offers activities such as soccer, tattoo removal services, educational programs and adult re-entry programs to deter gang participation among youth in these and other at-risk areas, Buchholtz told the crowd. He said the program is in need of mentors and volunteers for the various preventative activities and those interested can contact him directly at rbuchholz@pwcgov.org.

Buchholz identified transportation as one of the barriers to gang prevention in the community. Manassas City Manager Lawrence D. Hughes said the city is working to establish new bus stops so that the youth in the area can get to the local Boys & Girls Club.

Manassas City Councilmember Mark Wolfe said  earmarks secured by Congressman Wolf for the program are about to expire and urged residents to reach out to their local congressional leaders to secure a line-item in the budget to allow the NVGTF to continue operating.