Members of the Public Safety (PS) and Health and Human Services (HHS) Committees received a briefing on the County’s current efforts to coordinate gang suppression and intervention activities across County departments, local municipalities, and neighboring jurisdictions including Prince George’s County.
BACKGROUND:
On May 26, 2010, Education Committee Chair Ervin requested that the Public Safety Committee discuss the coordination of gang suppression, prevention, and intervention activities due to recent alleged gang activity in the Silver Spring/Takoma Park area. The scope of the presentation was narrowed to focus on the coordination of suppression and intervention efforts for youth who are or have been gang-involved.
PRESENTATION/DISCUSSION SUMMARY:
A. Assistant Police Chief Wayne Jerman shared several gang crime statistics, including that during the 1st Quarter of 2010, there were 54 criminal incidents reported which were classified as gang-related incidents. These included crimes committed by an individual who is a gang member or associate, and crimes committed to benefit the gang, gang status, or for financial gain in furtherance of the gang. For the most recent reporting period, the 3rd District had the most reported gang incidents with 20, followed by the 6th District with 13.
B. Presently, Montgomery County receives funding from five primary gang grants, and all are used for three aspects of gang prevention, suppression, and intervention.
C. There is a pending Congressional Earmark for a Bi-County Gang Task Force with Prince George’s County. The grant would fund a MCPD Sergeant and two gang investigators, a Takoma Park Police gang investigator, a SAO Gang Prosecutor, and Correctional Gang Intelligence Officer, Gang Analyst, and Data Entry positions. The grant award is $2.7 million to be split evenly between Montgomery County and Prince George's County. If awarded, Montgomery County will share the funds between Law Enforcement/Suppression and HHS/Intervention.
D. There was a positive highlight on the integration of Regional Informational Databases and other technology, the chief of which was GangNet. The GangNet database allows gang-related information to be correlated, analyzed, and acted upon. The information can also confirm gang membership, size of the gang, regional movement/recruitment by gangs, types of crimes different gangs commit, gang territory, locations where gang members are stopped, vehicles used by the gang members, and can assist the State's Attorney’s Office at sentencing.
E. Councilmember Trachtenberg enquired whether any efforts were being extended in determining whether young people who became involved in gangs had a correlative history of family violence, substance abuse, or poverty in their homes. She expressed her support for the continued collaboration between public safety and health and human services organizations in formulating solutions that identify and intervene in the lives of young people. Kate Garvey (Health and Human Services), in responding, expressed that there has been some progress but she hoped that the future would bring a single service system.
F. Captain Dave Gillespie (Dept. of Police) felt that most intervention is based on age appropriate techniques that came from best practices. Warden Green told the Councilmembers that gang violence had its own dimensions within the correctional system; and when left to itself, it grows like poison—prevention/suppression/intervention funding and re-entry action are all necessary for the present and future well-being of Montgomery County.
Please contact Saschane Stephenson, Legislative Aide for Health and Human Services, at 240-777-7963 (direct dial) or saschane.stephenson@montgomerycountymd.gov with your questions regarding this HHS-PS Committee session.
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