By TRAVIS MURDOCK
Salt Lake City's latest export to Utah County may be gang members. As gang-related crime decreases in Salt Lake City, it continues to increase in Utah County.
'Crime is still on the increase in places like Utah County and other parts of the state, because we may be pushing some of our gang problems into Utah County,' said Michelle Arciaga, Salt Lake area gang project coordinator.
Although graffiti is decreasing in Utah County, violent crime has increased. Both graffiti and certain types of violent crimes are being attributed to the large increase in gang members in Utah County.
'As gang members get into trouble in Salt Lake, they come to Utah County to escape the Salt Lake police,' said Patty Long, Utah County Gang Project community coordinator.
'The Wasatch Front is one big city from Spanish Fork to Bountiful. The population density makes it easy for gangs to migrate quickly,' Long said.
The Utah County Sheriff's office polled Utah County citizens by fax and found that residents' second biggest concern was gangs. Residents' first concern was violent crime against people. Each respondent was asked to rank a list of crimes according to their relative concern for the crime. Although gangs have increased, the information from the survey came as a surprise to the sheriff's office.
'This survey will mean a change in emphasis in law enforcement in Utah County,' said Robert D. Ward, Utah County sheriff director of crime data analysis. Ward hopes to work with Salt Lake police officers to develop a accurate inter-agency database to improve gang prevention and law enforcement.
'Law enforcement can't stop gangs alone -- the communities must do it,' Ward said. He hopes the community will see the effect gangs have on their quality of life and will help to fight the problem.
Ward said Utah County is five to six years behind Salt Lake County in gang activity. Salt Lake City had 3,000 gang members who committed an average of 2.6 crimes per gang member in 1995; whereas Salt Lake City had 450 gang members who committed .04 crimes per gang member in 1989.
'We want to learn from Salt Lake and arrest the growth of gangs in Utah County,' Ward said.
As gangs and gang members move from areas like Salt Lake City, they have become more organized. BYU students are regular victims of gang property crimes.
'BYU students frequently leave expensive items in their cars like day-planners and cellular telephones. Students feel they are safe from property crime when they are on campus,' Long said.
The largest change in gangs in Utah County is the type of crimes the gangs commit. The new gang members are orchestrating larger crimes.
'Gang members come into an area and steal specific items they know they can sell quickly. For a few weeks we will see a certain item being reported stolen all over the county because the gangs have someone to sell the stolen item to out of the state or out of the country,' Long said.
'When I started in 1994, we saw mostly graffiti in the courts. Now we see gang members who are more organized and committing serious crimes,' said Jason Phillippi, Utah County deputy sheriff. Phillippi's experience comes from working for a year-and-a-half in the Utah County juvenile court system.
'Sometimes it is difficult to pinpoint a gang member in court proceedings. You can sometimes identify them by clothing or tattoos,' Phillippi said.
Tattoos are a permanent identifier of gang affiliation -- but can become a virtual prison for people wanting to leave gang life.
The Gang Project helps ex-gang members remove their unwanted markings after meeting strict requirements. Some of the qualifications are the following: no gang involvement, no court proceedings and no contact with police officers for six months. Ex-gang members must also maintain a 3.0 GPA or possess a high school diploma and be gainfully employed.
After meeting the requirements, the expensive removal service is provided by the University of Utah Dixon Laser Institute free of charge. Because the removal process takes several months, a participant's family must be actively involved in the process.
'No kid is average. Every kid is above average; and with the right attitude, support and encouragement, these kids will become responsible, hard-working, productive individuals in our society,' Long said.
Long related a story of a young man who had a swastika tattooed on his head. Although no longer active in gangs, the tattoo was disturbing to everyone he met, including his family and potential employers. With the help of Long and Sheriff Bateman, the young man became the first beneficiary of the new tattoo removal program.