By FRED HEATH
A decline in gang-related crimes in Salt Lake County over the last few years has resulted in an increase of gang activity in Utah County and other neighboring counties, according to an official at the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force.
Even though there has been an increase in gang activities in the area surrounding Salt Lake County, officials from gang units in Utah and Salt Lake counties said a major problem in dealing with gangs is the nonchalant attitude of citizens.
'A lot of people say the problem is with a bunch of wannabe gang members. There is no such thing as a wannabe. A wannabe is a gonnabe,' said Patty Long, community coordinator of the Utah County Gang Project.
Long said there are many tiny cities such as Santaquin that have significant gang problems, and the lack of funding for gang units is a direct result of the denial by citizens of Utah County.
In Salt Lake County, juveniles involved in gang related crimes accounted for nearly 20 percent of all gang activities in 1997, according to Salt Lake Area Gang Project statistics.
Sgt. Chuck Gilbert, of the Metro Gang Unit in Salt Lake City, said he agreed with Long's claims about the public's denial of a gang problem, especially in counties outside of Salt Lake.
'Denial is a normal human reaction, but (it) is not the problem it used to be in Salt Lake City. In West Jordan, however, you have people saying there isn't a gang problem,' Gilbert said.
Major denial occurs within the homes of many juveniles whose parents do not want to believe their children are involved in gang activities. Gilbert said a lot of parents admit their children associate with gang members, but they don't think their children are directly involved.
He said parents need to educate themselves by researching gangs at the library or attending a gang awareness class.
Gilbert said parents can look for doodling on school textbooks and the clothing they choose to wear -- or even what they choose not to wear.
'Very often what a gang member will not wear tells us more about the individual. It's an indicator of what gang they are involved with,' Gilbert said.
He related an example of parents who say their children have said they don't like to wear the color blue, which would indicate the child is a member of a Bloods-affiliated gang whose members wear the color red.
In addition to the clothes they wear, Gilbert said it is important to recognize how the clothing has been altered. A member of the a Bloods gang may wear a Cincinnati Reds baseball cap to show off its color, but the white 'C' on the cap would stand for the rival gang Crips.
He said a member of a Bloods-affiliated gang could cross out the 'C' on the Reds cap and that would indicate that the individual has been disrespectful to the rival gang and could wear the hat with pride.
Gilbert said writing on textbooks can reflect types of gang graffiti. Common marks in graffiti writing are an 'X,' which is a sign for disrespect. Other signs of graffiti are the numbers '187' and the letter 'K.'
A '187' is a California code number for a killing, but in graffiti writing it is a threat to kill or a challenge to fight. The 'K' simply indicates 'killer,' Gilbert said.
Many gang activities originated in the Salt Lake City area when gangs were first introduced to the state early in the decade, but the trend has seen a relocation of gang activity to nearby counties.
'There has been a migration out of Salt Lake County as well as a migration from western states like California and from the Midwest, which has influenced gang activity in Utah County,' Long said.
Gilbert said migration of gang activities to other counties is an unfortunate but typical result of law enforcement.
'Law enforcement mostly moves crimes but does not suppress it,' Gilbert said.
Long said the major influences of increased gang activity in Utah County can be attributed to the fact that more people are moving into the state. Also, because I-15 can be viewed as major pipeline for narcotics.
In an article called 'Happy Valley Homeboys,' Long discusses the key role I-15 plays for gang members in Utah County.
'The Orem area is a major hub of State Highway 189, which delivers narcotics to the Wasatch/Summit counties, as well as into the Uintah Basin from Las Vegas via I-15. Spanish Fork plays host to a large drug pipeline that ends in Colorado via SR-214. Gang members hold the monopoly of narcotic sales across the United States, and Utah County is no exception,' according to Long's article.
Even though Long said that there has been influence from outside the state, the biggest problem is with gang members who are born and raised in Utah.
'Very few are coming from outside the state, but the philosophy or influence of gangs in this state mainly comes from the west,' Gilbert said.