By KRISTINA HILL and AUDREY WOOD
Growth in Utah County is contributing to an increase in local gang activity, said Patty Long, community coordinator of the Major Crimes Task Force in Utah County.
The number of gangs within the county has increased by 17 since 1997, and the number of members has increased by 150. As of January 1998, there were 59 documented gangs and 551 known members in Utah County, according to county statistics.
'Utah County is in the middle of a huge growth trend,' Long said. 'People are moving to Utah County because it's a desirable place to live.'
Long said the newness of the gang trend within the county increases the number of members.
'Utah County is still in a lot of infant stages in gang activity,' Long said. 'We haven't had kids in (gangs) so long that now they want out. They're still experiencing a lot of the rushes involved in gang activity, but when that wears off we expect to see an increase of people who want out. A lot of the time, kids don't want out until they are older.'
Anthony Alba, a former gang member who now attends Utah Valley State College, said kids join gangs looking for acceptance.
'There is a sense of family and belonging, a sense of unity, there is a lot of adrenaline involved,' Alba said.
Alba said he joined a gang because he did not have a good support system at home and was looking for a place he could express himself. He said that is the reason many children join gangs.
'When you don't have a way to express your anger or feelings in a family environment, you tend to be able to express that anger through violence in a gang setting, and it becomes a rush,' Alba said.
Local junior-high students agree that kids join a gang in search for a place to belong.
'Maybe they haven't fit in their whole life and they feel like they'll be accepted because they see other kids that were like them going that way,' said Whitney Robinson, a student at Lakeridge Junior High in Orem.
'They feel like they have no other friends and have to fit in somewhere, so they joing a gang,' said Sarah Hill, a student at Lakeridge Junior High in Orem.
Salt Lake County experienced a growth in gang activity for years, but recently they have experienced a decline. Utah County's increase in gangs may be correlated with Salt Lake's decrease, according to statistics from Salt Lake County.
'Salt Lake puts more pressure on their gang members, and they get well-known,' said Sgt. Steve Messick, of the University Police. 'Utah County is a growing place and it's near Salt Lake. A lot of the gang members that have had pressure up there come down here.'
Long said sometimes a kid will get in trouble and parents think by moving the kid out of the city he will leave the gang. Instead they bring their gang attitude to Utah County and begin recruiting.
'Kids are coming from other places and setting up house. People are coming from Salt Lake and recruiting other kids in Utah County,' Long said.
Citizens of Utah County need to become educated about gangs and be aware of the activity in their neighborhoods, Long said.
'A lot of people don't want to believe there are gangs in 'happy valley,'' Long said. 'Any kind of problems happening in L.A. are happening in Utah County on a smaller scale.'
In order to stop the increase in gangs, community members must become involved, Messick said.
'The police won't be able to handle it,' Messick said. 'The only way that it can be handled is through good community support from each other and also from having strong families.'