Grand Island

Drop in gang crimes credited to arrests, and D.A.R.E.

Associated Press - September 2006

GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska. - The number of crimes committed by gang members in Grand Island has decreased the last two years, according to police.

Through investigations and their own observations, officers have determined gang numbers are down, investigator Jim Duering said.

Duering attributes much of that change to a few felony and federal convictions of known gang leaders.

Some of the gang members in town are locals, while others have moved here from elsewhere, Duering said.

Recruitment isn't as strong as it used to be and many new gang members don't seem to be as violent as their predecessors, which may also be contributing to the decrease in traceable gang activity, he said.

Duering lauded the efforts of law enforcement-based education programs such as DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) and GREAT (Gang Resistance Education and Training). He said school principals and teachers have done a good job dealing with gang issues by cracking down on the way kids dress and act at school.

He said the baggy pants and certain types of shirts may be gang-influenced, but there is a difference between a "fashion statement and the real deal."

"Pop culture embraces the gangster fashion," he said.

"They're doing what kids do, imitating their idols and dressing like their favorite rap star." Duering said it's difficult to link some crimes, such as thefts, to gangs, especially when the incidents go unsolved. Some things, such as assaults and graffiti, which he said is an advertisement for gangs, are easier to trace to certain gang members, he said.

The city's graffiti abatement ordinance also has helped cut down on gang activity, he said. Although the ordinance has been around for a while, it is now being enforced more by the community service officers.

"It's the broken window theory," he said. "If you leave it, it will cause problems. One gang's graffiti might get crossed out by another and then there are problems. But if it's cleaned up, it takes away their advertising. We're trying to be proactive."

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