The Orem Department of Public safety has a clear message for gang members within its jurisdiction: Get out of the gang or get out of town.

The city's new gang unit hit the streets for the first time last month, aggressively contacting known gang members at popular hang outs and disrupting their activities. In just seven weeks, officers from the gang task force have made 110 arrests, 142 traffic stops, identified 40 new gang members, issued 52 traffic citations and contacted more than 800 suspected gang members.

Officer Bill Young, head of the gang unit and a 33-year veteran of the department, said Orem's gangs are already getting the message.

"When we first started we saw them everywhere," Young said. "Now it's hard to find them, and that's the way we want it."

Public Safety Director Michael Larsen decided to form the task force after Orem Police noticed a sharp increase in the number of gang-related crimes between 2005 and 2007. Incidences of graffiti and vandalism were up 22 percent during that time period and up 28 percent the first five months of 2008.

"We just haven't had enough concentrated attention to fix the problem," Young said. "We've seen increases in violent crime, graffiti, vandalism and other gang-related activity. Finally our director said enough was enough."

The department chose select members from each division to be part of the new task force, Lt. Doug Edwards said. Officers constantly check parks, schools and other areas of the city known for gang activity. By carefully documenting known gang members, identifying new recruits and making appropriate arrests, Orem police hope to eliminate what was a growing problem.

Edwards said the majority of the city's difficulties come from local Hispanic street gangs, though police also keeps tabs on white supremacist and Polynesian gangs in the area. Older gang members typically use parks and schools to recruit new members. Some have even rented motel rooms and provided alcohol to swell their numbers with potential under-aged recruits. Earlier this year, police disrupted a similar gathering of 14 known gang members in a Smith's parking lot, which led to the arrest of one member in connection to a stabbing in American Fork.

"We used to see them rolling around in cars and hanging out in parking lots, but we've seen that diminish," Young said. "Whenever we do see them, we look for any legitimate legal reason to stop them."

The quick results are unprecedented in Young's three decades of experience. Prior to creating the task force, the department had a database of about 200 known gang members resulting from years of police work - now it's 240, a 20 percent increase in less than two months. Young said the gang unit also makes house calls to encourage younger gang members to leave the dangerous lifestyle behind.

"The gang culture is that no insult goes unpunished, and the violence escalates," Young said. "Without parental support it's pretty tough to get out."

Orem's war on gangs is far from over. City Attorney Paul Johnson will make a presentation to the city council next month about ways the city can use trespassing legislation to further complicate gang members activities.
Copyright Brigham Young University 23 Jul 2008