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Gang violence raises tough questions
By Geof Wollerman
gwollerm@mscd.edu

New statistics released by the Denver Police Department reveal an increase in gang violence. Speculation about the reasons for the increase – and what can be done to solve it – are as varied as the number of gangs that now call Denver home.

Assaults involving gang members in Denver have gone up from 110 in 1999 to 146 in 2006. Also during that time 91 homicides involving gang members were reported, making up 18 percent of total homicides since 1999.

One possible reason the city is seeing an increase in gang violence stems from many gang members who were put in jail during the 1980s and 1990s, according to Noah Fritz, a Metro criminal justice professor.

“We’re now starting to see some of those people who have gang ties getting back to the streets of Denver,” he said.

The problem can be described as cyclical – due to inconsistent emphasis over the years on criminal enforcement – and does not necessarily point to problems particular to Denver, Fritz said.

In the last 10 years, crime across the country has been down overall, and Fritz does not think Denver is more violent today than it was twenty years ago.

Fritz, whose doctoral dissertation concerned gang activity in the Five Points neighborhood, pointed out that there are many other factors that can cause apparent increases in crime. When looking at statistics it is important to understand the point of reference and to be careful about drawing conclusions, he said.

One of the reasons a big deal was made about 1993’s “summer of violence” was not that violent crime was necessarily up, but that crime against non-minorities was up, Fritz said.

The media can also play an influential role when it comes to affecting local discussions about crime waves. For instance, if someone such as Darrent Williams had not been shot, people would probably not be looking at the problem, he said.

“Is it a hot topic now because it’s a Denver Bronco football player? That’s why we have this current dialogue now, to a certain extent,” Fritz said. “Nobody talked about it a year and half ago.”

Sociology professor Jay Watterworth agreed.

“I think that the publicity of high-profile incidents like Darrent Williams has really focused attention on the issue,” he said.

The gang violence issue has been building up for the last five or six years, Watterworth said. One thing that happens when the media gets involved is that special-interest groups use issues like gang violence to further their own goals. Right-wing groups are beginning to link illegal immigration to the recent increase in gang violence, he said.

“One of the compounding problems we have is an influx of people coming in from Southern California,” he said about the rise in violence.

Nancy M. Hoke, chair of the Department of Human Services, said she is aware of at least a dozen different gangs in Denver.

“We have more gangs from other parts of the country than we’ve ever seen before,” Hoke said. “It used to be a couple of gangs, and now most of the gangs out there have a representative chapter here in Denver.”

The Department of Human Services has an at-risk youth program in place, and offers other classes that train interested students in helping at-risk youth avoid the influence of gangs, Hoke said. These classes often bring in actual gang members to talk with students about how difficult it is to get out of the gang lifestyle, she said.

The city of Denver has not been that successful with deterring kids from gangs, but a program in Watkins, Colo. which takes kids off the streets for a couple of years, has had great results, Hoke said.

“The kids that do the best are the kids that are taken out of the environment that’s supporting the gang life,” Hoke said. “Because it’s very easy to join a gang, it’s very hard to quit a gang. And so any program really has to change their social milieu plus give them the skills to live a comfortable, happy life without relying on illegal behaviors.”

Hoke made it clear that it is very difficult to deter kids from gangs.

“I’ve worked with some individuals, and what I find is often they come in here and they tell me for the first six moths why it’s impossible to get out of a gang, and I just listen. And then eventually we start saying, ‘Yeah, but where is this gang taking you? It’s taking you either to jail or death,’” Hoke said. “What I’ve found is a lot of kids would like to get out of gangs, they just don’t believe it’s possible.”

Another factor in the influence gangs have is that they have become more of a business, rather than a social group for teens, Hoke said. Gangs offer a way to make money, which makes kids feel that they can live at a higher level from day to day. Very rarely do kids involved in gangs have long-term plans, she said.

“There’s a lot of money to be made, and it’s very difficult when you have someone who is used to handling a lot and then put them in a position where they get $10 an hour. It just doesn’t feel right, and so we have to try to recreate the good things they got from gang life in an environment where they are not putting their lives at risk,” Hoke said. “These kids will be dead or in jail, and we have to find options for them.”