State police survey shows gang activity in all N.J. countiesFriday, January 28, 2011
Last updated: Saturday January 29, 2011, 3:14 PM
BY GIOVANNA FABIANO AND MICHELLE LEE
The Record
STAFF WRITERS
Street gangs are still a widespread problem across the state, including North Jersey, where the Bloods, Crips and Latin Kings maintain a strong presence, according to a state police survey released Friday.
In its fourth survey since 2001, the state police identified 244 distinct gangs and 1,575 gang sets operating throughout New Jersey. The gangs were found in 45 percent of the state’s municipalities and in all 21 counties, according to the 118-page report.
Bergen County was among nine counties reported to have a greater-than-average gang presence — each with more than 90 gangs. Passaic County was found to have 52 gangs.
Read the report:
New Jersey State Police gang survey (PDF)In Bergen County, which had a total of 108 gangs, Englewood was found to have the largest number of gang members, at 435, followed by Elmwood Park with 170, Bergenfield with 160, Garfield with 157 and Teaneck with 102.
The state police conducted an online survey of nearly all 566 municipalities, with only Elizabeth declining to participate, but some local law enforcement officials questioned the accuracy of the results.
For example, Hackensack, where the Bergen County Gang Task Force has made numerous gang-related arrests over the last few years, is found in the survey to have only 20 gang members.
Elmwood Park Police Chief Donald Ingrasselino said it was nearly impossible to identify the number of gang members in the borough via an online survey.
“I’m skeptical of the numbers, because it doesn’t really make sense to me that we have 170 and Hackensack has 20, but either way, the results don’t surprise us,” Ingrasselino said.
“We recognize the gang problem and we’re trying, along with the school district, to be proactive, but it’s hard without a school resource officer,” he said.
Ingrasselino said having a police officer in the schools was a big help, but in September, the Board of Education cut off funding for the school resource officer.
State police officials said the survey should be used by local law enforcement agencies as a guide to the gang presence in their respective communities.
In Englewood, Chief Arthur O’Keefe said the department relies on Detective Marc McDonald, the school resource officer, to be its eyes and ears among city children.
While the state police’s survey reported that Englewood’s biggest gang problems were the Bloods and the Crips, with the latter most actively recruiting in the city, O’Keefe said there is also a strong Latin Kings presence.
“We’re seeing two problems: Major gangs are recruiting at a much younger age than before,” O’Keefe said. “So now, we’re seeing 12- and 13-year-olds and, sometimes, elementary school students getting initiated.”
The second problem is a significant population of illegal immigrants in Englewood, which typically remains isolated from the police.
“The undocumented community is a fertile environment for gangs, and they are usually closed off, so we are trying to make inroads there.”
Law enforcement officials typically look for gang initiation signs and colors in clothing, jewelry and graffiti. O’Keefe said McDonald and several other officers work with the Bergen County Gang Task Force, often checking social networking sites for any clues to gang activity, particularly among youths.
A few years ago, officers came across a Facebook photo of a 9-year-old boy dressed in gang colors and posing with his father's handgun, O'Keefe said.
Last summer, a string of strong-arm robberies in the city was tied to gang members, he said.
In Passaic County, 52 gangs were reported in 11 out of 16 municipalities, according to the survey. Most communities reported having three or fewer gangs.
Paterson had the largest gang presence in the survey; it reported 23 gangs with an estimated membership of 1,940. Passaic reported 14 gangs with an estimated membership of 100. Wayne reported one gang with an estimated membership of 100, but the survey noted that all of the gang members were transients who were not always in the town at the same time.
"This report shows that Passaic County is not unique to the rest of the State,” Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik said in a released statement. “It confirms many of the facts law enforcement already knows about gang activity and how it relates to the overall crime rate."
Passaic Detective Andy White said in an e-mail that he is reviewing the survey, will discuss it with the police chief and will not be able to comment until Monday. Paterson Police Chief James Wittig did not return a phone call and e-mail sent late Friday afternoon.
Bloomingdale reported three gangs with an estimated 27 members.
Bloomingdale Police Chief Joseph Borell said the main problem in the borough is graffiti on buildings. The police have also come across Hispanic gang members while making arrests for other matters.
In 2008, Bloomingdale and Butler officers and immigration officials arrested about 30 alleged gang members and associates following a two-month community investigation. The alleged gang members were part of the Sureño 13 and the Mexican Latin Kings and they were cited for immigration violations.
In some cases, the survey mentioned a decrease in large gangs from 2007 to 2010.
In Passaic, the estimated number of Bloods dropped from more than 200 members to about 100 members. In Clifton, members of the Vatos Locos dropped from about 151 to 200 members to none. Clifton Detective Capt. Robert Rowan said “gangs do come and go in numbers and strength and popularity. It’s a fluctuating environment.”
Col. Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said the survey is “requisite information” for any police agency forming an anti-gang strategy.”
The report recommended, among other things, that police agencies have more opportunities for advanced gang training.
E-mail: fabiano@northjersey.com and leem@northjersey.com
___________________
From the report:
County Municipality Most Serious Problem Most Actively RecruitingBergen Hackensack Dominicans Don't Play (DDP); Trintarios DDP; Trintarios