Thread: Gang presence felt in Chapel Hill

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/n ... 489614.htm

Posted on Mon, Sep. 11, 2006

Gang presence felt in Chapel Hill
Police routinely running into people who claim membership
PATRICK WINN
(Raleigh) News & Observer

CHAPEL HILL - Even in this college town, police are bracing themselves for gangs.

The Chapel Hill Police Department, with help from the state, is establishing a gang unit of sorts.

More and more, patrol officers have encountered people who claim membership in a gang.

It now happens routinely, said Capt. Chris Blue.

"We don't have an epidemic problem by any stretch," he said. "But we do have a presence."

Unlike the neighboring Durham Police Department, which has a 30-officer squad dedicated to gangs, the Chapel Hill police will focus on giving gang expertise to certain officers.

The department wants at least one officer on each shift trained to analyze gang-related activity -- just as some specialize in domestic violence or evidence processing. Two have been trained so far.

A $50,000 grant from the Governor's Crime Commission will help pay for training, extra personnel hours and community outreach sessions.

Similar grants have gone to certain rural communities, such as Henderson and Reidsville, as well as vacation spots in the eastern N.C., such as Wilmington and North Topsail Beach.

Chapel Hill police see most of this as prevention. Though gang graffiti has turned up "in almost every neighborhood," Blue said, gangs are far from entrenched in Chapel Hill and police know of no gang that originated in town.

Gang activity spikes, however, when Chapel Hill's nightclubs let out and during street festivals.

"During the last six months to a year, we've seen a lot of gang presence at the downtown clubs," said Maj. Brian Curran.

Police also noticed an influx of gang members when the town's annual Apple Chill street fair ended after nightfall. Called "After Chill," the post-party gathering has several times turned violent.

In April, after three men were shot on Apple Chill weekend, the town voted to end the fair.

And during the town's unofficial Halloween street party, which can attract 70,000 people, gang members come in from Durham, Charlotte and Greensboro, Curran said.

They've seen men claiming to be in Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, considered one of the nation's most deadly gangs.

It now happens routinely, said Capt. Chris Blue.

"We don't have an epidemic problem by any stretch," he said. "But we do have a presence."

Just give it a while, Cap.

The way they're flooding across the border, you've probably got a year, tops.

Just remember: they're not terrorists, they just come here to work and achieve the American Dream.

Just remember: they're not terrorists, they just come here to work and achieve the American Dream.

Ya.....I feel so much better now.