Panel Hosts Forums on Gang Activity

Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) and Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) announced the formation of the joint gang task force in February after investigators had warned for months that gangs were spreading across the area.

The 30-member task force, which includes elected officials, prosecutors, educators and community leaders, plans to submit a report with specific recommendations in September.

As part of their work, task force members have divided into six subcommittees to focus on issues such as prevention, intervention and suppression of gangs.

Mack said the panel has concentrated more on dismantling gangs rather than decreasing their attraction for teenagers.

"We should be talking about stopping kids from going into gangs," he said. "We have to figure out how to help young people who have children, who don't know what to do. What causes them to go into gangs? Where are the parents?"

Montgomery County Council member Michael L. Subin (D-At Large), a member of the task force, said he is unsure whether gangs are a new problem or an old one that government officials are now more willing to recognize. "I grew up in Newark, and the existence of gangs is no big surprise to me," he said. "We're not talking about a brand-new problem. This is not something that all of a sudden happened."

But what is new, law enforcement officials say, is the growth of Latino gangs in the area, a trend that coincides with the influx of people from Central America and Mexico.

Over the past year, Ivey said, Prince George's police have developed a detailed dossier on the gangs and their members.

"They've covered a lot of ground, and now [authorities] know who's in those gangs," he said. "The information is making it easier to track them."