Gang Figures Rising In Md.

Task Force Offers Signs of Progress

Prince George's police Capt. Bill Lynn, right, testifies alongside Montgomery Assistant Police Chief John King, Montgomery County Council member George Leventhal and Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson. (Photos By Melina Mara -- The Washington Post)

Crime committed by gang members in Montgomery County has increased notably in recent months, and the number of identified members has also risen, an assistant police chief said yesterday during a congressional hearing.

Montgomery Assistant Chief John King told the House Committee on Government Reform that detectives had identified 930 gang members as of May, a 30 percent increase from November. Crime attributed to gang members increased 30 percent in those six months, contributing to surges in burglaries, robberies and vandalism, King said.

King said the three leading gangs in the county are Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, consisting primarily of Central American immigrants, and the Crips and the Bloods, which are made up largely of African Americans. During the second quarter of this year, Crips members were linked to 21 incidents, making that gang more active than the other two, which were linked to 18 each.

"Our intelligence indicates that these Crips and Bloods are not formally associated with their popular namesakes in California," King said. "But the presence of these two groups highlights the importance of our actions on this issue."

Capt. Bill Lynn of the Prince George's County Police Department, who also testified, said MS-13 remains "the most notable gang" in that county, but he also noted a significant influx of Bloods and Crips members. He did not cite statistics yesterday. In April, the sergeant who oversees the Prince George's police gang task force told The Washington Post that investigators had identified 1,300 gang members.

Robert L. Green, warden of the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, testified that 108 known gang members are in the system, which supervises about 3,000 people. Green said corrections officials try to steer gang members into programs that discourage them from committing crimes and rejoining gangs upon their release.

The hearing, in Takoma Park, was called to assess the progress of a two-year-old task force created to curtail gang violence in Montgomery and Prince George's by fostering cooperation among law enforcement agencies, social service providers and community organizations.

Patrick Word, a detective with the Gaithersburg Police Department who is president of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Gang Investigators Network, said the counties have come a long way in the past couple of years.

Word, who did not attend the hearing, said local officials for many years played down the scope of the gang problem but now present a realistic assessment. "We don't have to preach that anymore," Word said. "People know there are gangs."

He said the rise in Crips and Bloods activity is by no means isolated to Montgomery County, and he urged elected officials and local leaders to not disregard the threat these gangs pose in the Washington region.

"We don't just need money to fund programs that will deal with Hispanic youth," Word said. "That's just part of the problem."

Federal and local officials highlighted yesterday the opening of the Crossroads Youth Opportunity Center as one of the milestones of the partnership. The center, which was started with federal and county funds, broke ground in May and provides after-school activities, job training and substance abuse counseling.

"It's a great example of how we were able to work with local government," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of the committee, who was instrumental in awarding $2.3 million for the bi-county anti-gang partnership last year. Van Hollen, who is running for reelection, said securing continued funding for the partnership, known as the Maryland Regional Gang Initiative, remains a priority.

Daniel Arretche, program director of Identity Inc., a Gaithersburg-based group that works with young people considered at risk to join gangs, told legislators that many gang members come from abusive homes and are subjected to violence before becoming criminals.

"The perpetrators of crimes can be seen as victims, depending on the point at which you begin to relate the history of their lives," he said.