Parents hear warnings about upsurge in gangs
Lakewood library hosts meeting on issue that experts say merits attention
BY TOYNETT HALL
Staff Writer

Diane Reaves, an Ocean County resident and mother of three, has lived in Lakewood for nearly a decade, but it was not until recently that she feared for her family. Due to what she said is the rise of gang violence in her neighborhood, Reaves decided to home-school her three children in an effort to keep them safe.

According to Reaves, she is "sandwiched" in a crossfire of two gangs. Instead of living in fear, Reaves decided to empower herself and her family by attending The Gang Wise Project presentation held at the Lakewood branch of the Ocean County Library on Feb. 7.

The program is a partnership among the state Attorney General's Office, the New Jersey Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, the Ocean County Health Department, the Ocean County Library, Ocean County municipal alliances, and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office working in conjunction with the state Superior Court Juvenile Intake, Ocean County.

Judy Macaluso, a librarian at the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Library, said, "This partnership is an example of community agencies working together to reach young people and those who serve young people with skills, knowledge and resources to be able to make better choices in their life and to have a support network."

The Gang Wise Project at the Lakewood library drew an audience of about 100 concerned citizens who wanted to become more educated on how to identify and potentially stop the increase of gangs in their community.

John Defilippis has lived in Lakewood since 1986. He said the presence of gangs in the community has increased considerably since he moved to town. Defilippis said the problem is getting worse and it is time for the community to do something about it.

"Once people become more aware of what's going on around them, it is a beginning to solving the problem," he said.

Lakewood Township Committeeman and state Sen. Robert Singer opened the session by explaining that one of the primary reasons gang presence has increased in New Jersey is because of the "money factor."

Gangs "look at the suburbs as untapped sources of money. And unfortunately, in affluent communities where there is money around, there is drug use. So therefore they want to buy into that drug use," Singer said.

Rory Wells of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office supported Singer's statement that money is a crucial factor in gang activity. Wells said, "Whenever there is money to be made, certainly you can see organized criminal elements behind that."

In addition to the appeal of making money, experts say the media romanticizes the gangster lifestyle and is also to blame for an increase in gang activity among youths.

According to Wells, "The gangster lifestyle has kind of permeated the entire culture. It is throughout our music videos and video games. There is a commercial aspect to it."

According to the National Crime Prevention Council, gangs cross all ethnic, racial, socioeconomic, gender and geographic boundaries. Gangs recruit just about anyone but are usually appealing to youths who want to belong to a group, need protection, want to earn money, are bored, or even those who seek to have friends and become popular.

Wells suggested that one way to counteract or prevent youths from joining gangs is to "open up the lines of communication."

"You can't really get to a solution until you understand how bad the problem is," Wells said.

In addition to opening the lines of communication, Wells advised parents to look at what he called their children's circle of influence. He said while there may not be any clearcut signs to tell if a child is involved in a gang, parents should be looking for "dramatic changes in general."

Those dramatic changes could include such things as a change in a youth's dress, a change in a youth's language or friends and an unusual increase in money that a young person would not normally have.

Singer pointed out that the purpose of the presentation was not to categorize certain young people.

"This program is not about profiling people. This is looking for telltale signs of your kids getting in trouble. It is to help parents know what's out there that can affect your child," Singer said.

The Gang Wise Project was presented to children and adults separately. There were two sessions, one in English and the other in Spanish.

According to Macaluso, next on the Ocean County Library's agenda will be programs in March about decision making.