Gang activity a growing problem in Northwest Arkansas
Jack Willems
Issue date: 1/12/09 Section: News
Gangbanging for Freddy Montoya was not the typical American-dream-gone-awry story depicted in Hollywood movies. Occasionally he got into fights when he lived in Albuquerque, N.M., but never really when he moved to Springdale in 2000. Montoya did serve short stints in jail, however - mostly for selling drugs and grand theft auto. Only his mother would visit him.
"It was boring. You don't go to school. You don't work. You drink and get high all week," Montoya said. "The one goal everyone in my neighborhood had was to be a big time drug dealer. It was all a mirage."
There seem to be a lot of gangsters in the area with rap sheets similar to Montoya, who now works to keep kids out of gangs. The Rogers Police Department reports that violations for graffiti and drug possession are up, and the department has identified 200 people in the city as gang members. Springdale is experiencing a similar increase in the same crimes, and the Springdale Police Department has identified 150 people within the city limits as gang members, said Lt. Shane Pegram, public information officer for the department.
Both say their city has not experienced an increase in violent crime.
"Our problem is not violent crime; it is property crime at this moment," Pegram said.
Still, the problem is growing, Pegram said. The department wants to correct the problem before it becomes too big, he said. Both Rogers and Springdale have responded by starting new crime investigation units, creating gang prevention programs and using new tactics to identify and arrest gang members. Meanwhile, other police departments in the area report having little or no problems with gang activity, despite an increase in graffiti. Still, community activists emphasize that it is a serious problem.
"The problem is growing" said Ron Harris, the founder of Leadership University, an organization dedicated to providing young people with positive role models. "The next five years are critical to getting ahold of the direction the community is headed in."
"It was boring. You don't go to school. You don't work. You drink and get high all week," Montoya said. "The one goal everyone in my neighborhood had was to be a big time drug dealer. It was all a mirage."
There seem to be a lot of gangsters in the area with rap sheets similar to Montoya, who now works to keep kids out of gangs. The Rogers Police Department reports that violations for graffiti and drug possession are up, and the department has identified 200 people in the city as gang members. Springdale is experiencing a similar increase in the same crimes, and the Springdale Police Department has identified 150 people within the city limits as gang members, said Lt. Shane Pegram, public information officer for the department.
Both say their city has not experienced an increase in violent crime.
"Our problem is not violent crime; it is property crime at this moment," Pegram said.
Still, the problem is growing, Pegram said. The department wants to correct the problem before it becomes too big, he said. Both Rogers and Springdale have responded by starting new crime investigation units, creating gang prevention programs and using new tactics to identify and arrest gang members. Meanwhile, other police departments in the area report having little or no problems with gang activity, despite an increase in graffiti. Still, community activists emphasize that it is a serious problem.
"The problem is growing" said Ron Harris, the founder of Leadership University, an organization dedicated to providing young people with positive role models. "The next five years are critical to getting ahold of the direction the community is headed in."
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Marilyn Davis
posted 1/14/09 @ 4:01 PM CST
This is a well-written, informative, in-depth article. It was very well researched and is professional enough to appear in any newspaper as a feature story. (Continued…)
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