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Fighting gang violence gets more difficult

The Enterprise - 7/24/2017

BROCKTON - They are dressed in plainclothes, from cargo shorts to baseball jerseys, but the detectives' presence is seen clearly through the words they wear on their backs - Brockton Police Gang Unit.

It's a term that was once taboo in the city, instead referring to them as gangs of youths and assigning officers to the quality of life unit, but police and city officials have acknowledged that, like most big cities, Brockton has gangs.

With eight people shot in the city in July as of Friday afternoon, seven of which occurred between July 4 and July 10, including one fatality, the city is focusing even more on gang-related activity - but not exclusively in Brockton.

"One of the problems we have had and we still have is gang members coming from Boston," said Brockton police Detective Lt. Paul Bonanca, the nighttime supervisor of detectives. "A lot of times, it's on the weekends. It could be house parties or the bars that close at 2 o'clock.

Especially on the weekends, we've increased enforcement and have plans set in place with the district attorney's office." Officials say it's part of how gangs operate in 2017, which has drastically changed since the start of the century. The city used to have what would be considered neighborhood-based gangs. Groups of mostly teenagers and 20-somethings would spend their time in specific areas of the city, disrupting residents and committing various crimes, with clear leadership.

Brockton's gang members often still go by names of streets - from Green Street to Perkins Avenue, but only because that's how they started, Bonanca said. They wear less and less identifying clothing and show fewer symbols, he said. And he said gang initiation is mostly a thing of the past - at least locally.

"These days, gangs are all mobile," Bonanca said. "They're in motor vehicles, they're switching cars and using rentals all the time. It's less about turf. It's totally mobile and totally financial, because it's all drug-and gun-related." George W. Knox, the director of the National Gang Crime Research Center in Illinois, said it's natural for gangs to be more mobile today because they move when they are targeted.

"When an area like Boston has the resources and ability to target gangs and gang members, it puts heat on them and they flee the area," he said. "If you're a cop in America, you want to achieve the displacement effect. You hammer them and they move to the new jurisdiction.

That may mean Boston targets gangs and they move closer to Brockton." Brockton Police Gang Unit members have been present at the scene of almost every shooting so far in July. But that isn't just because of increased patrols or because most have occurred when that unit's detectives work - about 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Bonanca said investigations into all shootings are initially focused as being gang-related until determined otherwise.

"That's where we always look first," he said. "We have had success in looking at shootings from the gang perspective in terms of making arrests and completing investigations." Mayor Bill Carpenter said the city has focused more on multi-agency cooperation in the last several years. It was before his time in office that the city shied away from using the term gangs.

The Police Department has six detectives assigned to its Gang Unit.

"They work very closely with the state police Gang Unit and the CPAC (Crime Prevention and Control Unit) troopers assigned to the district attorney's office, as well as federal agencies," Carpenter said.

"We are always looking to share intelligence and resources. By our detectives meeting regularly with these other units, including going up to Boston to partner with their gang unit, we can identify targets of mutual interest." The importance of working with Boston has become more evident in recent years. In early July, two Brockton men were injured when gunfire erupted outside a city bar.

"That starts in a bar and ends up with shots fired in the parking lot," Carpenter said. "The two people who were shot are well-known to both (Brockton and Boston) lawenforcement agencies. It's a very small group of people who are responsible for almost all of the gun violence." For officials close and far from Brockton, the most important aspect when dealing with gangs is prevention and intervention.

"We can lock them up, but we can't keep them there," Bonanca said. "It's the younger people who need to be looked at and turned around, so to speak. Sometimes, the only answer is to arrest and incarcerate the older, more fortified gang members. But, with the younger ones, it takes a multi-pronged approach with education and enforcement." The Old Colony YMCA has a Safe Corners street outreach program "designed to reduce violence, create the opportunity for peace and pave the way for youth in the community to connect to positive relationship and opportunities." The city also utilizes the Charles E.

Shannon Community Safety Initiative grant, which provides money to "to address a community's gang and youth violence problem." "It's prevention and intervention," Carpenter said. "We're targeting younger individuals, all the way down to age 10. We can identify red flags going up, people who perhaps could become involved in gang activity if we don't do the preventative work. Sometimes it's the younger brother of a known gang member. With the Shannon grant, peace advocates working for the Y go out and find the youths where they are. They get engaged and start working with a case manager on an ongoing basis." Even at a national level, the crime research center has found prevention to be the most important aspect when it comes to stopping gang violence in communities.

"The single most important thing is pure prevention," Knox said. "You have to stave off and choke off gang recruitment.

If they can't get new members in a gang organization, they have no more gang. It shrivels and shrinks and dies.

That's the goal every city should have." Cody Shepard may be reached at cshepard@enterprisenews.com.