New Jersey - Survey: Gang activity remains a serious threat

OFF THE WIRE
The latest New Jersey State Police survey of street-gang activity shows that gangs are present in fewer Burlington County towns than four years ago, but law enforcement cautioned that their numbers are still significant and that they remain a threat.
Released Friday, the 2010 Street Gang Survey indicated that as many as 101 distinct gangs were in Burlington County and that their members were present in 21 of the county's 40 towns.
In 2007, the last time the state police surveyed gang activity, 27 towns in the county reported having at least one street gang active within their borders. A 2004 survey indicated that gangs were present in only eight county towns.
The survey was conducted by the state police's Gang Bureau, which asked each police department statewide to answer questions about suspected gang activity within their jurisdictions. Only Elizabeth chose not to participate.
Burlington County towns that reported gang activity were: Beverly, Bordentown City, Bordentown Township, Burlington City, Burlington Township, Cinnaminson, Delanco, Eastampton, Evesham, Florence, Lumberton, Mount Holly, New Hanover, North Hanover, Palmyra, Pemberton Borough, Pemberton Township, Riverside, Westampton, Willingboro and Wrightstown.
Accordin g to the survey, Pemberton Township reported the most active gangs and the highest estimated gang population with 111 suspected members in 13 groups.
Beverly reported the next highest total, with a population of 51 among three gangs, followed by Mount Holly, which reported 47 known members from 12 gangs.
Wrightstown, North Hanover and Bordentown City reported only two known gangs members in their towns. Florence reported having three.
Willingboro and Lumberton reported having a gang presence but the populations were listed as either unknown or not specified.
In the 2007 survey, Willingboro was one of eight municipalities in the state with what law enforcement described as an "intense" presence of 200 or more gang members. At the time, the township said it was home to more than 200 members of Bloods street gangs and between 100 and 150 members of the Crips gang.
Willingboro police spokesman Lt. Joseph Dey said the department was reviewing the survey results. He declined to comment further.
The two most active gangs were the Bloods' Sex Money Murder and the Pagans Motorcycle Club. Both were reported active in six county communities.
Other active gangs reported in the county included the Nine Trey Bloods, G-Shine/Gangster Killer Bloods, Fruit Town Brims Bloods, MOB Piru Bloods, Grape Street Crips, 5 Deuce Hoover Crips, Latin Kings, Neta and MS-13.
Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi said he was pleased the survey showed a reduction in county towns reporting a gang presence, but he warned that law enforcement must continue to be diligent in combating gangs and the crimes they frequently commit.
"I am grateful for the tenacious efforts of the municipal departments, state police and federal agencies such as the U.S. Attorney's Office and local field offices of the ATF, FBI, DEA and U.S. Marshals Service that have partnered with my office in an effort to combat this scourge," Bernardi said. "Notwithstanding the results of the gang survey, we must remain diligent in our pursuit of street-gang members and their disrespect for public safety that continues to threaten our peace of mind and quality of life."
There have been some success stories in the county related to gangs, notably the arrests of a dozen members of the homegrown gang MOE, also known as Muslims Over Everything, including the gang's alleged leader, Terrek Parker of Willingboro, who was sentenced in November to 19 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to organizing several bank robberies in the county and smuggling guns here.
Pemberton Township police Lt. Ron Kreig said that while the township reported the largest gang population in the county, its incidents of gang-on-gang violence are down.
"We're aware of gang activity, and we are making sure we disrupt that gang activity," Kreig said. "If there is an increase in the number of gang members, it's not reflected in the amount of crime. We have to report every time an officer encounters someone who is a gang member of suspected of being in a gang, but they might not live (in Pemberton Township) and they might not be committing crimes here. But it is our job as police officers to seek them our and disrupt their activity."
Riverside Lt. Lou Fisher noted that gangs rarely restrict themselves to select borders and frequently migrate to and from towns or cities. He said Riverside has seen an increased presence in Bloods gang members who have moved in from Camden, Willingboro and Burlington City as well as a resurgence of the Pagans, a group the police targeted in 2007.
"We have a real melting pot here," Fisher said.
Identifying gang members has also become more of a challenge, he said.
"Back five or 10 years ago, they'd be flagging their colors or getting all tatted up, but what we're seeing today are more subtle or subdued gang members. It makes them more difficult to identify," Fisher said.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/26/2011/january/30/survey-gang-activity-remains-a-serious-threat.html