Hickman convenes seminar on gang violence

Attendees learned how to recognize if someone might be a gang member.

By Brenden Neville

Published Oct. 24, 2008

Concerned members of the community met Wednesday evening at Hickman High School's Media Center to discuss the growing issue of gangs in Columbia.

Officer Mike Hayes of the Columbia Police Department led the seminar, which was aimed at educating parents and teachers.

With a 37 percent increase in violent crime from 2006 to 2007 and the recent fight that took place in the halls of Hickman, citizens said they are becoming concerned about the causes of crime in the community.

The seminar attendees, consisting mostly of teachers and parents, learned about gang definitions, prevention, indicators and what can be done to keep youths safe.

Hayes emphasized that all ethnic and income groups can be, and usually are, represented in gangs all over the country.

Illustrations and pictures of gang activity indicators, such as groups wearing similar clothing, using hand signs and drawing graffiti symbols on personal and public property, were shown in a digital presentation.

On the topic of graffiti, Hayes noted the difference between tagging, a non-gang affiliated practice, and gang-affiliated graffiti.

"Knock on wood, we haven't had a lot of (gang graffiti)," Hayes said.

Hayes said there has been a history of gangs in Columbia, and they were traditionally drug oriented.

More recently, there has been a trend toward what Hayes classified as "classic" gangs, organizations that have received the most media attention over the years.

According to the Department of Justice, a gang is defined as a "group of three or more individuals who engage in criminal activity and identify themselves with a common name or sign."

Hayes said it is also important to note that the key part of the definition is criminal activity, and that groups who do not engage in illegal activity are commonly mistaken for gangs.

When speaking about gang prevention, Hayes said parents should do everything possible to involve children in supervised, positive group activities.

Nathan Stephens, who was in attendance and is the director of MU's Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center, emphasized the "slippery slope" parents and counselors face when they suspect a youth of being involved in a gang.

Stephens said there is a tendency to treat someone suspected of being involved with gang activity as a full-fledged gang member, which can be counterproductive.

Stephens grew up in Columbia and has two children aged 16 and 18, who are enrolled at Hickman High.

He is also a member of the First Ward Ambassadors, a community movement that was created in 2002. Black men from in and around the Douglass Park who wanted to provide positive role models for youths in the community started the First Ward Ambassadors.

"Kids listen to people they have respect for," Hayes said.

Stephens noted that police and other authority figures are not necessarily the authority figures he was referring to.

The group now includes volunteers to mentor boys and girls of all ages in Columbia.

Meeting attendees said Columbia is in a transitional phase, at risk of developing a gang problem, but still at a stage where it can be prevented.

"We're seeing glimpses of it," Hayes said of the gang problem. "But not all kids are involved, the majority are good."