Rooting out Youngstown's gang problem

Gang membership is growing, the judge says.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Kateeka Harris was shocked to see the young boy in the red bandanna and red T-shirt walking with his mother into Sheridan Elementary School on the South Side.
The boy was only 7 or 8, yet the T-shirt and bandanna were symbols of gang affiliation. As the boy walked into school, he flashed gang signs to his cheering friends.
His mother didn't seem to mind.
"I was flabbergasted," said Harris, intake supervisor for Mahoning County Juvenile Court. "Why does she not see the problem with that?"
If parents like that boy's mother learned some basic parenting skills, it might help address the city's growing gang problem, said juvenile court Judge Theresa Dellick.
"We have to get in the house and reteach parents how to be parents," she said. "When you start with the foundation and the basics, you will have great success."
Judge Dellick is working to coordinate community agencies and local residents in an effort to combat Youngstown's gang problem. On Friday, she led a meeting of about 20 agency representatives and residents.
What judge wants
The judge said the community needs to take responsibility for the gang problem and work with parents and families.
She recommends a program developed by the federal justice department calling for a community to identify the nature of the gang problem, create a plan to address it, implement that plan and evaluate the results.
Kathleen Mahalko, a member of the CPR block watch on the South Side, praised Judge Dellick.
"I think it's the first example in this community of any judge coming forward," she said.
Judge Dellick said that one gang, the South Side Soldiers, has about 300 members, and that other gangs such as the 400 Block F.L.A. and the Thug Girl's Mafia, an East Side girls gang, are growing.
But police Lt. William Rafferty said that most people who say they're gang members are actually wannabes. He estimated that there are about 10 members of the South Side Soldiers.
Both Mahalko and John Swierz, president of city council, said police should be working harder to combat gang crime.
Lt. Robin Lees says the police department is not "a prevention agency." He noted the city maintains a federally funded unit that works with the FBI to investigate gangs, and Chief Bob Bush has a zero-tolerance approach to all crime, including gangs.
Lees also said police have found that many young gang members believe they won't spend much time in jail if they are arrested. The gang members tell police, "I'll be right back out," Lees said.
Judge Dellick stressed that continuing to put gang members in jail won't address the root causes of the problem.
"I can be tough on every child that comes in here, but that's all I can do," she said. "I'm not doing anything to prevent them from coming in here."
The judge added that some of the gang problem stems from a lack of after-school activities. Elsie Dursi, executive director of the Mahoning Valley Association of Churches, said young people have few positive role models and little hope for the future.
Judge Dellick wants to hold another meeting in about a month to begin work on the plan.