Close to 30 gangs have sprung up across Montgomery County, and their presence in neighborhoods continue to grow more and more each day, community members told police at a public forum in Germantown this week.
Several parents on Thursday night vented frustrations that youngsters are entering these gangs because the county lacks positive activities to keep them out of trouble, while Clarksburg resident Stacey Horman stepped up to the microphone to tell Police Chief Tom Manger the problem is being underreported in schools.
A school employee herself, Horman said she thinks hundreds, if not thousands, of teachers are telling administrators that they have gang members in their classrooms but that the information “stops at the main office.”
“It’s political suicide for administrators to admit that there’s gang activity in their schools.” she explained. “So it’s not being reported to the police.”
Chief Manger said he’s working with Montgomery County schools on the issue and is supporting efforts to fund a team of street outreach workers focusing on teen behaviors.
According to police estimates, the 28 known gangs in the county have some 900 members. This number, though, keeps going up countywide. Just six months ago, police counted less than 700 members.
A gang task force was assembled a few years ago to address the problem. Last year the Montgomery County Council denied funding to the task force, however, which angered a handful of speakers at Thursday’s event. This year, Chief Manger said the group has secured federal funding to tackle prevention and suppression.
District 5, the largest district, also just received $12,000 specifically to be used in the upper county.
The public forum, the brainchild of the police department, was an opportunity for anyone in Montgomery County to come forward with crime concerns. A panel consisting of Chief Manger, District 5 Commander Evie Cahalen, District 6 Commander Tina Faass and County Council Member Mike Knapp answered inquiries.
In addressing the gang issue, Knapp told the audience the challenge in setting up positive outlets for children locally is that few agencies have stepped up to the plate with applicable programming.
“The council has increased funding to all groups who came forward with this request. The problem was, there were three [groups],” Knapp said. “Even if there is money, we need to build the infrastructure.”
You can help
To report gang activity, call Montgomery County’s Gang Hotline at 240-773-GANG. You can either leave anonymous information or information with your name and number. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
