Proactive Police Work Reduced Gang Members in City

Recently, crimes involving known gang members took place within weeks of each other in Crystal Lake. Incidents involving gang members were violent ones — a and .

The offenders were Crystal Lake residents who were known to Crystal Lake police due to their gang affiliations.

Police said the incidents were not tied to gang activity and that such violence in Crystal Lake by known gang members is rare.

Most known gang members in Crystal Lake lead quiet lives, keeping their gang affiliations quiet, said Crystal Lake police Sgt. Ron Joseph.

While the 30 known gang members in the city are tied to national gangs, they don’t bring the typical vices gangs are known for to Crystal Lake — narcotics and arms dealing. There is also little physical confrontation among various gangs in the city, he said.

Police learn of gang members through complaint calls not related to gang violence, but rather individual incidents such as battery or possession of drug-related materials.

Joseph said members of gangs move to Crystal Lake for a variety of reasons, but not necessarily to the gang’s criminal activities. To see them in the news today is unusual, Joseph said, as most live quietly.

There are isolated incidents involving individuals acting on their own — batteries and possession of drug-related materials, he said. Gang wars and drug trafficking are not an issue in the city.

Once known, police keep a close eye on them to ensure things stay that way.

“It’s not illegal to belong to a gang,” Joseph said. “The few gang members that migrate to Crystal Lake from the city is minimal.”

The number of known gang members in the city peaked at about 150 in the mid-1990s, Joseph said.

The biggest problems were property defacement — graffiti. Gang members, proud of their affiliations, let authorities know which gangs were present in Crystal Lake and who they were fighting with through their markings.

But police weren’t going to let this mushroom into other problems and developed a gang unit to counter the problem.

Officers were trained in the identification and outlawing of gang members.

“They learned to read graffiti and tattoos and how to engage and talk to them,” Joseph said. “If they earn our respect, a lot of times we’ll get information out of them.”

The result was that gang-related graffiti became nearly nonexistent and many gang members left Crystal Lake. Those who remain or have moved to the city keep their affiliations quiet. The police gang unit disbanded in 2001.

“Today gang members are discreet about their affiliations, whereas in the past they were very open about it,” he said.

Joseph credits community members with helping to keep gang activity under control with their phone calls and contact through social outlets and technology, such as the department’s Tip 411 service, which allows tipsters to contact police anonymously over the Internet.

Joseph said most gang members are males between the ages of early teens to late 20s. Hardcore gang members in their 30s often are incarcerated or have died as a result of their activities.

“A lot of folks join gangs because it provides a family outlet,” he said. “Protection is another huge factor, especially for the younger ones.”

Boys are attracted to joining gangs when these things aren’t provided by family or other social networks, he said.

Police work closely with the community, McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and schools to keep on top of any gang activity.

Police have school resource officers at all the high schools, trained to keep an eye on what students are doing and the department offers educational outreach programs for students and parents.

Crystal Lake High School District 155 Communications Director Jeff Puma said the district doesn’t have anything in place specifically addressing gangs. But there are references in the student handbook prohibiting gang activity at any of the campuses.

The handbook outlines that students are not permitted to participate in gang activities at any of the campuses, including vandalism, extortion and violence or to promote a gang presence through symbols, colors, clothing or other means.

“Our staff has access to periodic training on the subject,” Puma said.