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State, Local Officials Gather To Organize Anti-Gang Effort

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 9, 2008

LARGO - With gangs statewide gaining a toehold in a wide range of criminal enterprises, state and Bay officials put their heads together today to address the problem.

Attorney General Bill McCollum held an organizing session to form what is going to be the first of seven regional gang reduction task forces in Florida. Running the Tampa region's task force will be Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee.

Increasingly, gangs are operating in counties outside their home turf, so a regional approach is needed, Manatee County Sheriff W. Brad Steube told more than 100 people during opening remarks for the session at the EpiCenter at St. Petersburg College.

In addition to Hillsborough County, the Tampa Regional Gang Reduction Task Force will encompass Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Hernando, Hardee and Citrus counties, according to the attorney general's office.

As of this morning, however, many of the task force slots reserved for representatives from those counties had not been filled. The co-chairman's slot was hastily filled this morning by Pinellas County Sheriff Jim Coats after, Coats said, McCollum personally asked him to serve in that position.

McCollum said he hoped that by the end of today's session, at 4:30 p.m., there would be no empty slots. He said that was part of today's goal.

The task forces are expected to take a multifaceted approach to the burgeoning gang problem, concentrating not only on putting gang members behind bars, but also on working to stop children from joining gangs.

Law enforcement agencies were amply represented at the organizing session, and there were representatives of groups such as the Urban League and the Boys & Girls Clubs, who were expected to put forth their programs as models for preventive measures.

In his opening remarks, Steube, who like Gee has had some success fighting gangs in his county, told the audience their agencies would have to work with others outside their jurisdictions to be effective.

"This has to be a collaborative effort," Steube said. "You have to check your egos at the door."

Gangs, long associated with violence, increasingly are involved with drugs and are increasing their arsenals, people at the session said.

McCollum said they also are branching out into retail theft and Internet crime.

The task forces are expected to be entities unto themselves, with a state coordinating council proving only guidance and data, according to materials provided by the attorney general's office.

Gee told The Tampa Tribune that he expects the council he runs to come up with effective approaches that are tailored to the region. The anti-gang programs his office has instituted in middle and high schools in Hillsborough, for instance, could be replicated by other counties.

There are 130 gangs in Hillsborough County, with more than 1,000 members, Gee said. This year, 129 Draks have been arrested, along with 120 Latin Kings, 105 SUR 13 members, 65 Goyams and 64 Bloods, he said.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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