AZ gangs' growing menace is targeted

Local and state authorities say gangs are no longer just about colors or territories — they're about money. The gangs of today are full-scale crime organizations, they say, seeking to cash in on drug transactions, prostitution rings, identity theft and human smuggling.

Gangs in Tucson are networking with those in Phoenix, Yuma, Prescott and Flagstaff — and often solidifying their ties during incarceration in the state prison system.

In response, both parties have laid out plans to reduce gang activity, with Republicans focused on prosecution and incarceration, and Democrats incorporating an element of gang prevention, with money potentially earmarked for after-school programs and avenues to get out of the gang lifestyle.

That could benefit the Tucson Unified School District, where officials say they currently receive no grants for gang-prevention programs.

With gang members who were prosecuted during the '90s being released from the prison system, law enforcement officials are having to respond to a more advanced gang culture by using computerized intelligence-gathering, they say. But they lack statewide communication among municipalities.

"An enormous amount of people are coming back to us from prison as members of gangs," says John Leavitt, assistant chief for the Tucson Police Department. "If they weren't affiliated with a gang when they went in, now they are."

In Tucson, police say they saw an increase in gang activity last year and worked to get it under control by the end of the year, with roughly 20 gang-related homicides — typical of previous years. A quarter of the way through this year, there have been no gang-related homicides.

But officials say that with gangs developing a more organized infrastructure — and making a significant amount of money — the problem is one that stretches beyond Tucson.

"This is beginning to transcend geographic boundaries," said Rep. Tom Prezelski, a Tucson Democrat.

As the parties stake out their positions, there are a number of points they agree on.

Both want harsher penalties for gang members who engage in crimes as part of their affiliation with a group, i.e. a gang member who shoplifts would be prosecuted differently from a non-gang member who commits the same crime.

Also on the radar of both parties is a way to track gang members from city to city.

"Each of these agencies have some sort of system, but there is no system that allows those agencies to communicate and share information," said Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat from central Phoenix.

Republicans agree. "You've got a gang member in Tucson who goes up to Kingman — they just completely, at that point, become shadows," said Speaker of the House Jim Weiers, a Phoenix Republican.

A Republican-drafted House bill appropriating $3.5 million for law-enforcement agencies to target gangs will be heard in committee today.

House Democrats, who have not introduced a formal bill but have outlined their priorities, say those elements will work only with a "comprehensive" approach — one that seeks to break the cycle of gang violence through services to preteens vulnerable to gang influence, and providing resources for existing gang members to start a new life.

"We want to hold a heavy hammer, but if you're only focused on the law-enforcement side, you're not going after the root cause," said Rep. Steve Gallardo, a Phoenix Democrat. "This now becomes a Band-Aid approach."

What's key, Gallardo says, is cracking down on the prison relationships gang members develop, tracking their behavior after release and creating longer probation periods.

Democrats also want protection for victims who may testify in court and funding for programs to allow former gang members to make amends with victims.

But Republicans say tougher enforcement is a prevention mechanism. Rep. Russell Pearce, a Mesa Republican, questioned whether social programs work.

"We're going to go after the bad guys and that is what this is about," Pearce said.

Weiers and Pearce said gang members deserve harsher penalties because of the organized-crime aspect.

"Gangs are organized for the purpose of creating crime, damage and death in our community," Pearce said. "They deserve special attention."

Stopping the cycle of gang violence is key, said Yolanda Herrera of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association. But Herrera said the law-enforcement component can't be underestimated.

"The education is a piece of this thing, but you need to do it on the other end," she said. "You need funding for law enforcement."