Fairfax gangs going but not gone
By Gregg MacDonald
Members of the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force say that Northern Virginia's strong economy is partially responsible in keeping gang problems to a minimum in Fairfax County.
“That might sound strange,” said Herndon Police Chief Toussaint Summers last Thursday during a public presentation on gang awareness in Herndon. “But if you look around, our economy is better than many other areas.” Summers is the task force's chairman.
While the task force has made noticeable success since it formed in 2002, new gangs are still cropping up in Fairfax County. Last month, Fairfax Police identified an emerging, predominately Asian gang with up to 20 members in the Fairfax, Centreville, Fair Oaks and Falls Church areas.
In 2005, 80 gangs with an estimated 1,500 members were known to be active in the county.
Virginia law defines a criminal street gang as: “Any ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, which has as one of its primary objectives or activities the commission of one or more criminal activities.”
According to Summers, while violent gang crime has recently dropped about 30 percent from its high point, overall gang crime in Northern Virginia is up.
“It is like fighting Medusa,” said Virginia State Police Detective Eric Vega, also a member of the regional task force. “We keep hacking at all the little snakes until we hit a melon.”
According to Vega, the average age of a male gang member in Virginia is 17, for a female, 14. “Wannabes are gonnabes,” he said.
Vega, who refers to criminal gangs as “domestic terrorists” said Thursday that children typically start their gang involvement in schools, and that assaults on uniformed police officers is “ever growing as an initiation rite.”
Vega encourages parents and teachers to report any suspicious activities in school or at home that might be gang-related.
“Gang members can be identified through their actions, dress, hand signs and verbiage,” he said.
Suspicious activities can be reported to 1-866-NO-GANGS (664-2647). All calls are kept confidential.