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Home > All News > 2008 News
Lodi's grass-roots gang fightTask force aims to keep youth from adopting criminal lifestyle
LODI - After recovering from his gunshot wounds, Michael Hutto went to prison on drug charges in San Bernardino County. He decided he was through with gangs. That stint ended his troubled youth of drugs and violence. During more than six years behind bars, he said, he got his high school diploma, sought religion and lined up a job in anticipation of his parole in 2005. Now 34, Hutto lives in Woodbridge and works two jobs. And he is among a small group of Lodi-area residents trying to form an organization that would keep the city's youth from adopting the criminal lifestyle that Hutto lived for so many years. Hutto said his experiences give his advice a weight that can get through to stubborn street kids. "They can't say, 'You don't know the pain; you don't know the game,' " Hutto said. "For many years, society has tried to get book-smart, educated people to fix this problem. ... I've got a bachelor's degree in street smarts." Lodi's gang problems do not rise to the magnitude of a city much larger, such as Stockton. Lodi police Detective Eric Bradley said he reviewed a recent statistical sample for a two-month period and found gang-related crimes accounted for less than 1 percent of all calls for service. Still, Lodi police and residents say gang crime manifests itself in a variety of ways - from graffiti, vandalism and car thefts to stabbings and shootings. Gang crime has concerned enough residents that two town hall-style meetings have drawn dozens of people to discuss the topic in recent months. "A lot of people in Lodi say Lodi doesn't have a gang problem," said Virginia Snyder, a community activist who is supporting the local effort. "I think we have a serious gang problem." It was from one of those meetings that the idea was conceived for Lodi residents to form a grass-roots gang task force. "Our ultimate goal is to just keep (youths) out of trouble," said Doug Chaney, a retired construction worker who is working with Hutto and a few others to spearhead the nonprofit effort. Their idea is in the early stages and not fully fleshed out, but Chaney said he thinks the group could reach youths in a way police can't by focusing on mentoring. That means working with school districts on educational programs or helping people find jobs. Their concept is loosely modeled after Stockton's own Operation Peacekeepers, a city program in which former gang members steer young people away from gangs. Outreach workers direct youths from age 10 to 18 to a variety of educational, job-related or other services, such as clinics that remove gang tattoos that hurt a person's chances at getting a job, said Ralph Womack, a retired Stockton police captain who heads the program. Young participants also perform community service as a way to earn those services, he said. "We are the facilitator to get that youth whatever it takes," Womack said. Lodi police say a new group could fill a vital niche. "If done right, it's absolutely what we need," said Bradley, who focuses on gang crime. Whatever form the group takes, Bradley recommended its members approach gang problems from three angles: catching kids before they join gangs, diverting youths who may be new to gangs and counseling older gang members or directing them to job and education programs. "(Gangs) are something that the police and community need to work together to combat," he said. "Police alone won't be able to solve the problem." News Topics | Surenos | Home | Research | History | Blood Gangs | Crip Gangs | People | Gallery | Blog | |