Kids start joining gangs in middle school, according to a year long assessment of gang activity in Tacoma. The gang assessment report was presented to the Tacoma City Council on Tuesday.
The report showed a gap between police statistics on gang membership and other data gathered. Going by police contacts, for example, it would appear criminal activity related to gangs mostly involved people in their 20's.
But the Tacoma Gang Project project revealed a large gang membership among younger kids. For example, one of the surveys they drew their conclusions from was the statewide Washington Department of Health's "healthy youth survey." That survey revealed that among Tacoma 8th graders, 8 percent reported being in gangs. The gang assessment report also indicates that middle school is the prime age for gang recruitment.
City Council members say having that information verified will help them better target gang prevention dollars. Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland says she would like more money to be spent on building positive neighborhood attachments by bringing competitive sports back to middle schools in the Tacoma Public Schools.
"For a lot of kids, that’s where the neighborhood attachment exists, that’s where the parents get involved and that’s where kids who don’t even play sports can be involved peripherally," she said.
Strickland's proposal includes competitive football and volleyball teams in the middle schools.
Tacoma middle school students surveyed also said drugs and guns are very easy to get. Strickland says while she knows it's a "political hot potato she'd like to see the problem investigated.
"How do people get access to illegal guns so easily. This is not a conversation about taking away anyone's 2nd Amendment rights, but it is way too easy to get access to illegal guns in this society," she told the Tacoma City Council."
