Watertown has gang issue, police specialist tells residents

By Teresa Stowell of the Daily Times staff
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 12:30 PM CDT

“I'm going to be upfront with you. Watertown has a gang issue and if you don't believe me I'll get on MySpace and show you,” Detective George Chavez, of the Madison Police Department, said Tuesday night.

The Delinquency Prevention Council sponsored a community parent presentation, “Gangs in Jefferson County,” Tuesday night at Watertown High School. About 30 residents including parents and teenagers attended the event given by Madison Police Department gang specialists Chavez and Officer Lester Moore.

Chavez said Interstate 94 is a Latino gang corridor with gangs in various communities along the interstate traveling from one city to another. He shared a recent situation handled by the Madison Police Department that included a gang member from Watertown involved with another gang in Madison. He said a gang called the 38th Street Sorenos is one that has been located in Watertown.

“If you hide the fact that gangs are here and don't address the issue, it will take over the city,” Chavez said. “Four percent of the student population in Dane County has admitted to being a gang member. In the last two years Madison has developed a serious gang problem. Try going to East Towne on a Friday night and see if you don't feel uncomfortable.”

While Chavez deals mainly with Dane County, he has contacts at other police departments throughout the state where he gives educational presentations and shares information about gangs.

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He said while trying to deal with gangs it's important to first understand today's culture and how youths are being influenced.

Chavez showed how television shows, commercials, movies and video games have evolved from the 1960s to today. His examples showed how bad language, more violence, and less clothing worn by young women on these programs has become a little more acceptable over the years.

Chavez showed a series of Pepsi commercials beginning with the '60s, going through the '70s, '80s, '90s to today's Pepsi commercial. The earlier commercials concentrated on the product and family and friendship while by the '90s and to today's commercials often revolved around supermodels and pop star Brittney Spears singing and dancing.

“In this commercial with Brittney Spears you don't even see a can of Pepsi until the very end,” Chavez said. “Kids are seeing this kind of stuff and are being influenced. They dress by what they see on TV. And they are acting like what they see on TV.”

Taking a look at video games, Chavez started with the game Pong from the '60s, Donkey Kong in the '80s, to one of today's popular video games called, Grand Theft Auto, where the player can choose his gang, the gang name and gets extra points for robbing people, stealing cars and murder.

Chavez also gave another example of how today's entertainment has influenced students in the past. He said movies and video games helped influence the Columbine shooting where high school students dressed in black trench coats and came in to the school and shot the students they didn't like.

“They found that those students in the Columbine shooting watched the movie “Basketball Diaries” that has a very similar scene as to what they did with the shooting,” Chavez said.

He said the students in the Columbine shooting also played a violent video game and took it another step further by digitally imposing pictures of students from their high school yearbook onto the victims in the video game.

“You have to look at a child's behavior. In Columbine they didn't look at the behavior leading up to the shooting. We need to get our kids away from the TV and get them up and outside,” Chavez said. “It's important to have that parent support and communication.”

Chavez said years ago parents often had a network and would watch out for each other's children. When he went to his friend's house his mother would call and make sure he got there. Chavez said in today's world many times parents have no idea where their child is going or who they are with.

“It'd be great for the people in Watertown to establish a grass roots parent network,” Chavez said. “Parents need to have that connection with each other and with their children.”

Parents attending the presentation asked Chavez what they can do to prevent a gang influence on their children and how to recognize a child who is involved with a gang.

“From looking at our examples tonight remember that today's culture has changed,” he said. “Don't get locked into the race of a child or clothes worn by a child, get into their behavior.”

Chavez said when children cut off communication from their parents or don't want their parents to meet any of their friends that could be a sign there is a problem.

“Close your eyes and imagine it's 2015,” Chavez said. “What will the world be like if we don't deal with this behavior now?”