Community
Case Studies
Skornicka Seminar for Communities
Teaming Up On Gangs
2000
La Follette School of Public Affairs
University of Wisconsin–Madison
©2000 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
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Table of Contents
A Peculiar Model: One North Side Milwaukee Neighborhood Takes on Youth
Violence ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Taking the Wind Out of Their Sails: Combating Gang Activity and Youth
Violence in Lac du Flambeau....................................................................................................8 Beloit: A Town with a Bad Rap ............................................................................................... 20 The Path to Peace: Combating Gangs and Youth Violence in Fond du Lac ......................... 25 Addressing the Issues of Youth Violence and Gangs in Janesville ........................................ 32 Putting the Puzzle Together: Solving Issues of Gangs and Youth Violence in
Appleton................................................................................................................................... 39 A Peculiar Model:
One North Side Milwaukee Neighborhood
Takes on Youth Violence
by Carole Hynek, Wesley Sparkman, and Justin Storch
Milwaukee is a city that has defied national trends. The rest of the country experienced a
decrease in violent crimes in recent years. In Milwaukee, homicides increased from 116 in 1998 to
124 the following year. Throughout the 1980s, poverty was reaching dramatic proportions,
particularly among African Americans. According to the 1998 report issued by the University of
Wisconsin–Milwaukee’s Center for Economic Development, “The Economic State of Milwaukee:
The City and the Region,” Milwaukee ranks worst of the fourteen “Frostbelt” cities in the rate of
black poverty. In desperation, many young men were turning to the drug trade as a way to provide
economic sustenance. John Hagedorn covers this phenomenon in his 1998 Policy Research Report,
“The Business of Drug Dealing in Milwaukee.” The neighborhood our group worked with is
situated on the near north side of Milwaukee, a little west of Marquette University and directly north
of I-94. This area was once the reputed heart of the north side drug trade, and in the late 1980s was
riddled with youth violence. But despite the escalating poverty, and despite the violence surrounding
it, this unique neighborhood found a way to drive the problem of youth violence out of their
community and keep it out.
The problem was not eliminated citywide; in fact, the near south side is struggling with gangs
and youth violence that seem to be getting worse. Groups such as the Latin Kings and Spanish
Cobras, among other gangs, are considered quite active. In the neighborhoods just a little to the
west, several drive-by shootings occurred in the past few months. One resulted in the death of an
11-year-old girl who had been cooking her grandmother a grilled cheese sandwich moments before
the bullets tore through the house. Farther west, the Hmong gangs have attracted recent attention
for brutal murders committed in broad daylight. The city seems to be searching for some way to
stem the rising tide of youth violence, yet meeting with limited success. When our group began
inquiring about gang activity in the area, we were surprised to hear from source after source that in
this particular neighborhood gang activity had dramatically declined. As the search for why
continued, one thing became clear: It had not always been that way.
A Brief History of Gang Development on the Near North Side
It is important to note that while Milwaukee did, and still does, have rival gangs fighting for
turf and control of the drug trade, gangs do not necessarily equal drugs. Many youths become
involved in gangs as social organizations, and do not necessarily engage in drug use or distribution.
Many drug dealers are not gang members and vice versa, as Malcolm Klein points out in his book,
The American Street Gang. In the case of Milwaukee, gang activity is not a new phenomenon, but in
the late 1980s the dynamics of the gangs changed. Milwaukee sprouted “drug houses,” places where
people could order cocaine like fast food. Some even provided rooms in which the customer could
get high. According to Hagedorn’s 1998 report, “Youth gangs began to become transformed into
drug selling organizations, although most drug sales were still conducted by non-gang drug dealers.
In cities like Milwaukee, drug sales became the leading employer of young, African American males,
supplanting the manufacturing and service sectors.” When the drug business was in its infancy, the
violence on Milwaukee’s North side was intense and frequent. Gangs such as the 2-7’s, the Vice-
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Lords and the Gangster Disciples battled over customers and turf. Many of the gangs originated in
Chicago and expanded their ranks to Milwaukee, especially after the introduction of crack cocaine. A
powerful gang controlled one corner in the neighborhood our group investigated. The street was
infamous for its rampant prostitution and drug activity. The prostitutes walked past the elementary
school, and the dealers stood out in broad daylight. Drug dealers blatantly used the apartment
buildings for their business, and the neighbors were too afraid to go to the police.
The nature of the buildings in the neighborhood did not help. Many of the apartments were
one bedrooms or efficiencies. This is not conducive to family housing, but was very well suited to
the drug trade. The gangs and dealers simply took over buildings. After several well-publicized
murders of children and frequent incidents of gang violence, citizens and the police teamed up to
eliminate gang activity and provide their children with safe places to “hang out.”
Enough is Enough: The Community Fights Back
A police officer who was a member of Milwaukee’s now defunct Gang’s Squad gave our
group some insight into how the neighborhood changed. He recalls the prevalence of violence and
gang activity after the introduction of crack cocaine in the late 1980s. He told us that this
neighborhood was particularly bad. Then in 1993 the police cracked down. They started closing
down drug houses, and going door to door getting neighbors to help in reporting drug dealers and
criminal activity. Slowly, the drug houses started closing their doors, and the dealers either moved
out or went to prison. In 1997 two of the biggest drug dealers in the area, including the leader of the
2-7s, were convicted and sent to prison. That particular cocaine ring shut down after over 26
individuals received convictions. The community, however, did not rest on its laurels. In 1993
Governor Thompson appointed a Gang Violence Prevention Council to deal with the issue
statewide. According to the Second Annual Report of the group, kids joined gangs for protection,
stability, economic reasons, to gain self-esteem, and to have a sense of family or belonging. Gangand drug-related violence still killed kids, and all the factors that contribute to children being in
gangs were still present on the north side. Within this neighborhood, the community centers
mobilized to provide programs for kids that gave them options and opportunities to filled up the
time slot from 3 p.m. to 11p.m, when most juvenile crimes are committed.
Arthur Satterfield of the Neighborhood House told us that many times the kids are just
waiting for someone to ask them what they want to do. He spoke of one young man who seemed
intimidating and who did not really get involved much. Finally Arthur asked him what his story was.
The young man said he was interested in designing web pages, but that no one had ever inquired
about his interests before. Maybe it is not always that simple, but this facility provides a range of
options for youths. The Neighborhood House includes such resources as day care, sports,
education, and general support for youth and families in the community. It is part of a network of
community centers that are actively working to keep kids out of gangs and away from drugs. Other
citywide prevention programs attempt the same things, with varying degrees of success. Some of
them include the following:


Weed and Seed. A program started in 1995 to stop gang activity, drug sales,
and other violent crime.
Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT). An eight-week
program for seventh graders that teaches them how to avoid becoming a
member of a gang and offers alternatives.
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


Safe and Sound. After-school program to keep kids out of gangs. Grew out of
an initiative from Mayor Norquist and Senator Kohl, modeled on a youth
violence prevention program that met with great success in Boston.
Operation Safe Neighborhoods: Police program for targeting neighborhoods
with heavy gang and drug activity. There is a hotline for people to call in and
report activity confidentially.
Project Ujima: An intervention program that works with victims of violence in
the emergency room in Children’s Hospital. Volunteers offer support to victims
throughout their stay, and then provide follow-up services to the youth and their
families. They connect them with community programs, offer counseling, and
help with job preparation.
Many more organizations and prevention programs are in place on the north side of
Milwaukee. What sets this neighborhood apart is the intense police suppression of gang activity. The
highly organized “corporate” gangs left the area, and the youth of the neighborhood had programs
available in the neighborhood from a variety of organizations. The schools in the area also actively
work to teach students anger management, how to avoid gang involvement, and the dangers of drug
use.
The Results
In this neighborhood, incidence of youth violence is negligible, compared to the surrounding
neighborhoods. Despite continuous violence in other parts of the city, youth here are not involved
as heavily as their counterparts. We visited Jeff Davis of the Department of Corrections, Division of
Juvenile Corrections, who told us that virtually none of the youth in their custody were from this
neighborhood. He reiterated what we had heard over and over—there used to be a lot of arrests in
that neighborhood, but currently there was very little youth violence. The department keeps track of
where crimes are committed by youth, and this community stood out like a little island in a sea of
crime. The perimeter was dotted with red pins, but this neighborhood was relatively clear from such
incidents. It seems that a combination of suppression, prevention, and intervention is effective in
eliminating youth violence in this particular community. One man we interviewed put it this way,
“Perhaps you have a rare Milwaukee success story there.”
The Hole in the Dam Theory
“Gangs are dead.”
“It’s all about the drugs now, gangs aren’t what they used to be back in the ‘80s.”
“If you say you’re in a gang, we throw you in prison, it’s as simple as that.”
“People just think gangs are dead, they just learned economic feasibility.”
The more people talked, the more it became apparent. Youth violence is still a large problem
in Milwaukee. Viewpoints differ, however, as to the level of gang involvement. Despite the
conflicting views on gang activity, neighborhoods surrounding the one our group observed are still
plagued with youth violence. The neighborhood that drove out the dealers put their finger in a hole
of a dam, and the problem just popped out somewhere else. According to John Hagedorn’s report,
the gangs experience less violence now, because they are well established, and have changed the way
they sell drugs. The gangs just seem less visible because the turf battles of the 1980s and early ‘90s
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no longer take place. Yes, the drug houses in the 27th and Wisconsin area have vanished, but now
the drug dealers use “runners” who make the contacts and actually handle the merchandise. They
have also targeted white suburban youth as customers. The neighborhood that was once ideal for
drug trade is no longer useful. The high incidence of youth violence right around the area indicates
that the drug and youth violence problem did not end, it merely moved. It also has less of a clear
reason. The north side gangs have ceased turf battles, and corporate gangs have less of a presence
than in the past.
Youth still identify themselves with gangs on the north side. The Vice-Lords and the
Gangster Disciples are the best known, but there are many splinter groups. Many adults in the
various youth programs called them “wannabe” gangs, but the kids take their involvement very
seriously. School counselors who shared their knowledge about the kids say gang affiliation is a
serious thing, and they go through all of the rituals. The Wisconsin Statutes define criminal gang in
Section 133 of 1993 at s. 939.22(9):
Criminal gang means an ongoing organization, association, or group of 3 or more
persons, whether informal or formal, that has as one of its primary activities the
commission of one or more of the criminal acts, or acts that would be criminal if
the actor were an adult, specified in 939.22(21)(a) to (s); that has a common name
or a common identifying sign or symbol; and whole members individually or
collectively engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity.
According to this definition of gangs, youth in Milwaukee are still involved in criminal gang
activity. One common denominator of our meetings with various individuals was the consensus that
it is all about drugs on the north side now. Driving out drug houses may have only changed the face
of gangs; it did not solve the problem. There is still a great deal of adult drug use and prostitution in
this area, although some believe it is because there is a high concentration of mentally ill individuals
living in the neighborhood. Again, the many efficiencies and one-bedroom apartments have made
the area “a dumping group for social services.” In other words, the kids arrested here a few years
ago never actually lived here, but came into the area because of the money they could make in drugs.
Now that the drug trade operates differently, the kids who are involved in gangs and drugs go where
the drugs are. Perhaps the intense suppression and prevention approach relocated, but did not
stymie, the youth violence.
Differing Approaches
Agencies have different perspectives on how to deal with the issue of violence and youth
gangs. This causes conflict between different agencies and organizations that deal with at-risk youth
or potential gang members. . There are two very distinct lines of thinking on how to deal with gangs
and youth violence. Each group feels strongly that its method of handling the issue is the most
effective. Everyone wants to eliminate youth violence and gang involvement, but there is little
consensus on the approach that is best for the community. Some individuals we spoke with favored
less polarized options that embrace elements of both schools of thought. The most common
approaches we encountered are highlighted in the next paragraphs.
If we do not acknowledge gangs, they will cease to exist
This contingency holds that by not acknowledging gangs, they will appear less glamorous
and will eventually be defeated. While not confirming the existence of youth or adult gangs, this
same group focuses very much on preventing youth from becoming involved in criminal activity,
including gangs. Weed and Seed, Safe and Sound, GREAT, and DARE are all prevention programs
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with this aim. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel carried an article in December 1997 quoting the mayor,
John Norquist, on how he felt about acknowledging gangs:
It’s like a dog peeing, I just want to eliminate it. It’s time for experts to stop romanticizing
gangs and looking for the underlying social problems that excuse them. We need to call it what it is:
anti-social behavior and a crime against neighborhoods, people and jobs. It’s perverted and
unacceptable.
If we do not acknowledge gangs, kids will keep killing each other
Not long ago, several highly publicized battles took place between certain social
organizations and the city government. These social organizations embraced an intervention
approach to dealing with kids involved in gangs or youth violence, and they sometimes employed
former gang members. There was no consensus on how effective this was; some saw the former
gang members as heroes who were saving kids. Others saw them as a threat, and did not believe they
were actually free from the violence or drugs. The murder of one of these workers was the catalyst
for change. This intervention strategy, which involved former gang members, was no longer
encouraged or funded and there is a sense of bitterness among some employees of these
organizations. They believe that prevention programs make for nice public relations, but when the
kids still drop like flies, something is not working.
Using former gang members as employees may be controversial, but other elements of the
social organizations are not. One teacher mentioned that the inner city schools had done away with
organized sports, music, art, and other “hobbies” that gave youth a sense of purpose and
involvement. Some organizations are trying to make up for that deficit with night sport leagues. The
Neighborhood House provides art classes and computer training. However, simply having
prevention programs without providing support from trusted adults to the high-risk youths is not
enough, according to some groups. They are discouraged by the escalating violence and there is not
a sense of trust between those who enforce the city’s policies and the social groups trying to
function with-in those parameters. Sometimes, there is good cause for cynicism, as one individual
we spoke with put it, “As long as they are killing each other, who cares?” This disparity in views
makes working together difficult, but a few people see a possible third way.
The third way: Suppress, intervene, and prevent
Those who are not on one extreme or the other see the value in various approaches. Public
Relation programs are fantastic. Prevention is necessary. Youth are still involved in gang activity,
however. Regardless of whether they are “wannabes” or members of organized gangs, they are still
engaging in destructive behavior. Ignoring the problem will not make it go away. Intense
suppression works sometimes. The neighborhood our group looked at is such an example, but the
numbers show that the problem was not eradicated—only relocated. Across Interstate 94, on the
near south side, children are dying violently at an alarming rate, and gang activity is rampant. Other
parts of the city are suffering as well. Police suppression and prevention are important, but so is
intervention. Groups like Project Ujima are reaching out and helping kids at the time of crisis. Gang
members who have turned their lives around are the best equipped to reach out to help other kids.
They have “been there, done that,” and are better able to gain the respect and trust of children who
have no reason to listen to an adult they perceive as disengaged. There is a certain element of risk
involved with reinserting a former gang member into the danger zone that they just left, but these
individuals need viable options, which employment provides. They also need training and support if
they want to make it. John Bowen, a school counselor at Stueben Middle school said, “These kids
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know they can’t buy a car working at McDonald’s, they know they can’t support their family
working at McDonalds, they know that.” People who work with the kids every day know that there
has to be an element of each approach, and the community has to work together to support their
kids and their neighborhoods. They also know that is easy to say, but politics are difficult to
overcome.
Implications for Other Communities
Irving Spergel and Candice Kane wrote about a Community Mobilization Model in their
1991 Office of Juvenile Justice Department report of the same name. That very model, one where
the police, local juvenile justice and community-based groups, including parents and local residents,
work together to put a stop to juvenile violence in their neighborhoods, was used by community
leaders in the area we focused on. The question is whether other communities can bring about what
this small neighborhood in Milwaukee accomplished. The answer is not clear-cut. Certainly many
neighborhoods are experiencing the same fear and violence that plagued this community a few years
ago. In recent weeks, the newspapers have been full of stories of drive-by shootings and gun fighting
in nearby streets. There are whispers of drug dealers who have recently been released from prison
who are fighting to reassert their turf. One north side Milwaukee man was quoted in the local paper
as saying, “It’s a war zone out there.” According to Spergel and Kane, the surrounding communities
are ripe for mobilization: “Community mobilization,” they say, “usually begins with concern that a
youth gang problem is emerging or that an existing problem is getting worse.” It difficult, however,
to gauge whether these neighborhoods could emulate the process given the unique nature of the
community we examined.
It is less residential than other neighborhoods; the housing consists of more one-bedroom
apartments and efficiencies than family dwellings. During the early 1990s and the days of drug
houses and turf wars, this neighborhood was perfectly suited to the drug dealers, and the gang
problem was more prolific. The dealers probably changed their way of doing business because of
intense police suppression, but perhaps they would have moved on to beepers, cell phones and
suburban youth markets regardless. It is more difficult for the police to target a neighborhood and
close down “drug houses,” when the big, organized gang leaders have been driven out. This
approach to driving out dealers may be effective elsewhere if police and local members of the
community cooperate and see each other as allies, not adversaries. Given the touchy political climate
in Milwaukee currently, that presents some difficulties. Spergel and Kane adhere to the philosophy
of those who believe former gang members may be effective in reaching other youth in time to
prevent their involvement in violent gangs. They also suggest it is beneficial to acknowledge the
problem and the presence of gangs. At this point, pushing that approach may result in a lot of angry
rhetoric and little positive action. One possibility is to take a cue from the successful neighborhood
and strengthen programs targeted at high-risk youth. If the kids are telling people they join gangs
because they have no sense of belonging, or money, or esteem, then targeting programs at meeting
those needs may work in other neighborhoods as well. It also does not force an interventionist
approach, but still targets the issue of preventing youth violence.
Even if groups do not agree ideologically on the best approach, they all agree that youth
violence is a hazard to the city and should be stopped. The increase in violent crime in Milwaukee
may be the catalyst citizens need to step up and demand a stop to it. All of the elements are in place
in Milwaukee, and the people who are addressing the issue of youth violence are dedicated to the
well being of the children they serve. Many people working diligently on the problem, however, did
not have a sense of what other organizations were doing. Many people expressed their frustration at
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the lack of financial resources available for youth programs. These barriers of sparse resources and
politics seem to add to the feelings of isolation that organizations have.
The neighborhood our group researched has been in the same position that its surrounding
neighbors now face. The effective organizations in the neighborhood we focused on could share
their insight and best practices with groups that are trying to get started in the more troubled
neighborhoods. Community organizations can share what they are doing and how it is or is not
working; citizens and concerned parents can pressure the political powers that be to increase police
presence in the troubled neighborhoods; intervention programs can continue to do their work and
perhaps coordinate their efforts with other neighborhoods or prevention programs. Pooling
resources and avoiding duplication may spread sparse resources out a bit more in communities that
want to end youth violence but lack the financial clout to organize a lot of expensive programs.
Of course it is simple to prescribe these remedies, but difficult to implement them. This
neighborhood, the island of low youth violence, in a city that had twice the per-capita murder rate of
New York in 1999, is a peculiar model. As the youth violence around them escalates, others may
look to them, or perhaps this community can proactively reach out to the neighborhoods around
them. After all, if it is just a matter of plugging holes in the dam, it is only a matter of time before
the problem bursts out in this neighborhood again.
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Taking the Wind Out of Their Sails:
Combating Gang Activity and Youth Violence
in Lac du Flambeau
by Amy Brennan and Julia North
A visit to the north woods of Wisconsin takes you to one of the most popular recreation
areas in the state. Known for fishing, boating, and camping in the summer, skiing and snowmobiling
in the winter, and hunting in the fall, the north woods is also home of the Lac du Flambeau
Chippewa Indians. The presence of this Native American community in Wisconsin is evident as far
south as Madison, where billboards along highway 94 invite travelers to the Lake of the Torches
(English for Lac du Flambeau) Resort and Casino.
The fifth largest township in Vilas County, Lac du Flambeau experienced an almost 12
percent increase in population from 1990 to 1998—higher than Wisconsin’s 6.8 percent and Vilas
County’s 9.8 percent growth. Lac du Flambeau residents attribute this growth to the casino, which
was completed in 1993, and to a new grade school also completed in 1993.
A stop at the new George W. Brown Jr. Ojibwe Museum and Cultural Center is a must for
learning more about this Indian tribe, which has been permanently settled on this land since 1745. A
band of the Lake Superior Chippewa, the Lac du Flambeau, with its 1523 members, live on the
reservation, which was established with a September 30, 1854, treaty.
An Active Community
“The casino has changed things quite a bit.
Before there was high unemployment. It’s been great.”
Butch St. Germaine, Vice Chairman of the Lac du Flambeau Tribal Council
It is clear from talking with community members that the Lake of the Torches Resort and
Casino has changed life in Lac du Flambeau. Unemployment on the reservation dropped from at
least 75 percent in the early 1980s to about 20 percent in 1999—thanks in large part to the casino
and resort. Bingo, the tribe’s first gaming activity, was also the only tribal moneymaking enterprise in
the early 1980s. Today, the casino is the number one employer in Vilas County. Revenues from the
casino benefit not only each tribal member through a per capita payment each year (for members
under the age of 18, the per capita payment is held in reserve until the age of 18), but they also fund
the tribal council’s general fund, police department, planning department, and other enterprises.
The Abinoojiiyag (the Ojibwe word for youth) Center provides many opportunities for Lac
du Flambeau youth. Activities at the youth center include career fairs at nearby Nicolet College,
open gym for basketball, and karaoke. In addition to hosting events and programs, the youth center
produces a newsletter that showcases successful community youth through interviews with high
school seniors about their plan for the future and advice for younger students.
After starting with two staff in the late 1980s, the tribal police department now has ten staff
members. One police officer is a liaison to the Lac du Flambeau public school. The growth in the
police department allows for more targeted crime prevention and intervention. Although county
police do occasionally patrol the reservation, having a police department of its own allows the tribe
to handle crime on a more systematic and thorough basis. It also allows the tribe to hold its
members accountable for their actions in a way that did not happen previously.
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With all of these positive signs—plenty of youth activities, devoted tribal members, and a
dedication to celebrating the accomplishments of community members—the future looks hopeful to
many people on the reservation. Despite all of the progress, however, uncertainty defines the future
for some tribal members. Substance abuse and domestic violence are prevalent, and youth violence
and gang activity exist.
Youth Violence and Gang Activity
“Fighting is fun, exciting. I get a rush.”
Lac du Flambeau High School Junior
Just how organized is gang activity in Lac du Flambeau? Some people say it’s not organized
at all, others say it’s very organized, yet still others in the community are not concerned with how it’s
labeled—they are just concerned about the results.
The Sovereign Natural Warriors
According to local police officials, gangs do exist in Lac du Flambeau—the most visible and
active of which is the Sovereign Natural Warriors (SNW). SNW can be traced to Minnesota’s Twin
Cities. Lac du Flambeau Police Chief Gene Roehl believes that SNW began as a drumming group in
a Twin Cities prison. According to Roehl, the group was created to “help the prisoners spiritually—
to help them get their lives together.”
When SNW made their way to Lac du Flambeau, many community members denied their
existence or chalked up their activities to “just a group of kids.” Soon it became apparent that the
group and their behavior was more organized and more serious than just kids being kids. According
to the Vilas County Sheriff’s Department, SNW is involved in “crimes like [stealing] guns, drugs,
and burglaries.” Tribal law enforcement officials confirmed these crimes and reported that SNW
finances many of its activities through drug sales.
Initiation into SNW includes receiving a slash mark across the chest—from one side to the
other. More slash marks are added, as a kind of status symbol, when a member recruits others to the
gang. As with corporate gangs in other cities, getting out of this gang is difficult. According to an
area probation officer, there are only two ways for the youth to escape the gang—a severe beating or
death.
Authorities identified the leaders of SNW with the help of a member’s notebook. In the
summer of 1996, tribal police confiscated a simple spiral-bound notebook from the car of one SNW
member. The notebook recovery was significant because it
provided useful and practical information—the names and
ranks of the 15-20 individuals (both boys and girls) who
were official members of SNW. This notebook also
provided insight into the gang’s level of organization.
One page of the notebook contained a twoparagraph pledge for the SNW. This pledge illustrates a
commitment to Native American culture along with a
Gangster Disciple-like slogan pledging “love, life and
loyalty.”
The notebook also offered a glimpse into the
structure of the gang. For example, meetings took place at a
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gang member’s house every Saturday at 7:00 P.M. According to the notebook, each SNW member
paid $25 per month in dues. One page listed the members who were “blessed” (meaning in good
standing) and those who were on probation. Another section in the notebook listed sixteen “laws”
of the gang, including items relating to “Drugs, Stealing, Gambling, Culture, Exploitation, and
Hygiene.”
With cooperation between the newly formed Tribal Police Department, the Vilas County
Sheriff’s Department, the Tribal Courts, and the Tribal Council, authorities defused the situation—
and weakened the gang—by arresting the leaders on a variety of charges including burglary, assault,
and drug possession. Most of the arrests led to prison sentences, which has kept the gang leaders out
of the community. “We took the wind out of their sails,” according to Joe Fath, Chief Deputy of
the Vilas County Sheriff’s Department.
More Gang Activity in Lac du Flambeau
Authorities in Lac du Flambeau are aware of gang activity because of graffiti, hand signs,
tattoos, and clothing. These days, however, members of gangs are more secretive about their status
due to the recently enacted gang enhancer sentencing policies, which can add extra months or years
to jail sentences if a crime is known to be gang-related, similar to the enhanced sentences with drug
and gun-free school zones.
Well-known corporate gangs such as the Crips and Vice Lords have failed to make serious
inroads in Lac du Flambeau. The parole officers on the reservation and in the county agree that
individuals with various gang affiliations have moved to the area but have failed to attract large
numbers of Lac du Flambeau youth. One police official surmised that large, corporate gangs are not
successful at recruiting area youth because the newcomers are not part of the reservation
establishment.
The Vilas County Sheriff’s Department keeps track of individual gang members in the area
including the Gangster Disciples, the Latin Kings, and three adult motorcycle gangs—the Outlaws,
the High Riders, and the Lost Race.
Two years ago, a member of the Gangster Disciples from Chicago moved to Lac du
Flambeau. He had a Gangster Disciples tattoo on his left hand. According to the Lakeland Times
newspaper, two Lac du Flambeau youth “sliced a tattoo off [his] hand that identified him with a
different gang.” According to the police and the probation agents, there is not much evidence of
gangs except when other known gang members move to the community.
Most of the gang activity in Lac du Flambeau occurs away from the public eye in gang
members’ homes. Police and school officials believe that other locations for gang activity include a
remote island on the reservation (because the police do not have easy access to it), the snowmobile
trails that run throughout the reservation, and areas outside of the reservation like the nearby town
of Minocqua where Lakeland Union High School (LUHS)—the school attended by Lac du
Flambeau youth—is located.
High school counselors and students have identified smaller, less organized gangs such as
the Anishinabe1 Knights and the Original (or Ojibwe) Gangsters, a group composed mostly of girls.
While these groups of kids are not considered organized gangs by school staff and students, they do
have a threatening presence in the school. One high school junior called most of the groups “stupid
little gangs.” Whether or not the gangs are stupid, they have influence—some students spend each
day at school in fear of assault.
1
“Anishinabe” is an Ojibwe term for “Human Beings.”
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Recent Youth Violence
Lac du Flambeau youth say that gangs are not as prevalent as in the past—that things are not
as bad as during the “bad summer,” as some residents call the summer of 1996. One young woman
whose friends are now in prison believes that the gang activity has died down. “They don’t do it any
more. They don’t do it any more. They realized how stupid it was, and they don’t do it.”
According to the Vilas County Sheriff’s Department and the Tribal Police, juvenile crime has
decreased since the 1996 summer. Yet crime statistics do not support this anecdotal report. In the
past year juvenile crime has dramatically increased. According to the Wisconsin Office of Justice
Assistance, Lac du Flambeau’s overall juvenile crime arrests increased by 230 percent in the last year,
from 79 juvenile arrests in 1998 to 261 in 1999.
A brutal beating last summer is one of two highly publicized examples of juvenile crime that
have recently rocked the community. On June 30, 1999, at 31-year-old Lac du Flambeau man was
beaten, left naked and comatose on a trail on the reservation. While not necessarily part of a gang,
five people—two adults (ages 30 and 18) and three juveniles (two age 15 and one age 16)—beat and
kicked the man after robbing him. All of the perpetrators were Lac du Flambeau residents and one
of the 15-year-olds was female. The 15- and 16-year old males were eventually waived into adult
court and all received sentences in state prison for their role in the beating.
In March 1999, a 17-year-old Lac du Flambeau youth was one of two people who beat a
third using their fists, an expandable baton, and a golf club. Although gang-related violence might be
on the wane, Lac du Flambeau youth are still committing acts of violence.
A “Bad Year” at Lakeland Union High School
While many community members talked about 1996 as a bad summer, staff and students at
LUHS are calling the 1999-2000 school year a “bad year.” The increased frequency and severity of
violent acts is what makes this school year bad—and it’s not just about gangs. You’re “missing the
boat if you only focus on gangs,” according to LUHS police officer Ray Mark. Much of the youth
violence at LUHS is not attributed to gangs.
A classroom assignment sparked a great deal of violence this year. Students in a class
studying propaganda were assigned the task of creating a poster to demonstrate propaganda. One
white student created a racist poster—degrading and hostile toward Native Americans—and showed
the poster around the school. According to one school official, 23 documented incidents have
occurred as the direct result of this one poster.
But school counselor Paul Harshner calls the poster incident “a catalyst for something that
had been building.” Treating the poster as the cause of the trouble, according to Harshner, is
missing the point entirely. The point, says Harshner, is that the Indian students are “scared to
death”—so they posture, form groups, and fight “to stay alive.” The school has not grasped the
magnitude of the issues faced by the students—particularly the Lac du Flambeau students. “This is a
hostile place,” he says. “I promise you it is. And almost no one else will say it.”
Some students feel that school attempts to combat the violence problems are not working.
One senior (not from Lac du Flambeau) reported that during the homeroom discussions and
assemblies addressing violence, “no one takes them seriously. No one cares—they just like being out
of class.” Other students concurred. A junior from Lac du Flambeau says that homeroom is a waste
of time. On the other hand, the senior feels that talks given by the school policeman to each class
“worked to a point.”
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Drug Activity
According to information available from the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance Uniform
Crime Reporting, the most glaring increase in Lac Du Flambeau juvenile arrests was in liquor law
violations, which increased from six arrests in 1998 to eighty-seven arrests in 1999—almost onethird of the total juvenile arrests for Lac du Flambeau in 1999. Other drugs used regularly by Lac du
Flambeau youth include marijuana, crack, and cocaine. To a lesser degree, youth also use
methamphetamines and acid.
There are two new trends in substance abuse that both the police and parole officers have
observed recently in the Lac du Flambeau community. One is the abuse of prescription drugs by
youth. In the summer of 1999, the tribe’s pharmacy was burglarized and prescription drugs stolen.
Huffing—or inhaling—air fresheners and aerosol sprays is the other new trend in juvenile
drug use in Lac du Flambeau. Several high school students reported friends and siblings huffing.
One student recalls seeing a friend trembling on the floor after huffing. He was scared. After the
trembling stopped, this student observed the huffer to be “slower—she talked really slowly and was
out of it.” “That stuff kills a lot of brain cells,” according to the student. On average, four to six
cans of air freshener are stolen from the community grocery store each month.
Weapons
The Tribal Police and probation officers have seen a wide variety of weapons in Lac du
Flambeau. Jim Somers, a Wisconsin state parole officer located in Lac du Flambeau, confiscates
many homemade weapons from parolees on a day-to-day basis. Typical weapons include pens with
exacto knives taped on the end, crudely made explosives, and razor blades taped to a variety of
objects.
According to Somers, during the hunting season almost all vehicles in the area have guns
and ammunition. “It’s just a way of life around here,” he said. The problem is the combination of
easy availability of guns and increasing alcohol abuse. “It’s a dangerous combination,” said Somers.
In the summer of 1996, the police began to see more sophisticated weapons. At that time, they
confiscated handguns, AK-47 rifles, and various assault rifles from youth in Lac du Flambeau.
Sources of Conflict
“It’s a requirement to walk in both worlds.”
Juli Smith, Family Resource Center
Community leaders from many organizations—police, schools, tribal council, the tribal courts,
Family Resource Center—all agree that there is indeed a high level of youth violence, some even say
gang activity, in Lac du Flambeau. No one agrees, however, about why the gangs exist and where these
problems began. There seems to be a circle of finger-pointing when identifying the root causes.
Outside Influences
Police, authorities in the area, and some tribal council members believe that outside
influences drive Lac du Flambeau youth to dangerous and violent activity. Since SNW can be traced
back to the Twin Cities and their prison system, correctional facilities are sometimes blamed for the
increase of youth violence and gang activity in Lac du Flambeau. According to Police Chief Roehl,
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“When these kids go through the system like Lincoln Hills [a nearby detention center for boys], they
learn a lot. Sometimes the system doesn’t help—it almost does more harm than good. Some will be
helped, some won’t.”
The increased sophistication of local gang activity can also be attributed to influences of
more affluent Native American communities like the Potawatami and Oneida reservations to the
south of Lac du Flambeau. Tribal Prosecutor Terry Hoyt sees “a strong influence from the
Potawatami tribe—they have a lot of money to work with.”
Multiple Jurisdictions
An Indian reservation—because of its status as a sovereign nation—can have complicated
relationships with other levels of government, and Lac du Flambeau is no exception. Jurisdictional
issues are not an immediate threat or cause of youth violence and gang activity, but the confusion
over who has authority seems to frustrate many of the community leaders in the Lac du Flambeau
area—and hinder prevention and intervention efforts.
According to Vilas County Deputy Sheriff Joe Fath, his patrol officers “often don’t know
who to call” when a crime has been committed. This is partly due to the fact that the state often will
not honor tribal court orders to incarcerate tribal youth in state detention facilities.
The conflicts and confusion about jurisdiction when Lac du Flambeau youth enter the Vilas
County judicial system are exacerbated by the fact that the county funds the placement of tribal
youth in detention facilities. One Vilas County staff person noted that services provided by Vilas
County to the tribe cause “acrimony” between these two groups because a “large portion of the
county ‘substitute care’ budget goes to tribal kids.” This staff person says that the issue becomes
political and that there are hard feelings about how much the county is paying for tribal youth. Since
Lac du Flambeau does not have a youth detention facility, the tribe relies on an agreement with Vilas
County for use of their incarceration facilities.
Fortunately, the tribal courts and the circuit court in Vilas County have positive working
relationships, and the county circuit court judge will issue an order to incarcerate the youth. These good
relations, however, do not trickle down to all levels of county-tribe overlap. Staff at the tribal Family
Resource Center are frustrated that Vilas County staff do not give them information about tribal youth
who have gone through county juvenile intake. The Family Resource Center staff says that they do not
get referrals, names, or incident reports and cannot, therefore, provide the needed services to the youth.
Lack of Consequences and Consistency
Although the Lac du Flambeau courts have a zero tolerance policy for juvenile misconduct,
it holds only for minor violations. When youth commit a crime that, for example, requires
incarceration, the tribal courts refer them to Vilas County, which does not abide by the zero
tolerance policy. Tribal Family Resource Center staff feel frustrated because they believe Vilas
County “allows too much time between crime and consequence… . It can be six to seven months
after a crime before a kid even gets to court during which time the kid is involved with more
incidents. Once they get to court after a long delay, there are often no consequences.”
Unfortunately, the Lac du Flambeau youth have detected this lack of consistency, too. One
young man who has been out of high school for a few years smirked when asked about the zero
tolerance policy. He just shook his head, “No, kids here are not scared of it [zero tolerance policy]—
they laugh in the face of it and the law.”
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Racism
Lac du Flambeau students are a 95 percent majority at their K-8 grade school—the Lac du
Flambeau Public School. When they matriculate to Lakeland Union High School, they become a 15
percent minority—and face a community of unfamiliar students.
The 950 students at LUHS come from thirteen townships, four primary school districts
(including the Lac du Flambeau Public School), three court systems (including the Lac du Flambeau
Tribal Court), and from an area 800 miles square—making this district the largest in the state, and
perhaps even the largest east of the Mississippi River. This fact alone leads to one of the school’s
greatest challenges—integrating into one student body students who have been fierce rivals in grade
school and who come from vastly different geographical areas and social backgrounds. According to
School Officer Ray Mark, it’s culture shock for tribal kids to come to high school where
expectations are so different. And while this is true for the white kids coming from afar, they don’t
have the same racial element to deal with.
Both Indian and white students talk about racism at the high school. Two senior girls who
are white feel that one of the main problems at the high school is that there are only two races—
which leaves students unaccustomed to dealing with differences. According to one of the girls,
“there is very unbased prejudice but so much prejudice.” These girls feel that school efforts to
improve race relations are not working: when mentioning the recent Race Week at school, one girl
said, “You’ve got to be kidding me. We’re not in kindergarten.” The school wanted everyone to
shake hands but the girls reported that this would never work because each race believes the other
has diseases and doesn’t want to touch. These girls identify some of the racism coming from the
parents of white students—parents feel that Indians are “taking away our rights.”
Some Lac du Flambeau adults also influence the racial tensions at LUHS. In Lac du
Flambeau, there is a “family lore about the school—about what happened in the past or what can
happen in the future” according to one community member. This lore—which seems to exacerbate
issues at LUHS—indicates that this year is not the only bad one at LUHS. Lac du Flambeau youth
report that their parents and even grandparents tell stories about the violence and trouble when they
were students there. This talk among tribal members influences the youth. One freshman student
from Lac du Flambeau reported that other Indian students were talking about fighting the whites at
LUHS—even before they were students at LUHS.
Charges of racism are also aimed at white school staff. One freshman student from Lac du
Flambeau says that Indians gets punished more often—that Indian students are physically restrained
during fights while white students are left to walk away, for example. This student also reports that
Indian and white students are seated separately in some classrooms and that white students have a
longer period of time to complete homework. This student has had older siblings at the school who
caused a lot of trouble. When one teacher met this student, the teacher said, “Oh another [family
name] kid.” When this student reported that two more family members would soon be at the school,
the teacher said, “Thanks for the warning.” A high school junior reported that a teacher wouldn’t
call on his sister even though she was the only one with her hand raised.
Some of the racism is unintentional, according to Counselor Paul Harshner. Nonetheless,
“There’s a great deal of denial that there is hostility and that the violence is related to race,” says
Harshner. “But things have been so bad this year that they can’t deny it anymore. Now denial is
about the causes [of the trouble].” Two high school seniors who are not tribal members also report
that this year has been worse. They note, “Racism started earlier and has been building and not
solved; both sides think people are out to get them.”
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People from the county courts, the schools, and within the tribe all report that students who
got A’s and B’s at Lac du Flambeau Public School reach the high school and start to fail. The
hostility and tension at LUHS—the racism, too—appear to be important sources of stress that lead
Lac du Flambeau students to struggle and fail at LUHS.
Conflicts Within the Tribe
While racism certainly places tremendous pressure on Lac du Flambeau youth, violence and
conflict also exist between tribal members. The beatings last spring and summer were between tribal
members, for example.
Indian student mentor Melvin Buckholtz identified the “crab pot syndrome” as a major
source of trouble for Indian youth. This syndrome uses the analogy of the crab pot in which one
crab is climbing up and trying to get out of the pot while the crabs at the bottom of the pot try to
pull the climber back down. According to Buckholtz, “Indian kids who do well are teased, criticized,
and pulled back down” by other Indian students. Indians kids who are struggling insult the Indian
students who are succeeding by calling them “apples”: implying that the Indian is red on the outside
but white on the inside. Judge Ernest St. Germaine believes that “doers make the non-doers look
bad,” so the non-doers have to punish the doers.
One white senior girl at LUHS says that “Indians don’t like it when other Indians hang out
with whites.” It’s “unfortunate,” she says, because she has friends who are Indian.
Family Troubles
One of the most serious intra-tribal issues is dysfunction in tribal families—including
alcoholism and other substance abuse, domestic violence, and child abuse. The family is an
important piece of the puzzle when trying to understand the reasons that area youth participate in
gangs and engage in violent behavior. It’s also an easy place to point blame. Family Resource Center
employees like Juli Smith are encouraged that in Lac du Flambeau “many families are breaking the
cycle” of dysfunction. Nonetheless, a significant and influential group of families are not.
But it’s taboo in Indian communities to talk about other families—families handle things
themselves, which is a large part of the problem, according to some community members. Many
young members of these troubled families want to be well and are rejecting the bad. But they still
have to go home to the bad environment where they are torn down: It’s “too hard to fight against
it” when there are not role models in the family, according to one community member.
The chief tribal judge, who sees the area youth on a consistent basis in his courtroom,
believes that these kids have basic needs that are not being met at home. “Kids are looking for
continuity, order, discipline, and a schedule…. They feel like they can’t count on their parents
anymore.” Melvin Buckholtz, tribal member and Indian Student Mentor at Lakeland Union High
School, concurs and sees hopelessness and despair in Lac du Flambeau youth as a result of family
trouble. This hopelessness, according to Buckholtz, makes it very hard for Indian youth to look into
the future: “They’re not sure if there will be a party at home after school; not sure if there will be
dinner for them; not sure if their clothes will be washed; not sure how they’re getting to school in
the morning.”
The lack of such basic needs as food and clean clothing makes goal-setting a foreign concept
to the community youth. While extended family plays an important role in the life of tribal youth by
helping meet some of these needs, the chief tribal judge feels that “[kids] need to know there’s
something more beneath their feet than a slippery rug. And they need it from their parents. Their
grandparents can fill in from time to time, but they need it first and foremost from their parents.”
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Prevention and Intervention
“We need more people to say ‘I care’ in an unstructured way.”
Melvin Buckholtz, Indian Student Mentor
This community is working hard to improve the lives of its citizens—young and old alike.
Along with government grants, money from the casino has helped fund many community initiatives
for prevention and intervention efforts.
Tribal Family Resource Center
The Family Resource Center—now located in a new building in the center of town—offers
alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA) counseling, family counseling, Indian child welfare services,
mental health counseling, and many additional programs. Counselors at the center also serve students
at Lac du Flambeau Public School and Lakeland Union High School who need individual counseling.
Staff at the Family Resource Center run many programs for youth. CHOICES is a schoolyear program for ninth- and tenth-grade girls while the Family Assistance Network System (FANS)
is an eight-week summer program. The Community Coordinated Response (CCR) program provides
a forum in which people can come together and talk about their concerns.
Lac du Flambeau Public School
The newly built Lac du Flambeau Public School is a ten-minute walk from the casino.
Completed in 1993, this school serves 550 K-8 students as well as children in Head Start and Early
Head Start programs. Ninety-five percent of the students at the school are Native Americans. The new
school embraces the new era of education—computer labs abound, the rooms are bright and cheerful
with skylights and large windows—while also embracing the heritage of the study body—walls are
adorned with Native American artifacts, and student-made dream catchers hang from the ceiling.
The conflict resolution room (CRR) is a primary method for prevention and intervention at
the school. The CRR has multiple purposes: to teach and conduct mediation, teach and practice
conflict resolution skills, provide a safe haven for youth who are having problems, and as a place for
in- and after-school suspensions. A primary tool for the CRR staff is a behavior improvement plan,
which is written with the student. School staff believes that the CRR works about 98 percent of the
time and they see the program as unique to this school. CRR director Molly West feels that the
program allows the school staff to know a lot more about what’s going on in the school than they
would without it.
A school board “anti-gang policy” also exists as a prevention method. The policy defines a
gang as “individuals who associate with each other primarily for criminal, disruptive, and/or other
activities prohibited by law and/or by the School District’s rule and regulations.” School
administrators believe that the policy is working because they see little gang activity at the school.
One school staff member reports that there is little gang activity at the grade school “because the
kids know that the school will crack down immediately.” The person notes, however, that kids just
take their activities elsewhere, including to shacks in the woods.
The Leadership Academy is a school within the school. This charter school—also called the
alternative education program—has one class for students in grades 4-5 and another class for
students in grades 6-8. This program serves students with average to above-average intelligence who
are not learning disabled (LD) or emotionally disturbed (ED) but who are just not making it—
”falling through the cracks” according to one staff member—in the regular classrooms. With 10-15
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students in each classroom, the program seeks to help students have a more positive attitude about
school and uses a computerized curriculum to teach reading, spelling, language, math, and science.
Lakeland Union High School
Two Indian student mentors aid Lac du Flambeau teens in their years at LUHS. Funded by
the tribe, they provide a greatly needed service to tribal kids at the high school. These two mentors
help remind the students that someone cares about them, that they need to plan for the future, and
that they have support. LUHS also has two social workers and two guidance counselors—more than
most schools around the state.
The 1999-2000 school year marks the first year of the LUHS school board’s zero tolerance
policy for violent activity—one of the last schools in the state to implement such a policy. Because
the program is so new, it appears that students are testing the system. Since November 1999, says
high school parent and Family Resource Center staff person Juli Smith, there have been 11
expulsions—only three of which were boys. But, Smith says, the school is still learning how to
implement this new policy and it is typical for there to be more suspensions during the first year of
policy implementation.
The alternative education program offered at the grade school—the Leadership Academy—
might soon be offered to high school students. Through a consortium with Lac du Flambeau Public
School, the high school will use the Lac du Flambeau Public School facilities in the evenings to
educate students who aren’t making it at the high school. The program, which is scheduled to being
in the fall of 2000, will involve students working 4-6 hours during the day and attending school for
2-3 hours in the evening. While the high school program is not restricted to tribal students, staff
expects most of the students to be from Lac du Flambeau.
A Hopeful Future?
“I have to say that we are looking very hard at trying to work with our young people who
need help beyond the constructive programs that are being addressed at our
Abinoojiiyag Center.”
-Tom Maulson, Chairman of the Lac du Flambeau Tribal Council,
Lac du Flambeau News, Feb. 19, 1999
Leaders of the Lac du Flambeau band of Lake Superior Chippewa have their eyes open to the
plight of youth on the reservation. This is an important first step in combating youth violence and
gang activity—as well as for giving tribal youth a more hopeful future. Youth interaction with
the surrounding non-Indian communities, however, continues to be a struggle for today’s tribal
youth—similar to the struggle their parents and grandparents faced. Can the struggle stop with
this generation? What will it take to stop the struggle?
Student achievement at LUHS is improving. While only 64 percent of Flambeau kids
graduate compared to 92 percent graduating school-wide, the number has been as low as 28
percent in the past. Yet one high school senior from Lac du Flambeau said that she “wouldn’t
send my kids [to LUHS], never. I want to send them far, far away.” Strong emotions like these
are common among Lac du Flambeau youth. Something still needs to change for them.
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Youth Suggestions
Both white and Indian high school students offer suggestions for improving race relations,
as well as for reducing the violence at school.
One Lac du Flambeau junior suggests having one study hall for the kids “who have trouble
with each other.” A student leader or mediator would listen to both sides of the story and help find
a solution. An adult counselor, he recommends, would be there as back-up. This same student
would like to have two assemblies—one with white students and one with Indian students. The
assembly would be a time for students to talk to other students, rather than the usual adult talking to
students. He would like to tell fellow students to follow rules and integrate and that “not everything
is racial.”
The two senior girls, who are not from Lac du Flambeau, recommend teaching more about
other cultures in class. The current “world cultures” class is not enough, they say. What is needed is a
class that really looks at how others live. “We have so much to learn from other cultures,” one girl said.
One Lac du Flambeau freshman reports that the expulsions are working—she hears her
friends talking about not wanting to miss credits.
Adult Suggestions
As Chairman Maulson said, the Youth Center is providing a broad array of constructive
programs and is an important prevention method. Yet there is a group of students, those engaging in
youth violence and gang activity, which the Youth Center is not reaching. Mentor Melvin Buckholtz
believes that a group of adults is needed to say “I care” in an unstructured way. The tribe now has a
van and two parents who take tribal kids to a wrestling club in town—which integrates the kids with
the surrounding community before high school. According to Buckholtz, more efforts like this one
are needed. “Honesty, caring, and sincerity” are what make the difference with youth, he says.
While Buckholtz has suggestions for the tribe, counselor Paul Harshner offers suggestions for
the high school. He sees a need to “change professional intuitive philosophies.” Rather than using the
current carrot and stick method for behavior modification, the school, in his opinion, needs to use a
new system built on mutual respect and in which the teacher is a “continuous learner, guide, mentor,
and sage.” Harshner believes that it is making a “head and heart” connection that is most important
for helping reduce the violence, rather than looking for “magical bullets” in new programs.
Staff at the school seem only to see the hostility and violent behavior, says Harshner. The
kids, he says, need the teachers and staff to look behind the hostility, to be patient, persistent, and
show Indian students that they care.
“Have reasonable rules and enforce them fairly,” says Police Officer Ray Mark. Rather than
make new rules or laws, consistent enforcement of current laws and rules is needed—and in a timely
manner. A community-wide effort, between Vilas County staff, both schools, the Family Resource
Center, the tribal court and council, and other programs that work with youth can help create a
consistent set of consequences.
Improving Prevention and Intervention
Community members who report that there has been less gang activity since the SNW
leaders went to prison also note that these gang leaders are getting out of prison soon—one, in fact,
was released recently. The concerted effort to take the wind out of the gang’s sails once might be
needed again—soon.
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As a result, the Lac du Flambeau tribe must be prepared to employ the targeted and timely
methods of law enforcement used during the bad summer. Some community members have
mentioned reinstituting tribal banishment as a way to handle these youth. Sending them back to
prison is also mentioned. These two methods, however, could be considered by the surrounding
communities as socially irresponsible—particularly banishment—because the tribe is leaving other
communities to handle these troubled youth. Other methods of intervention are needed.
Student and adults alike indicate that special connections between youth and their elders
have made a big difference for both prevention and intervention efforts. One high school junior
reported that he “turned himself around” because he remembered something his grandmother told
him: “to listen to how ignorant people are and that they are complaining, and that racism is about
jealousy.” This young man cites his grandmother’s words as the source of his life changes—to stop
fighting, stop abusing drugs, and stop missing school. A second young man wrote his grandmother a
letter a few months ago indicating that her continued support during his incarceration helped show
him how much he had to be grateful for.
Continued efforts to involve Lac du Flambeau adults in the lives of community youth are
especially important, as is evident from the lives of two Lac du Flambeau youth. A one-on-one
mentoring program for youth convicted of crimes or in trouble at school could provide the adult
connection that seems to work for some youth. This program might seek adults in the community who
are not already working at the schools but who are interested in supporting community youth. While the
program could provide some organized activities, it seems that informal contact might be more effective
with youth who are already committing acts of violence—this mentor could be someone to keep an eye
out for the youth, call to “see how things are going,” and to initiate one-on-one activities.
While informal relationships between community youth and adults could enhance
intervention efforts, a formal relationship between the community and the schools seems warranted.
A liaison between the Tribal Family Resource Center and Lac du Flambeau Public School and
Lakeland Union High School could provide the needed link between the tribe and youth in school.
This liaison could ensure that youth who need Family Resource Center services are indeed getting
them. Attending expulsion hearings, being a contact for the conflict resolution room staff, and
meeting regularly with school administrators could be one way to intervene with community youth.
Youth input could also help to create effective intervention. Some youth suggestions are
mentioned in this paper but many other suggestions are alive in the minds of community youth.
Including youth in the problem-solving process is an important first step for Lac du Flambeau.
Document updated January 15, 2014
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Beloit: A Town with a Bad Rap
by Joanna Balsamo-Lilien, Ted Fondrk, David Saikia, Rachel Weber
Ask Midwesterners to name the centers of violent youth activity in Illinois and Wisconsin,
and they will likely say “Chicago and Milwaukee.” But a surprising number of people we talked to
also identified Beloit, Wisconsin, as a city with youth violence problems. Located on the border
between Illinois and Wisconsin, the City of Beloit is dealing with many issues related to gang
violence. While some problems are typical of any community with 36,000 residents, others are
unique to the area. Most strikingly, Beloit has a rare combination of heightened awareness toward
potential problems coupled with a perhaps undeserved reputation as a violent community.
Unlike many of the communities analyzed throughout the state over the years, Beloit is not a
community in denial. Through interviews with police, social workers, school officials, children, and
other residents, we quickly discovered that everyone recognizes the potential for violent activity.
Further, most people we interviewed attribute the town’s reputation as a drug hub to its location
between several larger urban communities.
In countering these potential problems, several institutions have implemented a variety of
programs, aimed at various aspects of youth crime. Some programs in Beloit are substantial in size
and funding, but many remain small and obscure. Though some programs address specific
problems, others are likely in place to respond to the town’s gritty image, an image that may be
unjustified. In fact, Beloit has more programs targeting youth violence than many communities of
comparable size with higher crime rates.
At this point, the biggest concern for this town, we believe, is that of a backlash—that is,
because the town has handled problems better than other communities, people may come to believe
that there are no problems at all. This could result in the already small programs being typecast as a
misallocation of resources, and ultimately lead to their demise. Paradoxically, the programs aimed at
intervention and prevention could get a negative reputation because their effects are not obvious. In
order to be viewed as essential, they would have to be less effective. Promoting these programs is
difficult because program coordinators cannot saturate the public with tales of doom regarding a
situation that clearly does not exist. But again, reporting otherwise is practically a call for their
dismantling.
Although the community recognizes the potential for problems, this does not mean that the
sources of the problems are fully understood. Fights between teenagers are common at area high
schools, for example, but both students and administrators deny that any real percentage of the
violence is attributable to gang affiliation. And though one student claimed that “drugs are
everywhere” in Beloit Memorial High School, she echoed a sentiment expressed by classmates that
drugs must materialize within school walls rather than come from established sources.
In this overview, we hope to provide an accurate assessment of youth problems, both actual
and potential, in Beloit. Not only should this validate the existence of most programs, but it should
give them rightful praise for their part in preventing real violence. Further, other communities can
look to some of these efforts in an attempt to establish their own “best policies” strategy.
A Snapshot of Beloit
Aggregate income is lower here than in most areas of the state, with the main industries
being tied to manufacturing—many of which have recently left the city. Beloit is close to Chicago,
Rockford, and Milwaukee, all cities known for high crime rates. Demographically, the city is
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predominantly white, with substantial pockets of African-American and Latino residents, creating a
racial mix unusual for the region. For instance, in Beloit Memorial High School, minorities comprise
nearly thirty percent of the student body. Still, the pockets remain pockets—across town at Turner
High School, that same proportion is less than five percent.
In many troubled areas of the country, critics commonly associate these economic,
geographic, and demographic characteristics with violence. Often, people associate gang activity
with depressed urban areas, where racial diversity may create tension, and monetary opportunities
may seem limited.
But in fact, Beloit is not a particularly violent community. Its crime rate is actually lower than
many towns that enjoy reputations as placid communities. According to a recent report from the
Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance, Beloit had a per capita murder rate of 3 per 100,000 people
for the early part of the 1990s. In contrast, the national average for similarly sized cities approached
a rate of 5 per 100,000. Since 1990, crime has dropped 35 percent, the police department reports.
Acknowledging that four to five homicides per year were the norm during the 1970s, Police Chief
Richard Thomas states that the town did not record a single homicide in 1999.
Regarding the educational system, Beloit has an expulsion rate of .53 percent, which is
comparable to that of Madison, a district often championed nationally for its public school system.
Similarly, suspension rates proved comparable or favorable to many other communities in the state
with more positive reputations.
But beyond the symptomatic criteria that could lead to a bad environment, what other
factors contribute to Beloit being considered a “dangerous” area? Some experts, including police
officers, believe that it is linked to Beloit being located on the Illinois border. When Wisconsin had a
lower drinking age than Illinois, many rowdy teens would drive into Beloit for the readily accessible
alcohol. As former Beloit Police Chief Terry Fell testifies, when Wisconsin’s low drinking age was
still in effect, it inadvertently created an unruly bar district that turned the 600 block of Fourth Street
into “a zoo.” When the allure of underage drinking was removed, many of the problems naturally
disappeared, he claims.
Nevertheless, just because Beloit’s official crime statistics are no worse than the national
average, this does not mean that the city has no problems warranting consideration. As Doug
Reynolds, the safety coordinator for the Beloit school district acknowledges, deterring crime in
school requires a unified effort between school officials, the police, hospital workers, and students.
Though he argues that criminal activity is limited, Mr. Reynolds does acknowledge a known
presence of at least two major gangs: the Latin Kings and the Gangster Disciples. At Beloit
Memorial High School, Principal Jeff Tortemasi reports that there is a physical fight between
students about once a week, while at Turner High School, officials report that a major fight erupts
about once a month, with verbal altercations occurring almost daily. Again, students confess that
even if drug use isn’t rampant, drugs are readily available.
That said, Beloit seems to be battling the problems associated with violent activity better
than many towns that are wealthier, and that have a less volatile racial mix. Therefore, perhaps an
examination of tactics used in this community can serve as guidelines for others.
Beloit’s Approach
In an attempt to avoid problems, several groups offer programs to counteract youth
violence. Most of them are preventive in nature, with the administering organizations ranging from
social institutions to the municipal police.
21
The focus of violence prevention activity seems to be at the school level, where the youth
can be most easily monitored. First, the high schools are equipped with surveillance cameras and
other security measures, such as a sign-in station at Memorial High School for anyone entering after
8:30 AM. Further, police liaisons remain visible during times of heavy traffic, and their very presence
unquestionably acts as a deterrent for wayward behavior. In addition, many officials carry walkietalkies, so they can report activity and remain in contact with each other wherever they are on school
grounds.
Beyond these security measures, the schools rely on students for the vast majority of
information about budding problems. “Most students want to keep the school safe,” reports
Principal Tortemasi, and he encourages students to report any signs of violence to him. To foster
this openness, Tortemasi tries to keep himself and his staff accessible to students, and he strives to
keep anonymity for those who report problems. At both Memorial and Turner High Schools,
students receive $50 cash for reporting weapons on campus. Additional efforts include the Knights
Academy at Memorial, where “at risk” students must report periodically to a probation officer who
monitors behavior.
These measures appear to be working—at least within the schools. Both students and faculty
report that most violent activity is confined to areas away from campus. When violence does erupt
in the hallways or classrooms, the incident is usually tied to a conflict that arose outside of school,
according to those connected with the school. Again, Tortemasi stresses that “most fights pop up
on Tuesday or Wednesday, over something that happened on Saturday.” This makes it difficult for
the schools to prevent all violent outbreaks.
So the remaining groups in Beloit target stopping the conflicts on Saturday, when youth
have few organized activities and little supervision. As one social worker stated, deviant behavior
often stems from boredom. In response, the City of Beloit offers several programs to combat the
daily monotony by providing alternate activities for young people.
The following list provides a sample of the programs available in Beloit. Some take aim at
providing alternate activities for young people in general, while others target only those youth
diagnosed as “at-risk.” Still others operate without the presence of youth, and are designed and
maintained by adults with the safety of the community in mind.
Building on the Building Blocks of Youth (BOBBY)
Administered by Beloit’s Department of Health, this program tries to target at-risk youth by
asking schools to recommend children it sees as susceptible to deviant behavior. Once
recommended, the children have the opportunity to join the program, wherein they learn such skills
as conflict resolution. More immediately, the children partake in after-school activities, in an attempt
to channel excess energy in positive ways.
Safe and Drug Free Schools
Under Mr. Fran Fruzen’s supervision, this program is provided through the Kolag Center.
Working closely with schools, Fruzen aims to raise the level of consciousness about gang activities
among youth. Through the program, the Kolag Center provides such services as removing graffiti,
offering a drug prevention program, and putting students in touch with school resource officers.
Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT)
GREAT’s stated purpose is to “reduce gang activity” and “educate (Beloit’s) youth about the
consequences of gang violence.” Founded in 1993, the program offers a four-week program for
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children in the third and fifth grades. During the program, children learn conflict resolution and
sound decision-making. For older children, seventh graders can enroll in a ten-week program during
the school year or an eight-week intensive program over the summer. At these sessions, mentors
stress positive alternatives to violence and gang activity.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Beloit has no more problems than the average city, which is to say that it has problems. They
are not as intense, however, or as commonplace as many assume. At the same time, those who do
not see the situation as dire may advocate the elimination of programs aimed at a problem they see
as nonexistent. Therefore, we believe that the city should implement a two-pronged strategy: one
involves comprehensive evaluations of both the city’s problems and the city’s programs, and the
other involves a public awareness campaign.
The most immediate—and the most involved—of our recommendations concerns
evaluation. In fact, we believe Beloit and its citizens could benefit tremendously by using evaluation
techniques to assess the extent of youth violence in the area. But beyond using evaluation to put the
problem in perspective, we think that key players in Beloit need to review the programs currently
offered for effectiveness. Certainly, many of the existing efforts are noble, contributing significantly
to Beloit’s relative success in combating violence. Those efforts notwithstanding, some undeniable
truths warrant an honest appraisal of current methods.
First, as stated, “success” is a relative term; comparing Beloit’s crime statistics with those of
similar-sized towns may not be appropriate. While such comparisons can be useful in a public
awareness campaign, they tell very little about the living situation in the city itself. Though a noncomparative definition of success remains elusive for Beloit, most would agree that there is still
violence in the area, and minimizing this violence is a primary goal for most of the programs in
question.
Second, while the city of Beloit should measure success against its own standards and not
those of other communities, the specific programs that help comprise the area’s social network need
a comparative base. This is not to say that every organization involved in reducing youth crime
should become overtly competitive. Rather, these comparisons should revolve around the
commonsensical notion that some practices work better than others. Even within specific
organizations, individuals know that they are more adept at providing some services than they are
others. For the sake of continuous improvement, administrators of the less effective programs
should study the practices of the more efficient providers.
Third, every service comes at a cost, and anything with a cost will eventually be called into
question. Though there are no guarantees that any efforts can eliminate the scrutiny that comes with
funding, administrators would serve their programs well if they knew how they fit within the
network of service providers. Most important, evaluation of this network can minimize duplication
of efforts, a misallocation of resources by any standard. In the larger organizations, such as the city’s
Department of Health and Human Services, various divisions frequently provide the same services.
At times, administrators coordinate these efforts, but often, these initiatives are simply redundant,
spawned from poor communication. If communication is poor within an organization, it is often
nonexistent between multiple organizations.
On the surface, it may seem that we are suggesting there is room for only one provider for
each service in town. This is not the case. As in the private sector, competition is generally good,
nurturing innovation and providing variety to consumers. But when public funds are being used,
citizens should not finance out-and-out redundancy. Nor should they continue to pay for programs
23
that are under-used or demonstrably inferior. And ultimately, institutions should not be forced to
continue partaking in activities that they know they were not designed to handle.
Given these truths, our proposed evaluation should be multifaceted. First, key players—
school officials, social workers, police officers, and city employees—should come up with the
criteria on which the city will base its definition of success. Since many of these players will be
present at the April 28-29 La Follette program on youth violence and gangs, and perhaps meeting
for the first time, this event may provide a unique opportunity. One of our primary objectives
should be to fashion a definition of success by the close of the conference.
A second objective should be to strengthen the existing network between social
organizations, schools, and other public and private entities. We will ask those in attendance to be
prepared to speak on what their organization does, and what they wish to gain from the other
represented organizations.
Finally, and this is beyond the scope of the conference, we suggest that each program define
its mission, seriously evaluate its own practices, and assess its own efficacy at accomplishing its
mission. In doing so, the programs need to make some key decisions. First, they must define their
clients: are they students, community members, parents, victims, or at-risk youths? These clients, not
the program administrators, are best equipped to tell of a program’s strengths and weaknesses.
Therefore, they should be the ones surveyed. Second, they must decide who should design and
implement the evaluation instrument. Is this something that internal resources can effectively do, or
should an outside body handle these tasks? Third, they must decide what they intend to do with the
results.
Without question, evaluations present problems. To start, they are tedious and timeconsuming. To that end, we suggest that administrators remain in contact with the La Follette
Institute after the program, and view the Institute as a possible resource. Further, finding a survey
instrument that effectively diagnoses areas for improvement remains problematic. No matter how
well designed, such surveys always invite cynicism, with complaints that they rely too heavily on
statistical inferences from material that is not easily quantified. “If I help just one person, it’s a
success,” the old cliché goes. While the person putting forth the cliché might believe this to be true,
most objective people would dispute nearly every aspect of the claim—from who the one person is,
to whether they were actually helped, to whether it was the speaker who did the helping, to whether
more people should have been helped.
Clearly, undertaking a comprehensive evaluation is difficult. But it is a necessary and
worthwhile pursuit. Only with some evidence of success—as defined by members of the Beloit
community alone—can the city consider our second recommendation, which is to undertake a
public awareness campaign.
Specifically, we believe that officials at all levels would do well to continue with public
awareness campaigns on two fronts: one aimed at shirking the city’s unjust reputation as a dangerous
place, and another dedicated to maintaining current levels of awareness about the threat of violence.
Without such efforts, Beloit runs the risk of losing participation in the programs that are currently
provided. Without these efforts, some programs might ultimately be dismantled and crime might
increase.
But more important, other towns with richer resources would do well to follow Beloit’s lead.
Effective management of youth criminal behavior requires a concerted effort on the part of the
police, the schools, the social network, and families. The city has developed an effective strategy for
minimizing crime by encouraging interaction between these groups. Over the past ten years, Beloit
has cleaned up its streets. With any luck, the same can be done with its reputation.
24
The Path to Peace:
Combating Gangs and Youth Violence in Fond du Lac
by Daniel Maxwell and Fumihiro Ono
As its name means in French, “far end of lake,” Fond du Lac stands at the southern tip of
Lake Winnebago, the largest freshwater lake in Wisconsin. The City of Fond du Lac is the center of
the fourteenth most populous county in Wisconsin, which possesses the same name. Of the total
population of 41,000, 97 percent of the people are white, and most claim German ancestry. Juveniles
account for one fourth of the whole population
Visitors’ first impression is that the city is quiet and peaceful. They will have a hard time
finding any graffiti on the streets on their own. Fond du Lac has a reputation as a good community
and a safe place to live. Like many other small, suburban, ethnically homogeneous communities in
Midwest America, however, the community has also experienced economic disparity and racial
prejudice. These two issues have played a major role in the gang and youth violence problems that
have been a worry to the Fond du Lac residents for the past decade.
Background
Although Fond du Lac can boast the headquarters of global businesses such as Mercury
Marine, and Giddings and Lewis, not all residents are wealthy. It is common knowledge that the
western part of the city divided by Main Street (Highway 151) is a much poorer community than
that in the east. More low-income families and minority people live in rental apartments in the west.
Most of the gang and youth violence problems have occurred on that side of the city, also.
Even though the community is 97 percent white, racially diverse minority groups also live
there. These groups include African Americans, Hispanics, and about 500 Hmong. Racially
motivated crimes have been committed not only by youth, but also by adults. In most cases, the
victims of these crimes have been minorities, primarily Hmong.
Four high-profile incidents have occurred over the past few years:
1. (1996) Three teenage white males in a local White Power gang were arrested after beating a
Hispanic boy by kicking him with their boots and hitting him. The three also spat on a 10year-old African American boy. They were sentenced to three months in jail and two
additional years of probation.
2. (June 13,1998) A Hmong-owned grocery store was set on fire after being broken into. A
circle containing a five-pointed star was painted on the door, a symbol which usually denotes
anarchy or anti-establishment sympathies. The motive is unclear, and the arson is still under
investigation. This store was the only Hmong-operated store in Fond du Lac which carried
specialty food and merchandise for the Hmong. Its loss has been a great inconvenience to
the Hmong community.
3. (February 18, 1999) Three instances of racially derogatory graffiti were found on three
homes where minority families lived. Someone painted swastikas and the word “war” with
red spray paint.
4. (April 15, 1999) A 19-year-old male member of the White Power gang was arrested for
throwing garbage on a Hmong family’s yard.
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The 1990s
In the early and mid-1990s the problems were serious. According to one resident, in those
days “people got fed up and said ‘enough is enough’” with regard to the pervasiveness of violence
and crime and gang activities. The following two high-profile shooting incidents reflect residents’
concern about violent crime in their community.
1. (October 23, 1992) Two 17-year-old Hmong youth from Milwaukee, who were attending a
party in Fond du Lac, shot from their car and injured two Hispanics who had thrown a beer
can at their car close to where the party was held.
2. (June 6, 1997) Three young men from the Latin Kings, including two teenagers from
Sheboygan, fired random shots into an apartment building where a member of their rival
gang (the Two-Ones) was living.
It should also be noted that Fond du Lac’s location provides easy access to gang members in
other cities. There have been many incidents involving gangs from other communities such as
Oshkosh (19 miles north), Appleton (38 miles north), Sheboygan (39 miles east), Manitowoc (54
miles northeast), Milwaukee (62 miles southeast), and Chicago (148 miles southeast). With such easy
mobility, Fond du Lac residents are cognizant of the fact that they need to watch for gangs from
other areas as well as their own. For example, although there are no Hmong gangs currently in Fond
du Lac, one of the concerns among Hmong parents is that Hmong gang members from other cities
often come to Fond du Lac to recruit their children, and the parents do not have effective ways to
prevent it.
Current Situation
After seeing many crime cases, including gang-related violence, in the early and mid-1990s,
the City of Fond du Lac Police Department has doubled its efforts to combat crime including gang
activities by using community policing strategies. First, the police department’s budget increased by
almost 30 percent (from $4.4 million to $ 5.7 million) between 1993 and 1999. Second, the police
asked the court to give stiffer sentences to juvenile offenders to deter the youth from committing
crime. Moreover, the police tried as much as possible to avoid using the word “gang” in order to
avoid giving status or recognition to gang activities. The city now has curfew ordinance which
requires 15–17-year-old youths to be off the streets between midnight and 5 a.m.
Police data show that the city has seen a decrease in juvenile crime. For example, total
juvenile arrests decreased by 2.9 percent, from 1,608 in 1997 to 1,562 in 1998. Social services
workers, however, have another perspective on current youth violence. They pointed out the
following three changes compared with the past.
1. Children have become more aggressive, and have committed more felonies, such as drugrelated and sexual crime. For example, there were 26 drug-related arrests and 10 sex offense
arrests in 1998. Some gangs use children to carry drugs from other cities to Fond du Lac.
2. Even younger children (10 to 12 years old) have begun to commit crimes—and even
felonies
3. More girls have gotten involved with gangs, especially with White Power.
Fond du Lac Gangs
The following seven gangs have been identified in Fond du Lac:
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White Power
The biggest, most conspicuous, and most troublesome of the white supremacist groups.
Most members are local skinheads who wear black clothing with Nazi symbols and black combat
boots. They do not use weapons in fighting, unlike other gangs, but prefer fisticuffs. They have a
relatively tight-knit network among members.
Two-Ones
Racially mixed, affiliated with the 21st Street Gang of Milwaukee.
People Nation
A gang with a Hispanic sub-group in Fond du Lac, the Latin Kings.
Folk Nation
Also Hispanic, a gang with a couple of subgroups in Fond du Lac:
1) Spanish Cobras—A group in the news in March 1999 with reference to the stabbing of its
leader during an initiation.
2) Gangster Disciples (GDs)
Other Gangs
While not as prevalent, other gangs which have been seen in Fond du Lac over the years
include the Asian Royal Cripts, Bridge 13, and Primo Loco 13.
Assessment
The pervasiveness of gang activity and youth violence in the early 1990s cried out for
prevention and intervention techniques in order to combat the problem. The problems eventually
led to the creation of a panel of professionals called YARA (Youth At Risk Alliance). This panel is
composed of law enforcement, school administrators, social services, therapists, businesspeople, and
other community leaders. They meet together quarterly to find cooperative approaches to the
problem of gangs and youth violence. Those involved believe that this cooperative effort, along with
other community efforts, has led to decreased gang activity and youth violence over the past 5-6
years. While prevention and intervention techniques still continue to be improved upon, those early
years of cooperation set a standard for their community. The community was determined to combat
these illegal activities.
Prevention
In the early 1990s, almost anyone was free to enter and exit L. P. Goodrich High School, the
sole public high school in Fond du Lac. This frequently resulted in unwanted outsiders, commonly
gang members or other troublemakers from other areas, entering the school, roaming the halls, and
causing serious problems. The school now has one entrance. Anyone who is not a regular must
show ID at the door and give a legitimate reason for being there.
In addition to denying unwanted individuals admission to the school, Goodrich also recently
adopted a policy to deal with the unwanted 19-20 year olds hanging around the outskirts of the
school. Most of these unwanted guests congregated in areas where Goodrich students went to
smoke cigarettes. Because of the connection between the two groups, the school decided to prohibit
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students from smoking in these areas. Mary Fran Merwin, the school principal, along with her staff,
went out daily “getting in these kids’ faces” and telling them to leave. Because these areas were off
school property, the school actually had no power to punish the students if they resisted, or to
remove the unwanted guests. So for those who did resist, the police were happy to oblige the school
by picking the kids up for loitering. After one month, the problem was eliminated.
Every year at Goodrich High an assembly is held for each class. During this assembly the
students are introduced to the school staff—approximately 120 individuals. The intent is to get the
students to realize that they are not alone, and that there are other people in this school who are
watching out for them. The school has made great attempts over the years to build relationships of
trust between students and the staff, so that when problems occur, the school, as Mary Fran Merwin
puts it, “can intervene by holding a child responsible by someone they respect.”
Another prevention technique the Fond du Lac community has pursued is denial. This is not
denial in the sense that the community denies there is a problem; rather, it is denial in the sense that
they deny the offenders to be publicly affiliated with any gang. For example, rather than the
newspaper reporting that a certain crime was committed by a certain youth affiliated with a certain
gang, it will report it as a crime committed by an individual, thus denying the youth the opportunity
to be affiliated with his gang, or what he considers his true identity. The Fond du Lac schools, police
department, social services, the local newspaper (The Reporter) all seem to be in agreement that the
more we recognize these youth as gang members, the more trouble they get in.
Another way of furthering this denial is by eliminating graffiti. In 1994 the City of Fond du
Lac enacted an anti-graffiti ordinance, which up to this day has been quite successful in cleaning up
graffiti and not letting it reappear. In order to enforce this ordinance the police department
organized the “Graffiti Reduction Unit.” When Fond du Lac residents report acts of graffiti, officers
in the Graffiti Reduction Unit investigate it. The officer will then notify the property owner of the
existence of the graffiti and explain the need to remove it or cover it up. Despite the fact that
property owners must remove or cover up the graffiti at their own expense, police have seldom
found these property owners to be uncooperative or to have a negative opinion of the program.
In addition to schools and police, there are also other community organizations that work
towards preventing youth violence and gang activity. Big Brothers Big Sisters, Project Youth,
YMCA, ADVOCAP, and Youth for Christ are just a few examples of the many organizations trying
to lessen the number of youth involved with violence or in gangs. Two of these programs, Big
Brothers Big Sisters and Youth for Christ, for example, emphasize the importance of a positive role
model in these kids’ lives. They recruit volunteers to pair up with the at-risk youth, hoping the
continual exposure to a positive role model will prevent these kids from falling into trouble later on.
One of the traits of Fond du Lac’s gangs and the motivation for violence is their
commitment to racial prejudice. The White Power gang has been the most conspicuous and has
been an especially constant nuisance over the years. But it is not limited to them alone. Various
Latin, African American, and Asian groups have all at one time or another engaged in racist,
aggressive behavior. While the community has been successful at limiting these groups’ aggressive
behavior, it is still faced with the predicament of how to stop these kids from hating. As far as the
schools are concerned, dress codes restrict offensive apparel, and regulations prohibit disrespectful
speech during school hours, but this is limited to school hours only. They have no power over what
the kids do outside of school.
The Neighborhood Watch program has also been another effective tool established in Fond
du Lac in order to combat the juvenile crime and gang activity. The program is offered through the
Fond du Lac Police Department Crime Prevention Unit. It has given the local citizens the
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opportunity to help look after their communities by patrolling their streets looking for suspicious
and unwanted activity 24 hours a day. Neighborhood Watch helps members of the community
improve their own security, recognize suspicious and unusual activity in their neighborhood, and
build a protective communications network among neighborhoods.
Intervention
A large part of the intervention for violent youth and gang members in Fond du Lac is
offered through the Fond du Lac County Department of Social Services Juvenile Services Unit. The
unit maintains a staff of social service workers, and others who are able to assist with the
intervention of these juveniles.
The staff of the Juvenile Services Unit utilizes an intervention technique called “corrective
thought” or “the errors of thinking.” The technique focuses on different areas related to the youth’s
thought processes and behavior. In a group setting, using key text and workbooks, and with the
assistance of two facilitators, the youth who commit crimes learn that they alone are responsible for
their actions, and should not put the blame on others.
Another group-facilitated intervention technique utilized by the Juvenile Services Unit is
anger management. Similar to the above technique of corrective thought or errors of thinking, this
technique is used primarily for those youth who have a history of more violent acts, such as battery,
for example. Even with their well-established programs, the Juvenile Services Unit is still
overwhelmed with heavy caseloads. The result is that they can handle only the more severe cases.
The police department has stepped in to handle the minor cases, utilizing a system called
“contracting.” When minor offenders are caught, they are given the option of contracting with the
police or suffering more severe penalties through the court system. Contracting consists of minor
offenders meeting with police and together determining a suitable punishment for their crime.
Six or seven years ago, when gang activity was at a high, the community pushed the courts to
give stiffer penalties to the offending youth. “Enhancing,” as it is called, has been a regular part of
the court response ever since and is considered to be a major reason for the decline in juvenile
crime. The way it works is that, in addition to being sentenced for a crime committed, youth who are
gang affiliated are “enhanced” with an additional penalty or fine.
Although combating racial biases is difficult, Goodrich High has a program that attempts
not only to discipline offending youth, but also to change their views. After a student is suspended
for racist reasons, Officer Jim Lichman, the school’s police liaison officer, meets with the student
and assigns him or her some books to read in order to give the student positive exposure to the
particular race toward which he or she is biased and hateful. Afterwards, a paper must be turned in
stating what the student learned from the books. Comments like “all Hmong are lazy” or, “all blacks
are on welfare” are a result of ignorance. While he cannot eliminate their biases completely, through
this kind of intervention Officer Lichman at least is able to give them exposure to the truth, whether
or not they accept it.
High schools and middle schools in the city have cracked down on even the most minor
hints of gang activity or youth violence. Most schools have strict dress codes, which prohibit kids
from wearing certain articles of clothing, ranging from hats to certain color shoelaces. At Sabish
Junior High School, for example, any student caught wearing articles of clothing deemed
inappropriate or derogatory, such as T-shirts bearing a woman in a bikini or the union jack risk
suspension if they do not go change the article of clothing immediately.
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In the Works
A task force is meeting to plan a new teen court that could be up and running in Fond du
Lac by 2001. Although it will not handle any of the more serious or violent cases, if implemented, it
will be another way to intervene with the minor cases that the juvenile intake system is currently
unable to handle. While the intent of the teen court is not to deal with more serious offenses, it will
make up partially for the cumbersome caseloads. It should also help prevent mild offenders from
slipping through the cracks of the system.
There is also currently a proposed gang task force that would be made up of police
departments from the different cities in Fond du Lac County. It is a means by which the different
police forces could work collectively to combat the gang problem in the county, and deal more
effectively with the problem of gang mobility. The task force could provide assistance with both
prevention and intervention.
Summary and Recommendations
The Fond du Lac community has been quite successful over the years at decreasing the
prevalence of youth violence and gang activity. Although it is difficult to pinpoint the reasons
accurately, a major reason for their success has been the cooperative efforts of the community,
ranging from the more traditional means of police and social services to common citizens. While
these prevention and intervention structures seem to be firmly established, however, there still may
be some improvement in selective areas. The intent of the following recommendations is not to be
critical, but to offer suggestions and insights into how to improve upon the current structure in
Fond du Lac for dealing with gangs and youth violence.
The first of these suggestions concerns the community’s relationship with the Hmong.
Unlike Hmong youth in other areas of Wisconsin who are frequently associated with gangs, the
Hmong youth in Fond du Lac have for the most part stayed out of trouble. While they do seem to
congregate together at schools, and seldom interact with other students, they have not been a major
concern for schools, police, or social services. But the potential for problems is always there. Song
Xiong, a native Hmong outreach worker in Fond du Lac, worries that although the Hmong youth in
Fond du Lac have not been troublemakers, their geographic location puts them in a position to be
recruited by Hmong gangs from surrounding cities and areas.
Regarding the Fond du Lac Hmong community, Song is concerned that Hmong families and
the “system” (i.e., police, courts, social services, etc.) do not work well with each other. He feels
many in the Hmong community, due mainly to language and cultural barriers, are both unable and
unwilling to pursue help for their youth from the system when problems arise. He says, “[Hmong]
parents should be more open to the system.” Similarly, he also feels the non-Hmong community
should give more attention to meeting the needs of the Hmong.
It became clear through speaking with various community members that they were unsure
about how exactly to work with the Hmong people and their culture. Both groups seem willing to
cooperate, but they need a place where they can do so. Community leaders should work to create a forum
whereby these two different communities can gather and become more understanding of each other’s cultures.
While it may not be as pervasive as in years past, racial hatred is still a conspicuous problem
in Fond du Lac. The White Power group has an especially strong presence. Racially motivated
violent behavior among youth has substantially decreased over the years, but one need only walk
through a school or two in Fond du Lac witnessing the scowls and hard looks the White Power kids
bear, for example, to see that racial hatred has not been eliminated from these kids’ minds. In
addition to the programs already in place through the schools and social services, perhaps additional
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effort can be placed on educating adults as well as youth. There is clearly no panacea for this problem, but if
community members can continue to put their heads together, perhaps they can devise a way to
decrease racial hatred even further.
Although there are other sources, the majority of the intervention programs in Fond du Lac
are provided by the Fond du Lac County Department of Social Services Juvenile Services Unit. The
staff in this unit are so overburdened with caseloads that they seldom are able to spend as much
time with each individual case as they would prefer, which can often result in youths not getting as
much assistance as they need and in taking only the more severe cases. The system should be altered,
whether it means hiring more staff, adding more intervention programs, or anything else that can ease the burden of the
staff.
The cooperative efforts of the Fond du Lac community have resulted in less juvenile gang
activity and violence, which has in turn led to a safer and more peaceful place to live. Fond du Lac’s
vulnerable position on the map, however, always leaves the possibility of more problems due to the
mobility of gangs and youth crime from surrounding areas. The Fond du Lac community should,
therefore, keep improving the current system, along with its many prevention and intervention
programs.
31
Addressing the Issues of Youth Violence and Gangs in
Janesville
Amy Brennan, Rose Smyrski, and Carrie Templeton
“It needs to be a community response, rather than one agency response.”
—Don Mulry, Director of Rock County Human Services
Don Mulry’s statement refers to his belief—and others’—that the entire Janesville
community needs to take responsibility in handling child abuse and neglect cases in Rock County
and must coordinate its efforts to reduce the instances and impact of youth violence and gangs.
Community leaders in Janesville acknowledge that a coordinated effort among police, county
agents, schools, non-profits, and the private sector is necessary to send a strong message to youth
and gang members that violence will not be tolerated.
Past Issues
The 4th Ward has been traditionally known as the “problem” area of Janesville. In 1992,
community leaders, under the guidance of the United Way, decided to address the problems in their
neighborhoods and especially in the 4th Ward by forming a group known as the ACTION Council,
or Agencies Collaborating to Improve Our Neighborhoods. Out of the council’s discussion came
the Youth Issues and Gangs Committee, which met as a group during 1995 and early 1996. This
committee’s twenty community members included representatives from various groups including
the schools, juvenile justice system, and high school youth. The committee held a series of panel
discussions at a church, two schools, and a hospital, which allowed citizens to express their views on
issues pertaining to youth and gangs. They also educated Marshall Middle School students by
bringing an ex-gang member to the school to speak from his wheelchair about the dangers of drugs
and gangs.
The Janesville media rarely report incidents of youth violence. A number of these
unreported occurrences are gang-related, but few are treated as such. There is a concern in the
community that if gang-related violence is reported, kids will become attracted to gangs and the
attention they receive. Several incidents of youth violence (listed below), however, did receive media
attention:
Fall 1994: A 16-year-old shot and blinded a 13-year-old with a BB gun. The
shooter was sent to the Ethan Allen School in Wales.
Fall 1995: An 11-year-old Wilson Elementary School student held a lighter to a 9year-old classmate’s face, singing off his hair and eyebrows. The 11-year-old had
bragged about being a member of a gang to the 9-year-old before the incident.
Fall 1995: At least 25 members of rival Asian gangs from Rockford and Chicago
came to Janesville, in what police feared to be a recruiting drive. The gang members
were involved in several large disturbances in the city.
Winter 1999: A 12-year-old boy driving with friends shot at his girlfriend and her
friends in another car with a sawed-off shotgun. The incident was suspected to be
gang related.
School counselors are able to list several additional incidents within the past year that
suspected were gang related that have not received widespread attention. In the spring of 1998 a
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middle school boy was beaten in a gang confrontation and remains in a coma today. His younger
sister is now suspected of being involved in a gang as a result of her brother’s beating. At the
beginning of this school year, a high school boy was severely beaten with a baseball bat that had
nails sticking out of it. These events are not widely known in the community.
The Janesville community, as well as some of its leaders, may be surprised to know that
several individuals who work with youth have identified at least ten established gangs in Janesville.
These gangs include the Bloods, which in Janesville are mainly Hmong youth, Crips, which in
Janesville are white males, Vatos Locos (female youth), Tiny Rascal Gangsters (Asian youth), Loco
Boys, Black Roses (female youth), Black Disciples (African American), Gangster Disciples (active on
south side of Janesville), Imperial Disciples (nicknamed the Imitation Disciples and composed of
working-class whites) and Vice Lords (Hispanic and black members from Madison and Rockford.)
The majority of the identified gangs are ethnically based, composed of racial groups that are in the
minority in Janesville, as shown by 1990 U.S. Census population analysis.
In 1990 Janesville had a population of 52,133 citizens, of which 51,130 identified themselves
as being “white.” There were 287 blacks, 116 Native Americans, 429 Asians and 171 in the “other”
category. We discovered that only 1.9 percent of the population of Janesville identified themselves as
part of a minority ethnic group. Minorities in the Janesville community, and particularly minority
youth in schools, may be naturally drawn to one another. These youth then formed into cliques
which in themselves were harmless but which became targets for recruiting by established ethnic
gangs from nearby cities such as Beloit, Rockford, or Chicago. Even if they are not asked to join,
minority youth may still try to mimic these gangs since gang members are viewed as role models to
the youth, because of the perceived power and wealth that gang members flaunt .
A heavily publicized incident of racial harassment at a high school football game in 1994
between Janesville Parker and Madison West illustrated the need for discussion about racism in
Janesville. A Janesville football player yelled a racial slur at a Madison West player, causing outrage in
Madison. A Madison School Board member called for the forfeiture of Janesville Parker’s next
football game after the incident. A number of the citizens of Janesville objected to the accusation
that they were a racist community, stating that one individual could not speak for everyone. Whether
or not racism simmers in Janesville, racist attitudes of a few have implications for understanding
complicated issues concerning youth and gang violence.
Current Issues
In the past year, youth violence has been thrust into the national spotlight. Several highly
publicized and tragic incidents of violence were not the result of gang violence, but of angry children
taking out their rage on their innocent classmates and teachers. The names of small towns and cities,
such as Jonesboro, Paducah, Edinboro, and Littleton are now well known to most Americans.
The outbreaks of violence in schools across the country caused sleepless nights for a number
of Janesville school officials, who wondered if their schools and children were also vulnerable. These
incidents brought not only national leaders together to discuss youth violence, but community
leaders in Janesville as well.
Last July, the president of the Janesville United Way, the Janesville School District
superintendent, and Janesville police chief came together to form a Youth Violence Task Force.
They recruited community leaders from schools, business, law enforcement, and social service
agencies (both nonprofit and governmental agencies) to serve on the task force. The task force
focused its study on five primary issues, as identified by U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno at a
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national United Way conference last May: reducing truancy, gun safety, after-school opportunities,
drug and alcohol abuse programs, and health insurance.
In August the task force decided they would review key community data, evaluate programs
that Janesville already has in each of these issue areas, and study the approaches other communities
are taking to address youth violence. In January the Youth Violence Task Force split into five
committees, which are based on the identified issue areas. These five committees are currently
working toward the goal of writing a position paper on youth violence in Janesville, which evaluates
the community’s programs and views on each of the five primary youth violence issues. The Youth
Violence Task Force’s goal is to identify existing programs that are or have the potential to be
effective in the issue areas. Another component of their goal is to create a list of all the programs
that focus on youth in the Janesville community, to identify any duplicating or overlapping efforts
that could be streamlined. If programs in Janesville are made more efficient and complementary, the
gained savings could be reinvested in other youth programs that have been identified as being
effective. The Janesville United Way plans to hire someone to work with the various agencies
involved with youth to seek out and create efficiencies in their programs.
In recent months, gang activity has increased in Janesville. More fights between gangs have
occurred, there have been more taggings on buildings throughout the city, and bricks have been
thrown through the windows of the homes of gang members. Even with this escalation in gang
activity, gang members are still perceived to be “wannabes.” Most youth who claim to be gang
members participate only in the glamorized aspects of the gangs: wearing gang clothes and
accessories, driving around in large groups, and dating members within the gang. Although they may
adopt the names and mannerisms of the organized gangs, these gangs are not organized or
connected to larger gangs in larger cities. According to police, they do not typically engage in drug
dealing or fights with weapons. Some gang members in Janesville, however, are participating in
serious fights, fights in which a group of kids attack a rival gang member who is by himself.
Weapons other than a gun is used in the fight. The “wannabe” gang members do not pose a threat
to those who are outside of the gangs, because the vast majority of the fights are between rival gang
members. These “wannabes” however, are a threat to themselves since they are at risk of being the
victim of a beating by associating with a gang.
Next Steps
A number of programs are in place in Janesville to prevent and intervene in cases of youth
and gang violence. To determine what Janesville’s next steps should be in the areas of prevention
and intervention, it is helpful to evaluate what is already in place.
Prevention
Efforts to prevent youth and gang violence are in place in schools and in the community.
They are led by educators, social service workers, and private citizens.
Schools
The middle schools in Janesville have a variety of groups that meet on a regular basis to
address issues facing youths who are at risk of becoming involved in delinquent activities. These
groups include an Anger Group, Friendship Group (for kids who have trouble getting along with
other kids), Alcohol and Drug Abuse Group (for kids with addiction problems or kids whose
parents have addictions), Transition Group (for kids entering 6th grade) and a Grieving Group. The
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students in these groups are identified and recommended by teachers to join particular groups.
Parents must approve their children joining a group.
At the high school level, there are also groups that deal with kids and their anger problems.
A group at Craig High School, which began as a “Truancy Group,” has evolved into an anger
management group involving 40 students. These students have not done anything wrong, but they
are considered to be at-risk. Some group members, for example, are girlfriends of known gang
members.
The Janesville School District developed safety plans in the past year for every school and
school district building that did not already have them, to ensure that school district staff would
know what to do if a public safety emergency occurred. Only when the public safety plans were in
place could the community focus on proactive approaches to prevent youth violence.
Janesville Police Department
The Janesville Police Department lead three youth delinquency prevention programs at the
elementary and middle school levels. In kindergarten, police introduce children to basic gun safety
issues. The police liaisons also administer the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) and
GREAT (Gang Resistance Education and Awareness Training) programs to all middle school youth.
Several officers further prevention of gang and youth violence by discussing pertinent issues
on an ad hoc basis with police officers in Beloit and Rockford. They then evaluate the extent of and
approaches to the problems.
Earlier this year, the Janesville Police Department launched a neighborhood policing
initiative to bring police officers closer to citizens. The goal is to develop positive relationships with
neighborhood residents so that the police and community members can gain a sense of trust to
work together on community issues, such as gang and youth violence.
Rock County
The identification of children who are abused or neglected is of primary importance in
preventing delinquency later in life. Rock County’s Department of Human Services has been
criticized for letting children “fall through the cracks,” by not recognizing or addressing signs of
abuse and neglect early in a child’s life. Instead, critics say, these children’s problems are not
addressed until after they commit a crime and are in the juvenile justice system. The Janesville
community must ensure that Rock County receives enough resources and well-trained child
protective service staff to safeguard endangered children. Other programs for children who are
identified early in life as at-risk include educational child care programs and teaching parenting skills
to mothers and fathers.
Community
Last summer, the Youth Violence Task Force began discussions about how to prevent youth
violence. After the completion of the position paper, the task force, in conjunction with the United
Way staff member who will work specifically on this issue, must maintain their commitment to
identifying and streamlining effective prevention programs.
After-school programs are often seen as the most important component of youth violence
and delinquency prevention programs. The peak hours for youth crime as well as teen sex, smoking,
drinking alcohol, and using drugs are between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on weekdays. With a $5
million expansion of the existing YMCA facility in downtown Janesville, the community has a
35
unique opportunity to revamp its after school programs with the creation of a YMCA and Boys and
Girls Club teen center. A committee of youth has been created to decide what after school programs
and activities will take place at the teen center.
The sustained involvement of youth in programming decisions will determine the success of
the after school programs. Transportation to and from the facility will also be critical to its success
and on lowering juvenile crime during the peak hours. The expansion of the YMCA is also an
opportunity to evaluate if there is a need for summer and weekend programs, which have also
shown to be effective in preventing youth violence. These summer and weekend programs could be
developed with families in mind. Such an approach could prevent delinquency, as well as encourage
parental involvement in the lives of their children. The Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA hope to
implement preventive programs at the new teen center as well, which would be based on programs
that are run by the national Boys and Girls Club and YMCA organizations.
Education will be critical to preventing youth and gang violence. Community leaders must
be connected with the people who work with youth on a daily basis, so that everyone involved in
making decisions pertaining to youth issues has the information necessary to understand the full
extent and complexity of youth and gang violence issues in Janesville. Community resources will
only be allocated for prevention programs if citizens are educated about what level and kind of
support is needed.
The effectiveness of prevention programs will hinge on the success of educating youth and
those who work with at-risk youth of the availability of these programs. Advertising will be most
helpful to educate teens and families of after school, weekend and summer programs.
Intervention
Once problems occur or crimes are committed, various agencies and groups can also be
involved. Again, schools and government agencies and community groups can be effective,
especially if they coordinate their efforts.
Schools
At the middle school level, intervention usually takes the form of one-on-one counseling.
One formal program in at least one middle school is a “Lunch Bunch,” a group of girls who have
been in some sort of trouble. The “Lunch Bunch” allows these girls to discuss issues with their
peers who are dealing with similar issues.
The Janesville School District developed alternative education settings to ensure that
troubled high school youth remain in school. Janesville Parker has a curriculum program called the
“Block Program,” while Janesville Craig operates a “School-Within-a-School” for delinquent youth.
In both of these programs, students take standard high schools courses such as English, math, and
science, but in a nontraditional format. Youth violence prevention and gang awareness issues are
integrated into the curriculum.
An exciting intervention program has been implemented in the school system within the last
year with the creation of a Charter School. The Charter School’s current enrollment is 22 students,
but another 11 students are expected to join the school soon. The Charter School provides students
who would normally drop out of high school with an alternative to traditional education. These
students receive individual attention in all classes, with an average student teacher ratio of 15 to 1.
Every Tuesday and Thursday the Charter School has a “Boys Group” and “Girls Group” where
students deal with social issues. The first issue being discussed by these groups is drug and alcohol
abuse. It is expected that one of next year’s discussion topics will be youth and gang violence.
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Innovative education programs in Janesville’s schools such as “School-Within-A-School,”
the “Block Program,” and the Charter School should be expanded. These alternative education
settings can be particularly effective in preventing youth from joining gangs. The students feel that
they have power through more freedom of choice in these settings. Gangs usually satisfy the need of
youth to feel like they “belong” to a group. These types of education alternatives can create the
sense of belonging that many at-risk students.
Janesville Police Department
In the early to mid-1990s the Janesville Police Department kept brief gang profile sheets
with nicknames of suspected gang members and pictures of their tattoos. The police department
now has a gangs officer who is assigned to any criminal case where gang activity is suspected. This
officer has received specialized training in gang investigation. The gangs officer now maintains an
organized filing system that catalogues suspected and known gang members by their gang affiliation,
nicknames, tattoos, tagging symbols, and gang colors.
Rock County
The Rock County juvenile court system is the first intervention point for many troubled
youth whose problems are not discovered until a crime is committed. Once in the system, kids are
assigned a probation officer who sets requirements for them, particularly relating to drug use and
school attendance and performance, through the development of behavioral contracts. In most
cases a multidisciplinary team or “M-Team” coordinates the intervention efforts in the lives of
delinquent juveniles. The M-Team brings together the police liaison from the youth’s school, the
probation officer, parents, and school social worker to create a unified approach to addressing the
problems in the youth’s life.
The Rock County Human Services Department operates a program called “Youth Triage,”
which provides assessments specifically designed to identify the needs of children and adolescents
exhibiting behavioral, mental health, and/or legal problems. “Youth Triage” not only evaluates
youth who have already made contact with the juvenile court system, but assists youth who are
recommended to the program by their parents.
Community
Other options include a program run by Mercy Hospital called Mercy Options, which began
four years ago. Mercy Options is a mental health and addiction organization that helps people on an
outpatient basis. Mercy Options administers an adolescent addiction group that meets on a regular
basis. Currently the group has about five members, but has proven to be successful in ending some
youths’ drug dependency.
Private counseling services are available for youth in the community as well. One private
practice, Genesis Consulting, has started groups for troubled and at-risk middle and high school kids
to discuss issues that are important to them. Kids become members of the group because they have
been ordered by the court to attend, their parents request that their children be in it, or the kids
themselves ask if they can join the group after hearing about it from their friends. The groups are
founded on respecting each member’s views and abilities. The young people who have been
involved attest that “group” has changed their lives in terms of attitude, behavior, school
performance, and relationships with their families.
The list of youth violence response services, which will result from the Youth Violence Task
Force, will educate agents who deal with an incident on what options are available to them. These
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resources will enable the community to fine-tune the services they have and refocus their efforts on
prevention, diminishing the need for these reactionary resources.
Conclusion
As evidenced by the two task forces centered on youth violence, the Janesville school
district, police department, and non-profit organizations already have a good working relationship.
The leaders of each of these agencies have been part of the Janesville community for a number of
years, making their institutional knowledge of the way the system works invaluable. These agencies’
relationship with Rock County is established, particularly with juvenile justice officials, and is likely
to be strengthened as youth violence services are streamlined and resources are identified. Officials
from the City of Janesville, and the Janesville City Council in particular, are largely absent from the
community discussion of youth violence and gangs. This may be partly a result of Janesville’s
administrative structure, in that the city does not have an elected mayor, but a city manager who is
hired by the city council.
In a few agencies, there is the perception of a knowledge gap between administrators and
their staff. Administrators who serve on committees and staff who work with youth and see the
reality of problems of youth violence and especially gangs must communicate more effectively and
frequently. This is particularly true in the area of gang violence, where some administrators and
community leaders do not believe there is a gang problem or presence in Janesville, while staff who
deal with youth on a daily basis have seen firsthand evidence of several established gangs. Some
private citizens who were members of Youth Issues and Gangs Task Force also believe there are no
established gangs in Janesville.
Janesville may also want to consider strengthening its relationships with other communities
in the area of youth and gang violence. The City of Beloit would be a natural choice, given the
perception among many Janesville citizens that the serious youth violence problems Beloit is facing
currently could be Janesville’s problems in the future. The Janesville and Beloit school districts have
an established and positive working relationship, which could be expanded to the issue of youth
violence.
Many agencies know what their next steps should and will be to address youth and gang
violence in Janesville, but have not made these next steps a high priority in their organizations. The
scarcest resource in Janesville may be time rather than dollars. While Janesville’s agencies may not
have time to concentrate on youth and gang violence issues currently, they must ensure that their
strong working relationships continue and communication lines remain open to promote a
continuous, evolving dialogue as these issues change over time. By building on its existing
relationships between agencies and with other communities, Janesville will further its goals of
preventing youth and gang violence in Janesville.
Janesville has the building blocks of an effective community approach to preventing youth
violence in place. Their plans need to be cemented with a focus on the specialized issues involved in
preventing the formation of gangs. When specific gang and broad youth violence programs are
joined, Janesville will be a strong and unified force in protecting the lives of children.
38
Putting the Puzzle Together:
Solving Issues of Gangs and Youth Violence in Appleton
Eleanor Cameron, Melissa Ducat, and Melinda Tempelis
The city of Appleton does not exist separate from its neighbors. Its role as the largest city in
the fast-growing Fox Valley means it is in many ways the center of the region. Its identity remains
closely tied to neighboring communities such as Grand Chute, Kimberly, Neenah, and Menasha.
Residents of the Fox Valley travel freely among the cities that run together at their edges, creating an
unbroken chain of malls, factories and grocery stores, not to mention school districts and
neighborhoods, along Highway 41.
The Fox Valley lies along the Fox River between Oshkosh and Green Bay. Major highways
provide direct access to the larger communities of Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Madison, and Green
Bay. One of the fastest growing areas of Wisconsin, the Fox Valley is home to more than 200,000
people. The city of Appleton lies in the center of the valley, with a population of 70,000. Appleton
was incorporated in 1857 around two major institutions: Lawrence College and the paper mill
industry.
Both the Fox Valley and the city of Appleton have experienced changing demographics in
recent years. The expanding economy of the area has attracted new residents from throughout the
state and country. Some new residents moved to Appleton to escape big city crime and other
problems. Many residents of Appleton and the Fox Valley see the area as offering all the amenities
of a large metropolitan area with the feel of a small town.
Growing Pains
Appleton has been described as experiencing “growing pains.” This city, once a
homogeneous, almost exclusively white town, now includes a substantial number of Hmong, Latino,
and African American residents. Currently, the Hmong comprise approximately 5 percent of
Appleton’s population. The changing demographics have proved difficult for many of the residents.
The inescapable difficulty of moving to a predominantly white community has taken its toll
on people of color in Appleton. A majority of the known gang members in the area are African
American, Hispanic, or Hmong. While there are many Caucasian gang members, most of the recent
activity involves members of primarily Hmong gangs. Currently, it is estimated that there are at least
15 gangs active in the Appleton area. A substantial number of these gangs are Hmong, but they may
also include members of other races. Some of the most active gangs in Appleton are multiracial.
There is considerable variation in the function, organization, and degree of criminal activity
among Appleton’s gangs. Most are described as loosely organized, though others have a hierarchy
with some form of written rules or constitution. A limited number of the gangs have ties to
Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Chicago. Appleton’s gangs do not participate in the traditional
activities of corporate gangs, like drug and weapon trafficking.
Area gangs also contribute to the criminal activity in the Fox Valley. The most common
criminal activity of gang members is theft from vehicles, namely car stereos. Appleton police crime
statistics report 476 counts of theft from vehicles in 1999, many of which are attributed to gangs.
Another criminal activity committed by gang members is assault and battery. A majority of new gang
initiates are “beat-in” by current gang members. Rarely do the beat-ins lead to criminal prosecutions,
but recently there was a very violent beat-in involving one of the gangs. Several members were
39
arrested due to the severity of the injuries. In addition, in the summer of 1999, there was a major
fight between two local gangs that involved the use of metal pipes, sticks, and a crowbar. Hospital
staff members vary in their estimates of youth violence injuries, but on average believe that they
treat approximately six patients per month who are victims of youth violence, such as stabbings,
beatings, or fist fights.
Although guns are not often used, many gang members possess weapons. Last year, police
estimated that there were four to five drive-by shootings in the Appleton metro area, although no
one was injured in these incidents. A recent trend in gang activity has been the use of “smash and
dash” methods to obtain guns. Two incidents occurred in 1999 in which Appleton area gang
members broke into sporting goods stores and stole large numbers of semi-automatic weapons.
While in both cases arrests were made, many of the guns were not recovered.
On the surface, it would be easy to classify the youth involved as merely “wannabes.”
However, the rise of violent incidents involving gangs suggests that they should be taken seriously in
Appleton. “Wannabe” gangs are often the most violent because they feel a need to prove their
worth.
Unlike their counterparts in urban areas, the teens in Appleton do not join gangs for
protection. Many, particularly the racial minorities, join gangs for a sense of belonging in a
community where they may not feel they belong. Gangs offer a sense of familiarity, security, and
comfort, as well as the stability that some teens lack. Many come from troubled homes, some are
described as at-risk youth, and others are struggling between cultures. Gang membership often
provides the structure and feeling of acceptance that most teens desire.
Wake-up Call: The Shots Heard Around the Fox Vallely
Gangs, although disorganized, were first noticed in the Appleton area in the early 1990s. It
was not until several years later, however, that the residents of the area began to acknowledge the
presence of gangs in their community.
The events that occurred in May 1995 shattered the image that many area residents had
painted of their community. Within a few days, four local teens were found dead as the result of
gang violence. Members of the D-Mac Crew, a small local gang murdered a teen that apparently had
mocked their gang and taken financial advantage of them through drug sales. The events that
followed are somewhat unclear. Three members of the D-Mac crew may have entered a suicide pact
out of fear of murder charges. Early one morning, the teens were found shot to death at Plamann
Park in Appleton. The chronicle of events has been disputed, but this theory holds the most
credibility with law enforcement officials. Although the gang’s leader, who is believed to have
ordered the killing, and another member of the D-Mac crew who was involved in the murder have
been imprisoned, many questions remain.
The deaths shocked the community. It was nearly impossible for residents to consider four
violent deaths, much less a gang presence in the small city. Gangs were problems of large, urban
areas, not a town like Appleton. With no real experience or exposure in dealing with gangs, many
residents and officials denied the existence of gangs and treated the deaths as an isolated incident.
Traditionally, any violence that could be considered gang-related was blamed on outsiders. This
time, though, the perpetrators were all Appleton residents. Fortunately, there was acknowledgment
of the problem by both the schools and the police department. The city has grown to become a
proactive municipality in its fight against gangs.
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Community Responses and Resources
The Appleton community has a multi-faceted approach to gang prevention, intervention,
and suppression. Community resources include the public schools, the Appleton Police Department
and the Hmong American Partnership.
Schools
The Appleton public schools experience problems that many other communities are facing.
Students’ families are not always supportive of schooling, so students may not receive adequate
support at home. Some parents are struggling with addiction; other parents work nights and rarely
see their children. There are also parents who are new to this country, and some cannot
communicate well with the schools. Other parents hold multiple jobs and have no time for teacher
conferences.
High school students talk of frequent fights. No one denies that gangs are present, as are
drugs and weapons, such as knives. A few students are on probation or in school on Huber
privileges. These problems, however, are hardly unique to Appleton, but the Appleton Public
Schools have taken a number of steps to reduce the level of youth violence in the schools.
While the Plamann Park incident served as a wake-up call to many about the realities of
youth and gang violence in Appleton, the public schools had many prevention and intervention
programs already in place. Appleton West’s Associate Principal Ron Schreier points to his strict
attendance policy as a tool to curb both truancy and the problems associated with it, such as juvenile
crime and academic failure. This policy, in place for fourteen years, involves careful monitoring of
student attendance, and truants receive 6:30 a.m. detention. Students and school personnel alike
view the attendance policy as a positive force in the school, conveying to students and parents that
the school cares where students are throughout the school day. One student in his first year at West
recalled that because his old school had not punished him for his truancy, he had skipped much of
his freshman year. At Appleton West he was caught skipping class the first week of school, he said,
and so had not done it since. He felt that the policy showed the school cared more about its
students than his former school had.
The attendance policy at Appleton West reflects the school’s overarching belief that
knowing the whereabouts, home life, and personal history of each student can prevent problems.
The school’s staff makes it a priority to understand why a student is having trouble in school. The
main result of this is extensive contact with parents. Parents must call if their child is absent, and
must talk to the school secretary, not just leave a message on an answering machine. Furthermore, a
student with discipline problems must call to inform his or her parent of the problem. If the
problem occurred in class, the teacher also will call the parent and discuss the incident. Appleton
West also keeps in close contact with the Outagamie Youth and Family Services social workers, as
well as the courts and police.
Guidance counselors and other support staff, such as social workers and school
psychologists, help students at all grade levels in the Appleton Public Schools who are having
problems at school or at home. Counselors at East High pointed to the district’s use of elementary
school guidance counselors as aiding in expanding the role of the counselor. Students become
familiar with the office, and view the guidance staff as individuals who can help them through a
variety of problems. Many students feel they can trust the counselors, and will speak with them
about family issues, or inform them when a friend may be suicidal.
The district put together a “Safe Schools” policy, authored by school personnel and parents.
Though rough drafts were already being written early last year, the policy took on a sense of
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immediacy in the wake of the Columbine High School shootings in April 1999. The brief policy,
which was mailed to all the residents of the district, focuses on preventing violent incidents in
schools through a concerted effort to improve the sense of community in the schools. The mass
mailing further outlined steps that could be taken by parents, students, school personnel, and
community members to prevent violence in schools. This emphasis on prevention is uncommon in
school safety policies—most focus on crisis procedures and penalties for offenders. Ron Schreier
and others on the committee felt that prevention was the key to safe schools as an obvious means of
avoiding crises.
One means of prevention in place at several schools is a homeroom period or other time for
students to discuss personal and emotional issues. At Appleton West, homeroom is a time to
encourage class bonding, community building, and leadership training. Each month, homerooms
take on a challenge, such as raising money for a charity group. Students take turns leading the
projects. According to Ron Schreier, “Kids are much less likely to violate if they feel connected.”
Einstein Middle School has recently instituted “Eagle Time”—a half-hour each week for students to
meet in groups with staff and discuss issues affecting them in and out of school. Sometimes this
period is dedicated to whole school assemblies on special topics, such as a recent performance by a
Hmong-American on cultural understanding and the difficulties of growing up Hmong in America.
More often, topics are assigned by staff for discussion in the groups. One week, for example, the
topic was peer pressure. While some teachers at the school feel that Eagle Time is time that would
be better spent on core subjects, others point to incidents such as the Columbine shootings as
evidence that schools must work to get to know students and to make them feel connected to their
school and peers.
Police
The police have a number of programs that work with different groups within the
community. The programs allow them to be proactive in deterring criminal activity. In addition they
are able to form trusting, positive relationships with the communities.
Police School Liaisons
While Appleton West’s attendance policy is unique to that school, other prevention and
intervention programs are present in all of the schools. The Appleton Police Department (APD) has
a very organized unit of police and school liaisons. Currently there is a liaison assigned to each
middle and high school in the district. This past year, a pilot program was created in the elementary
schools. The program was considered so successful that every school in the Appleton school district
will have a liaison in the 2000-2001 school year.
The program has been beneficial because it allows the schools to concentrate on teaching,
while the liaison can take care of the more serious disciplinary problems or illegal activity within the
school. The liaison deals chiefly with at-risk students, such as truants, runaways, and juveniles on
probation. Furthermore, all police school liaisons are trained as “sensitive crimes investigators”
qualified to investigate crimes such as child abuse and sexual assault. When necessary, they may stop
violent incidents and/or make arrests.
Although the duties of police school liaisons are diverse, they do not like to get involved in
enforcing minor school rules (such as no running in the halls or no swearing). Day-to-day duties
often involve monitoring students both before and after school and during lunch. The prevailing
view is that the presence of a police officer helps keep the school environment safe and minimizes
fights between students. By being in the school during the day (armed but in plain clothes), the
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officer has an opportunity to hear about potential fights or problems from students and staff and
may be able to intervene and prevent conflict.
One of the greatest benefits of the liaison program is the opportunity it provides students
and officers to get to know one another and build trusting relationships. Because the liaisons are
accessible to students during the day, they can often be found engaging in conversation with
students. One officer enjoys playing checkers with students during lunch, for example, which helps
foster a positive relationship. A liaison can serve as a friend, a mentor, or as an adult role model to
at-risk students.
The structure of the liaison program gives the liaisons from the grade schools through the
high schools an opportunity to work together. They share information with each other about
problems with individuals or between groups of students. By being informed, the liaisons are able to
help prevent conflict.
The program also helps the police department do its job when school is not in session. Many
of the liaisons monitor the downtown during the summer months, and because they are already
familiar with the students and youth activity, they can foresee problems in the community. For
example, they know which groups or gangs at the schools get along and which do not. Because of
their history of working with many of these youth in schools, they are familiar with existing conflicts
between groups.
This program is not designed to monitor or single out specific kids. Rather, it is a program
that has been developed to insure the safety of all students and staff within a school, as well as
intervene with at-risk students as early as possible. The liaisons can often be seen mentoring and
forming important relationships with a variety of students, which benefits everyone.
Community Intervention Team
The Community Intervention Team (CIT) is a unit within the Appleton Police Department
that gathers information on gang activity in the Fox Valley. It then provides this information to
other officers with the aim of anticipating and preventing future criminal conduct. They also
respond to incidents that appear to be gang related. Thus, the two-officer team tries to prevent as
well as react to gang activity.
The CIT’s duty is to provide other units, like Narcotics, with information in order to help
their investigation of criminal conduct. They can gather intelligence through any legal means, which
may involve interviewing and speaking informally with known gang members and their associates. In
addition, it may also mean CIT and other officers sharing personal observations. Officers monitor
areas where gang members congregate. Police can obtain an immense amount of information
through informal, nonconfrontational contacts on the street. Doing so allows them to establish a
limited, but necessary, connection with some individuals.
The CIT documents and analyzes gang graffiti because they believe graffiti is one of the first
signs of new gang activity in an area. Few people understand graffiti, but the CIT unit specializes in
familiarizing itself with the complex drawings in order to monitor gang activity.
CIT officers also work closely with other agencies or groups, including the courts. They
serve as expert witnesses in court on gang activity and help prepare presentence documents or assist
other agencies in gang investigations. In addition, they often work with the probation and parole
department regarding placement and conditions of release of individuals returning to the
community, and they also help monitor released individuals. The CIT is also involved in educating
the public on gang awareness.
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The Hmong-American Partnership
Hmong refugees began coming to the United States in the late 1970s, but most did not
arrive until the early to mid-1980s. The Hmong-American Partnership has been helping Hmong
refugees in Outagamie County and neighboring communities for almost three decades. It offers a
number of services such as career planning, legal assistance, parenting classes, and other support to
youth and families. Referrals come from parents, schools, law enforcement officials, and social
service agencies. The association receives money from the federal government to assist refugees, but
once both parents are American citizens, the Partnership can no longer offer them services.
Obtaining citizenship, however, does not mean that they have fully adapted to American culture.
Keeping Education among Youth for Success (KEYS) is a federally funded program that is
aimed specifically at helping Southeast Asian youth refugees and their families. The goal is to
promote academic achievement through collaboration on the part of students, families, the KEYS
program, and other community services. Hmong youth feel stranded between Hmong and American
cultures, which often creates a number of problems for them in school both academically and
socially. The KEYS program offers tutoring and other educational workshops to help them with
their schoolwork. KEYS also develops motivational and prevention activities for Hmong youth to
foster greater self-respect and understanding among and between family members and other
members of the community.
The generation gap between Hmong parents and youth often creates problems when
families are adapting to American culture. Families who may be experiencing tension in raising
children in two different cultures can get counseling through the KEYS program. The parenting
program offered through KEYS helps parents learn about American culture and its differences from
their own. Counselors also help parents and children incorporate positive aspects of both cultures. A
critical role of the counselor is to help parents and children understand and accept differences in
cultural norms.
The traditional Hmong parenting style is quite different from that of mainstream Americans.
For example, Hmong parents do not show a lot of outward emotion. They believe that youth will
automatically respect their elders and assume kids will behave without discipline. Many parents work
multiple jobs and have little time to talk to their kids and spend time with them. According to
Xiong, Hmong parents need to continue to foster bonds with their children and get involved with
them and their school.
Looking Ahead
Appleton has not eliminated gangs, yet the efforts of the community have not been fruitless.
As was noted, the police school liaisons have been so successful that, by next year, each school will
have an officer filling that role. The officers who do this work provide a vital link between students
and the police department. While making schools safer for everyone, the liaisons provide guidance
to students who may be headed down the wrong path. Positive relationships with these students are
critical as a preventive measure for their safety as well as that of the community.
The Community Intervention Team has changed the way that the community approaches
gang activity. While CIT efforts often can be characterized as gang suppression, they also offer
intervention and prevention services. These officers investigate suspected gang activity, questionable
incidents, and talk to potential gang members. They coordinate efforts with other agencies in the
area to assure the most accurate information. In addition to investigating potential gang activity, CIT
also maintains a database of convicted, known, and suspected gang members in the area.
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Our discussion does not include all programs and services offered to prevent, intervene, or
suppress gang activity and youth violence in Appleton. We have, however, highlighted some of the
key players. While the efforts of this community are to be commended, they are not immune to the
challenges of suppressing and preventing gang activity and youth violence. Violent crime has
increased 47 percent in the last year in Appleton, and there has been a large increase in gang related
violence. With such a comprehensive approach to resolving gangs and youth violence, why is this
happening?
The reasons youth join gangs are complex. Many come from troubled homes or abusive
relationships, find substance abuse common among people they know, and have a significant
number of unmet needs. No single solution can solve these many problems. The experience of
Hmong teens in Appleton, however, is unique. Hmong youth who join gangs often come from
stable, two-parent homes. Their struggle comes in large part from living in two very different
cultures and trying to reconcile those differences. Gangs provide a sense of acceptance and
understanding since most members are experiencing similar difficulties.
Many of Appleton’s residents suffer from a lack of information about Hmong culture. This
lack of information results in inadequate resources, which are necessary to meet the needs of the
Hmong community. Educating the community about Hmong culture may not only break down the
barriers that exist, it may also make services more accessible to the Hmong. If the community can
assist Hmong teens with this transition, much of Appleton’s gang activity can be eliminated. The
Appleton Police Department has created a community liaison position to aid in the education. This
liaison functions as an intermediary for the police department and the Hmong, Latino, and AfricanAmerican residents. The community liaison is an integral link to eliminating cultural barriers
between these populations.
A comprehensive approach is the only way to successfully combat gangs and youth violence
in a community. Appleton is building the foundation for that approach. By keeping all parties
involved and informed, the community is working toward eliminating youth violence and gangs
from the area.
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