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4:19 a.m. • 2-11-12

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Small Towns Getting Big-City Gangs


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Gang Graffiti
Gang Graffiti

Downtown Roxboro looks like it was lifted right off a postcard, with old storefronts lined with American flags, but amid that small-town charm, gang issues are on the rise.

"It's place you want to bring your family to settle down," resident Paul Owens said.

Among those new residents, however, are gang members, police say. Roxboro old-timers said they, too, have noticed the trend.

"We get a lot of traffic from Durham this way now," resident Ricky Chandler said. "Since (U.S. Highway) 501 is wide open, it's a wide shot here."

Last year, the Roxboro Police Department added a part-time officer to deal exclusively with gang issues. The officer, who wished to remain anonymous, said he believes there are 30 documented gang members in Roxboro.

"We'll see guys with the colors, the tattoos or the burns," he said.

The officer said he believes that Roxboro holds appeal for gang members living in larger cities, such as Durham and Raleigh.

"When they come to a small town like Roxboro, they're able to have more so-called rank here," he said.

Police track areas where gang members live and have documented a growing graffiti problem. Gangs are behind an increasing drug trade, officers said.

"I think we've all realized there's an issue here," Roxboro Police Chief Jeff Insley said, adding that Roxboro needs to act quickly to deal with the issue. He has been pushing for the department to add a full-time gang officer and to conduct more gang-awareness training.

"A lot of folks move here because we maintain the small town image," Insley said. "You'd like to see it stay. You don't want a lot of change, but some's going to come."

The county's Juvenile Crime Prevention Council plans to hold a gang-awareness training session at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the Human Services Building, 355-B S. Madison Blvd. The meeting will be open to the public.

RELATED TOPICS: Durham, Raleigh, Madison County

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"Maybe small towns like Roxoboro should invest in opening up centers and things of that nature to lure young adults in rather than them being lured in by gangs"

Although it sounds nice and sweet, I have to problems with your theory:

1. For the small town kid who is vulnerable and just acting like a wannabe, this might be an okay solution. The big issue here is that the REAL gang members could care less about this. As a matter of fact, those same REAL gang members might very well come to your community center and rob, assault and kill the kids who attend.

2. These REAL gangs travel to different places when they feel heat in another. A community center isn't going to bring the heat. Prison time (real prison time), REAL police work and death with bring the heat.

Yep, The kids are always in gangs because we don't provide constant relaxation and constructive things for them to do. Since when is it the responsibility of society to provide constructive things to do. Kids should be raised to behave in better ways...oh wait, the parents don't do this because most of these kids are nothing more than a monthly check to the egg or sperm donors.

remove illegals = no gangs

Why don't the parents just keep their child(ren) at home?? Keep their kids in school, and church? Make them relize that when they go out to a movie, or skating, etc., it's a privilege. I'm sure the child will appreciate it more. Learn how to do home chores. Just prepare them for adulthood! Parents already buy their child(ren) computers, etc. to keep them in the saftey in their on home. Come on parents, don't let your kids run wild!!

D. Young people should be REQUIRED to have one of two jobs as preparation of becoming a productive and responsible member of society: 1) attend school through high-school and get good grades, or 2) join the military to grow up and learn responsibility. No one would have time for gangs! It's also time to pull the plug on junk TV (VH1, MTV) that continually works to sell our kids the concept that the bottom dwelling members of our society are the cool folks. They become what society allows them to be taught.

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