Report details role of schools in Durham gang activity

A new report issued on behalf of the city of Durham and Durham County shows one in three high school students say there is gang activity in their public school.

Wake Forest-based Michelle Young Consulting released a 257-page report earlier this month suggests that while school may be an entry point to gangs, schools can also be part of the solution.

The 2021 Durham County Gang Assessment found:

• 19% of middle school students in Durham reported gang activity in their school in 2019
• 34% of high school students in Durham reported gang activity in their school in 2019

Durham County Gang Reduction Strategy Manager Jim Stuit said it’s taken about 18 months to complete the report.

“Gang activity might manifest itself in several ways in the school setting,” Stuit said. “That could be just disruptive behavior, fights, some kind of intimidation, contraband that’s in the schools.”

Two-thirds of the gang members interviewed for the report did not have a high school diploma or GED.

“We’re finding out that if youth graduate from high school and find a job, they are far, far less likely to be involved in a gang,” Stuit said.

The report discusses how kids’ exposure at their schools is one entry point to gangs.

“Gang involved individuals in Durham have difficulty exiting gangs because of high rates of school dropout, unemployment/underemployment, substance use, gang activity in the neighborhood, and a need to replace the social and emotional needs currently met by their gang,” the report found.

In 2019, Durham’s rate of homicides, robberies and violent offenses overall were the second highest of the six largest cities in North Carolina, the report states. At the census tract level, the rate of homicides and aggravated assaults per capita is significantly higher.

Youth in Durham also have higher risk exposure to crime compared to other parts of the state, including exposure to gangs in school, according to the report.

The report offers recommendations for reducing the gang population in the county. It includes bringing prevention services to neighborhoods with the with the highest levels of violence.

Stuit said they are already working with the school system to address the issue.

“Our schools are a part of our Durham community, and reflective of, what happens in the community, happens in our schools,” said Bettina Umstead, chair of the DPS Board of Education. “That’s why we have to work collaboratively together, to make sure we’re addressing the challenges young people face.”

Durham Public Schools is already planning to take steps to address the issue:

• They have a new process to more quickly spot poor attendance patterns
• DPS has hired six student success coaches to work with high schoolers showing signs of disconnecting from school
• Counselors and social workers are working together to make sure needs are met

The city and county also had gang assessments done in 2006 and 2013.