Gangs not a major problem in Cache Valley, LCPD says

By Jen Pulham

April 29, 2005 | Cache Valley has heard its fair share of buzz about gangs and gang-related activity lately, but Sgt. Pat Wolcott of the Logan City Police Department says our gangs are mostly homogenized, meaning they're blended.

"Bloods will play basketball with Crips. Blue guys will wear red an hour later. They all hang together. They all do stuff together. They're a homogenized group," he said.

One place they "do stuff" is the Cache Valley Fun Park in North Logan. Tiffany Tryon, manager of the Fun Park, says gang-related problems are a regular occurrence. "I would say we have gang-related fights once a month, but we see [members] weekly."

Tryon says it's easy to tell something is about to happen. "You can always tell something's going to happen because there's a bunch of [people] leave at once. It's kind of like a mass exodus."

Sergeant John Italasano of the North Park Police Department said they hear regularly from the Fun Park. "We get complaints probably twice a week. It seems like the Fun Park has a request that we do a walk through [on Friday and Saturday], just to know there's a presence," he said.

Tryon is not too concerned with future problems, but she emphasized the importance of being prepared for anything. "We're anticipating something so we can prevent it before it happens, not saying that something's going to happen, we just want to be prepared if it does," she said.

Italasano was a little more concerned. "With this recent shooting we're kind of watching and being a little more proactive, watching for retaliation."

Wolcott was unable to comment on the Easter shooting, but he did say the LCPD was not anticipating anything. "Everyone who would be retaliated against has left the valley. They're gone," he said.

Wolcott, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, Calif., explained that a good community can make any gang problem non-threatening.

"We treat them like every other member of the community," he said. "We make gangs as a group very undesirable. They die on the vine. The community will win every time."

Wolcott explained that while we don't have gangs in Cache Valley, we do have gang members. "Do we have gang members in Cache Valley? Yes, we do. The kids are already in a 'gang.' There is a desire. He has the gang name. He has the clothing. But do we have strong leadership in Cache Valley? No," he said.

He said that for gang a member, saying you're in a gang has become more of a title than an actual role. "It becomes almost a desire or a status symbol to say you're in a gang. We have situations here that really aren't gang-related. When it comes right down to it, it's individuals," he said.

Gang members in Cache Valley know all the right names and wear all the right clothing, but lack any kind of structure. Wolcott said, "There is no core sense of purpose -- of goals -- of reason to be. It's a status title."

According to Wolcott, what we call "gang-related" problems have been around for quite a while. "Right now it's Hispanic gangs," he said. "22 years ago it was motorcycle gangs: The Brother Speeds."

Wolcott said The Brother Speeds left because the community was too strong and we didn't allow the gang to impact our lives. "There's no reason to be in a gang here. We have good neighborhoods; we have a good lifestyle. That is the nucleus that kills a gang: a sense of community, a sense of caring for on another," he said. "I believe eventually that will be the exact same thing that happens here with the Latino gangs."

Wolcott described the San Fernando Valley as a war zone, but Cache Valley as a good community that is not impacted by gangs. "We stand on the wall and we will not allow anyone to come through the wall who would do us harm."

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