By Joelyn Hansen
Idaho Falls Post Register
BLACKFOOT, Idaho — We’ve all seen the graffiti.
It pops up overnight on trains, buildings, park benches - just about everywhere.
It’s not just an eyesore, it’s also a sign that gangs have infiltrated eastern Idaho.
Blackfoot police have identified eight gangs in the city, though officers suspect there are more. A fatal stabbing in May was aggravated by gang affiliations, they say.
And Idaho Falls police are aware of their presence, too.
Gangs are not new to the Gem State. They’ve been a menace for years, particularly in the Nampa-Caldwell area of Canyon County.
A study the Idaho Department of Correction conducted two years ago indicated that gang members are responsible for the overwhelming majority of the violence in the state’s prisons. State officials said then that there were more than 730 gang members in the state.
This year, the Nampa Police Department received a $37,700 grant to suppress gang activity, the state Gang Intervention Through Targeted Outreach Program got a $150,000 grant, and the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office landed a $13,000 grant to combat gangs.
It’s unclear how many gang members are roaming eastern Idaho, but law enforcement is on the lookout here, too.
In Blackfoot, the police department has taken a more proactive approach to locking up or driving out gang members since 1997, when Chief R. David Moore took the reins. Officers today are focused on identifying and investigating suspected gang activity, Blackfoot Police Detective Paul Hardwicke said. The approach has made a difference, he said.
Ten years ago, Hardwicke said, gangs were much more prevalent in the city.
""There was daytime Blackfoot, when everyone was friendly and went about their business,"" Hardwicke said. ""Nighttime Blackfoot was an out-of-control mess.""
As the department’s gang intelligence officer, Hardwicke is charged with documenting any group or individual identified as a gang member. The documentation then goes into a database that’s accessible to officers as they respond to calls and to prosecutors considering criminal charges.
To assist Hardwicke with information gathering, jail officials issue a gang classification form to individuals at the time of booking to determine any affiliation to gangs or gang members. This includes photographing any tattoos, clothing or gang signs.
The information can be used in prosecuting by adding enhancements to criminal charges, which could lead to harsher punishment.
""It’s a value in those cases where those findings can be shown,"" Bonneville County Prosecutor Dane H. Watkins Jr. said.
Watkins has not used any of those enhancements, but he said Canyon County prosecutors have aggressively employed them in prosecuting gang cases.
The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office and the Idaho Falls Police Department have taken steps to combat the problem of gangs in the community, however.
Officers have stockpiled information on several gangs in the county and Idaho Falls, Bonneville Sheriff’s Sgt. Doug Metcalf said. That’s one of the lessons that law enforcement members in eastern Idaho have learned from their counterparts elsewhere, said Idaho Falls Police Sgt. Bill Squires, and it’s helped to limit gang activity.
""We haven’t gotten bad enough that a certain gang dominates a certain part of town,"" Squires said. ""We’ve learned lessons.""
Another step that’s proved successful in tamping down gang activity is a city ordinance in Idaho Falls and Blackfoot calling for the prompt removal of graffiti. Such ordinances help, Hardwicke said, because gangs are less likely to retag an area or add more graffiti.
""Our main goal is to get rid of it,"" he said. ""We’re willing to take the time and the money to get rid of it.""
Officers also try to educate the public, Metcalf said.
If the public ignores crimes like vandalism, officers have a harder time squelching brewing problems, he said.
""It’s a fine line of educating the public and not glorifying the gangs,"" Metcalf said.
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