With gang activity on the rise, LCC hosts prevention symposium
EUGENE, Ore. -- With reported gang activity on the rise in Lane County about 250 people gathered at Lane Community College on Saturday for a gang prevention symposium.
Organizers said that the symposium was aimed at bringing the community together to combat the increased gang activity.
The gang prevention panel featured a number of speakers included teachers, law enforcement, parents and academics.
Panel members laid out the extent of the gang activity, prevention efforts and possible intervention tactics to interested community members.
Sandy Shaffer one of the organizers of the event made it clear that gangs in Lane County don't fit the stereotypes seen in movies.
“There are kids from affluent families as well as disadvantaged families. There are kids who are well-educated … there are young adults … really a broad cross section of folks that are being lured into gang activity,” said Shaffer.
Shaffer said that many people aren’t aware that there is a gang problem in Lane County. She planned another symposium in April to further inform the public about gang activity.
Gang gangs up on gangs....great.
A symposium was certainly the first thing that I thought of when wondering how to prevent gang violence. Nothing prevents crime like a lot of mental masturbating. An increased police presence, stiffer penalties, and community sponsored youth activities would be a good start. Of course that all takes money, which the fine citizens of Lane County are clearly not willing to cough up. I know the economy is in the toilet and money is tight, but if every taxpayer in the county started parting with an extra tax dollar a month, at least a couple of million dollars could be raised every year to pay for the items listed above. Lane County taxpayers simply need to decide which is more important--their safety or their savings account.
@mackenzie0158 An extra dollar a month would do nothing more than shore up PERS, none of that dollar would go to an actual officer on the street. Until there is reform and public unions are brought in line with the private sector there is no reason to expect more money. Do you or would you like to pay for something you could only dream of getting in the private sector?
Few thing waste as much time of so many as a SYMPOSIUM.
I'm thinking the only answer is to assemble some of my own neighbors to protect our own neighborhoods. Of course we will have to show some sense of fashion (?) to distinguish ourselves from other homies...our underpanties showing, baggy pants, too big of shoes, head scarves, flannel shirts with the top button only, tshirts knotted in the back.
Wait...what???
What if I just SELL those items? HELLLLLOOOO prosperiety =)
@flor3nc3: I like this idea. I could make more money than SS. Business could explode and we could sell franchise's.
What these young people need is to be busy, have a job and some sense of self worth. Busy young people don't have time to do all this other garbage. Our legislators in all their wisdom decided that kids were taken advantage of so passed laws and regulations that disallowed them to work without permits, in fields, etc. etc. So what did they create, idle kids with nothing to do except expend all their energy doing undesirable things. Wake up folks, counseling and laws are not the answer now nor will they ever be.
Your seminars are worthless..we need law enforcement and punishment, not 'talk'..Lane County is Lame.
Well first you need a jail to lock them up in.
We don't need prevention symposium's, We need patrol officers to put them in jail and keep them their.
More give us money police state propoganda.