By Amelia A. Pridemore
Register-Herald Reporter
BECKLEY — Two Raleigh County law enforcement leaders have high praise for pending anti-gang legislation at the state Capitol, even though they noted any local gang activity is not as prevalent as it is elsewhere.
Delegate Tiffany Lawrence, D-Jefferson, has been pushing anti-gang legislation that has already cleared the House and the Senate Finance Committee. The bill makes it a criminal offense to recruit members for a gang, and a fourth offense would be a felony. The bill also seeks to punish gang members for hazing and destruction of property.
Lawrence has said gang activity has significantly grown in her Eastern Panhandle region, but has also been evident in Beckley, Charleston and Huntington.
Beckley Police Chief Tim Deems said he supports the legislation, along with other members of the West Virginia Chiefs of Police Association. However, he does not believe Beckley has the gang problems other areas have seen.
In the city, police namely deal with teenagers in loosely organized groups that may consider themselves gang members, Deems said. But because there is a potential for problems to arise, the legislation could stop it.
“Locally, we don’t have any closely knit organizations,” he said. “They’re typically loosely knit, disorganized groups. There certainly is potential to become a problem, but this could help curtail that.”
Deems said the legislation namely requires three elements for any organization to be considered a gang — a group of three or more, a name or symbol for that group and criminal actions such as violent crime or drug trafficking.
Raleigh County Sheriff Steve Tanner said gangs have become a “real problem” in the Eastern Panhandle because of its proximity to Washington. He does not believe any local activity has reached that region’s magnitude. But if it were to spread, it would reach cities like Beckley, Charleston and Huntington first because of better interstate access.
Nevertheless, he voiced his full support for the “proactive” legislation because it would give law enforcement a greater ability to combat gang activity if it does increase.
“Having the tools to address this early on will be a wonderful thing,” he said.
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Beckley Councilman Lee Leftwich is a member of the State Advisory Group for Juvenile Correction and Prevention He is also a substitute teacher at Beckley-Stratton Middle School.
Leftwich said he has seen no hard evidence of organized gang activity in Beckley.
Beckley has some cliques of young people who simply hang out and may engage in some mischief, Leftwich said. These groups are nothing like those in larger cities that outright terrorize others and commit serious, violent crimes.
In the past, young people have moved into Beckley from larger cities and tried to bring the gang activity with them. That never took hold. About four years ago, some young people spray-painted symbols from nationally known gangs and strung tennis shoes across power lines. He suspects the ones responsible simply tried to mimic something they saw on TV.
He said he has even asked students himself when other teachers expressed concern.
“They said, ‘Mr. Leftwich, we just hang out,’” he said.
— E-mail: apridemore@register-herald.com
