Tagged: gangs

A proposal to fight gangs in King County is coming under fire from civil liberties groups. Among other things, a proposed county ordinance would make it illegal to coerce someone into joining a gang.

King County Council members says they want to make the county unfriendly to gangs, but there isn't agreement on how to do that.

Tacoma city officials knew they had a gang problem, and a survey published this week has brought out new worries.

The survey, called The Tacoma Gang Project, found 651 active gang members and associates within the city. The survey also uncovered that gang recruitment happens as early as middle school. North of Tacoma, King County reports 10,000 gang members within 140 active criminal street gangs and an increase of 165 percent in gang related crimes.

“There is lots of gang activity up and down the I-5 corridor,” said King County Councilman Reagan Dunn.

Kids start joining gangs in middle school, according to a year long assessment of gang activity in Tacoma. The  gang assessment report was presented to the Tacoma City Council on Tuesday.

Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist has charged eleven people with gang-related crimes. The defendants are all alleged to be members or associates of the Tillicum Park Gangsters, also known as the TPG. The Lakewood Police Department says the TPG is a criminal street gang associated with the Tillicum neighborhood of Lakewood.