It appears the Flathead Valley thinks it's better safe than sorry.
On March 13, officer Guy Baker of the Missoula Police Department will travel to Kalispell to make presentations to law enforcement officials, educators and a parent group on "identifying, understanding and intervention of gang affiliates." The program is one step the valley is taking to prevent potential gang problems in the area.
"I think (gangs) are on a lot of people's minds," said Alison Schmaltz, president of Phi Delta Kappa, the presentation's sponsor.
In 1991, when Missoula started noticing a gang mentality, such as gang-affiliated logos and graffiti, local law enforcement took the issue seriously. By April of 1995, the effort had expanded into the Gang Investigative Unit, and the group has made more than 50 presentations on youth gangs and violence around western Montana in the last few years.
Baker, a member of the Northwest Gang Investigators Association, will be "educating awareness about gangs and gang affiliates" to parents during FHS's Brown Bag Lunch, and educators may attend the seminar on the second floor of FHS library from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m..
A presentation also will be made to local law enforcement "so everyone is using the same criteria and strategies" when dealing with the issue of gangs, said Baker.
Although it does not currently have a gang problem, Kalispell has taken prevention strategies by educating officers in the area on youth gangs.
Even if there are no current problems with gangs in Kalispell, that doesn't mean there is not the potential.
"We have been scouted by large gangs from other areas," said Sgt. Chris Christenson, Kalispell's trained gang officer, citing three visits from the Banditos, a motorcycle gang from Washington, and by a group of Crips who traveled briefly through the area in the last few years.
Christenson is "surprised the Crips haven't moved in yet," considering Kalispell has the biggest high school in the state. The valley is especially suseptable to the Crip's large drug-market because there is a large, centrally located population. In additon, with the exception of two active gangs in the early and mid-'80s called The Family and the Buckhorn Boys, law enforcement hasn't had a lot of experience with gangs.
"We're not used to doing business that way," said Christenson, "and a lot of times larger gangs can get in to an area while police are getting organized."
And that's where prevention becomes essential.
With a trained local gang-officer and an organized and unified anti-gang strategy throughout the state, law enforcement can begin battling gangs before they emerge.
"School and parents need to be active and alert to the problem," said Christenson. "If we ever have gangs here we need to land on them hard."
Said Christenson: "We won't tolerate it."