Other interesting stuff ...
Among other subjects we discussed in Wednesday's meeting:
Gangs and police
I'm putting the finishing touches on another gang editorial, this one on efforts to create an anti-gang unit in the Greensboro Police Department, which currently devotes one (that's not a typo) officer full-time to monitoring gang activity.
We agree that's not enough. We are not so sure the city can find the resources without adding officers. We also believe the emphasis needs to remain mostly on prevention; that's where other cities have gotten the most bang for their bucks in successfully addressing the gang problem.
Military families and abuse
Ken Irons is working on a piece about the prevalence of child abuse among military families and the need for more support services for these families. As we see it, our soldiers are suffering from the unseen tolls of warfare beyond physical injuries -- problems such as post-traumatic stress syndrome, spousal abuse and child abuse.
Those issues need to be dealt with, not suppressed or ignored.
Comments (2)
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Both are great topics. Gang prevention has worked in a lot of cities and will work in Greensboro as well. Greensboro does have a gang problem but it is not a problem that can not be fixed. It needs to be addressed now before it reaches epidemic proportions. The main thing with gangs is that it gives a family to kids who ultimately do not have one. (I say "kids" because people tend to forget that these are kids, not "bangers", "hoods", or "gangstas" but kids)Most are from single family homes were either mother or father is working all day and part of the night to take care of the household. This leaves the child vulnerable to the gang element that replaces the child's own family. Prevention is the answer to this waste of a childhood. Anyone who thinks that tougher laws and more harsh jail sentences is the answer is fooling themselves. It has not seemed to work yet.
Posted on August 2, 2007 11:07 AM
Thanks for the helpful input, Gatsby. One of the big challenges here, of course, is getting support from the schools. Many gang-prevention programs are school-based.
Posted on August 2, 2007 11:25 AM