Sheriff's Office to revive gang unit

Some cab drivers in King County have cameras in their cars, recording the faces of people they pick up. But many say that doesn't provide a sense of security -- not after a colleague's body was found inside his torched cab in July.

Neighbors near the White Center home where a father of four was shot to death Friday believe that that crime might have been prevented if they still had Steve Cox, a respected King County sheriff's deputy who was killed in that same neighborhood last December.

The man charged with killing the cab driver is a self-professed gang member, and police said Cox's killer had a forearm tattoo bearing a sign of a gang.

Their deaths were front-page hallmarks of King County's increasing gang problem.

"And there are so many (crimes) that don't make the news," Sheriff's Office spokesman John Urquhart said. "Drive-by shootings, homicides, intimidation and harassment -- any crime you can think of has roots in gang crime."

Sheriff's Office statistics show that there were 528 gang-related episodes in 2006 -- an increase of 165 percent from the previous year.

In response, the King County Council called for nearly $408,000 in next year's budget to help the Sheriff's Office re-establish a gang-suppression unit, with two detectives and a sergeant. County Executive Ron Sims' budget allocates the money, hoping to reverse rising gang activity with an emphasis in White Center and Burien.

Those jobs are part of 30 new Sheriff's Office positions supported by a $3.7 million budget allocation, which also continues funding for seven sergeants added in 2007.

Sheriff Sue Rahr, who once headed the office's previous gang unit, proposed the re-formation after Cox's mother, JoAn, presented a petition with 5,500 signatures calling for it.

"The gang unit was cut years ago because of a budget shortfall, but it didn't take away the fact that we still need it," said Councilwoman Kathy Lambert. "In the ensuing years, it's gotten to the point that gang members are killing police officers."

The sheriff operated a 10-member gang unit in the 1990s that led to the arrest of prominent gang leaders. But the unit was disbanded in 1996 after several gang leaders were sent to prison and budgetary pressures on the Sheriff's Office increased. Now, police say, many have been released or are nearing the end of their sentences.

"Some of them continued to maintain their connections," said Lt. Ron Wilson, the supervisor of the Seattle Police Department's gang unit. "Some of them are picking up where they left off before."

King County officials say gang activity has increased an average of 5 percent each year from 2001 to 2006. Seattle also saw a rise in gang activity in 2006, when the gang unit handled nearly three dozen more cases than in the previous year, though this summer wasn't as busy as expected.

Gabe Morales, an expert on local gangs who instructs police through his Gang Prevention Services, said that as it becomes more expensive to live in urban areas, gangs are moving to the suburbs. That has also created multiple gang levels and problems, he said.

The Sheriff's Office has identified 85 gangs, and Wilson said Seattle police officers have identified at least 100 gangs or subsets of gangs.

"My hope is that once we get the unit formed, our unit will meet with theirs and form a true partnership," Wilson said, echoing Sheriff's Office sentiments. "We want to move freely across the city and county lines, and take a good approach."

Morales hopes officers can create a statewide gang database and shares County Councilman Dow Constantine's belief that solving the gang problem starts with providing services for at-risk youths.

"I don't think any reasonable person is under the illusion that enforcement alone can defeat the gang problem," said Constantine, a sponsor of the motion to fund the gang unit. "Enforcement is a necessary part of the equation along with intervention in the lives of young people."