Last modified: Sunday, September 7, 2008 12:32 AM PDT Gang task force to get back on track By JESSICA KELLER ARGUS OBSERVER PAYETTE — Similar to the High Desert Task Force, the Tri-County Gang Task Force was formed to address gang activity and problems locally. The task force, however, has not functioned consistently since its formation, something Payette Police Chief Mark Clark, who organized the task force, hopes to change in the near future, following the recent gang shooting that resulted in an Ontario man’s death in Ontario Aug. 23. Payette, he said, has had its run-ins with gang members and criminal activity in the past, and the city has taken a fairly straightforward approach to dealing with it. “It’s our standpoint that if you’re going to dress like a gang member and act like a gang member, then you’ll be treated like a gang member,” Clark said. Clark said his department is somewhat limited in what it can do to address gang activity unless a crime is committed that can be tied directly to gang members. One of the ideas behind the task force, he said, was to develop an organization, comprised of local law enforcement agencies and employees, to identify gang members and affiliates, study the background of the local gangs, find out what the gangs are involved in, obtain photos of gang members and share information so departments can track individuals and keep track of them and where they hang out. While the task force has met in the past, and sharing information after an incident occurs is common practice, Clark said the task force has not met recently or as often as was intended. He said after the shooting in Ontario and because gang activity will most likely continue in the area, he intends for the task force to begin meeting again soon. “Right now, the way it is, it’s not gone the way I would hope it would go, honestly,” he said. Clark said he had hoped the gang task force would be a little bit more proactive in dealing with local gangs and activities. Busy schedules and reduced personnel in some of the agencies, however, have led to shifts in priorities and a gradual reduction in meetings. The task force, in full swing, consists of representatives from all area law enforcement agencies, as well as SRCI, two probation officers for adults and juveniles, and a High Desert Task Force representative. “It never has really taken full flight because we just don’t have that manpower in order to get out there and be proactive,” Clark said. He said the task force will continue to meet and brief on gang member activities, hopefully more regularly, but he said a law enforcement officer dealing with gangs on a full-time basis is needed to take the task force in the direction it needs to go. The Ontario Police Department will soon have an officer strictly focusing on gangs, after the Ontario City Council approved a funding proposal. Ontario Police Chief Mike Kee said he agrees a full-time gang officer is needed to regain momentum on the task force. Somebody who deals with gangs full time is needed to help drive the effort and arrange meetings regularly, he said. Ontario’s new gang officer could fulfill that role for the task force, Kee said, by playing a “strong supporting role in helping whoever’s running it in getting people there.” “That will be part of his job description,” he said. “He is going to be facilitating information sharing. You know, we’ve already got this task force in place, and the best way to do this information sharing, in my mind, is to pump some life into it.” When the task force had momentum, some important information was generated and the meetings were well attended, even drawing officers from Nampa and Caldwell, Kee said. Kee said he and Capt. Mark Alexander will be meeting with the staff sergeants to see how soon they can transfer the intended gang officer from patrol to his new position. “I guarantee we’re going to do this as soon as we can,” he said. “We just can’t have patrol suffering.”