Yonkers Gang Intervention Strategy

By Globe Staff

The Yonkers, New York Police Department (YPD) created a Gang Intervention Unit I in May of 2001. The unit was formed to combat a rise in gang activity and gang violence.

The YPD Gang Unit was the first such police unit formed in Westchester County. It remains the only fulltime gang unit in the county.

There has been a noticeable decrease in the identification of new gang members since the inception of the gang unit, and information and intelligence gathered by the gang unit has been used to solve numerous homicides, assaults and other crimes, both gang and non-gang related.

In October of 2004, the YPD Gang Unit and the FBI concluded a yearlong investigation, which resulted in the recovery of 19 firearms, a large quantity of crack cocaine and the arrest of 26 members of the Bloods street gang and their associates. This joint investigation has successfully hampered the ability of the Bloods street gang to conduct criminal activity and has prevented further gang violence. Also, the publicity of these successful operations has deterred other youths from joining such street gangs.

In addition to city agencies and recommunity groups, the YPD Gang Unit has developed and maintained strong working relationships with outside agencies such as the FBI, DEA, ATF, Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office and countless local police departments from as far away as California. The gang unit has learned that the utilization of the resources of these agencies has proven to be priceless.

One helpful lesson learned from the program is the success of the two-prong approach taken by the YPD Gang Unit. The gang unit has taken an aggressive approach toward the policing of street gangs in the city of Yonkers, while maintaining a working relationship with community groups, and in many cases even gang members. The aggressive approach has proven successful in that many of the more hardened and violent street gang members have been incarcerated and removed from the street. This approach has also resulted in a decrease of successful gang recruitment, as youths are more hesitant to join these gangs. The community involvement has proven to be successful as the gang unit seems to have maintained the respect of the community, which has resulted in the gathering of intelligence from the public.

Another lesson learned is that the intelligence gathered by the gang unit has proven to be an invaluable tool. In many cases, valuable time has been saved on important investigations by using information gathered by this unit. A prime example of this is a homicide investigation that began after the body of a murdered Hispanic male washed up on the shore of the Hudson River. Due to the condition of the body, the male was unrecognizable and his identity was a mystery. The investigation was at a standstill until YPD Detectives utilized the resources of the gang unit. By viewing photos of the victim’s tattoos, a gang unit detective was able to identify the male as a Mexican gang member who was well known to him.

Through routine intelligence gathering, this gang unit detective had previously identified this male as a gang member and had recorded all of his tattoos. This information led to the identification of this then nameless homicide victim, and ultimately the solving of this case. Without this intelligence, this transient, illegal immigrant would likely have remained unidentified and the murder would be unsolved.

The first step for cities interested in replicating this program should be to assess the community and determine if, in fact, there is gang activity and, if so, how severe the problem is. If the severity of the problem warrants the creation of a specialized police gang unit, it should consist of experienced and motivated police officers, detectives or supervisors. This unit should work closely with as many community groups as possible while utilizing the resources of local and federal agencies.

Originally published Aug. 20-26, 2008