Seniors get scoop on gangs

By Tessa Hill, Independent Newspapers

Awakened more than a few times by helicopters hovering her east Mesa neighborhood, Leah Bendavid said she wants to know what all the buzz is about.

Believing gangs might be to blame, Ms. Bendavid joined the Senior Citizen Police Academy to get the low down on Mesa gangs. The Jan. 21 workshop at the Red Mountain Multigenerational Center in east Mesa was part of the academy's line-up of classes for citizens aged 60 and over who want to learn more about Mesa Police Department's resources and operations.

This particular workshop focused on Ms. Bendavid's concern and many others.

"Sometimes perception is much different than reality," said Crime Prevention Specialist Karen Stegenga who added that she hoped the workshop would clear up any inaccurate misconceptions seniors may have regarding gangs.

The city of Mesa is home to 29 documented gang organizations and around 2,600 documented members, according to Ramona Moretta, a SID/gangs police investigator for the Mesa Police Department. Ms. Moretta said senior citizens and senior communities are not a targeted group for gang-related crime.

"As far as we know, no age-restricted communities have been the target of gang crimes," said Ms. Moretta. "Most activity and crime is directed towards rivals (gangs)," she added.

With gang activity making up about 10 to 15 percent of the city's total crime, Ms. Moretta also said that older and more densely populated areas are where gang activity appears to be more frequent.

Ms. Bendavid said she lives in an older area of east Mesa and crime rates have been increasing over the years.

"East Mesa is really getting bad," said Ms. Bendavid, who shared similar concerns with other senior citizens regarding gang activity in their area.

Jim Crupi, an east Mesa resident, said he questioned whether some recent theft activity of his property was gang-related or not, so he jumped at the opportunity to learn more on what to look for and how to help.

Although Mr. Crupi said he does not feel he is a target of gang-related crime, he feels the police should be able to do more about the problem.

"The police are not able to do as much as they should be able to. It's like a dog with no teeth," said Mr. Crupi.

With 12 detectives and two sergeants assigned to the city of Mesa's gang unit, Ms. Moretta said the internal organizations of city gangs have been significantly deteriorated due to the MPD gang units ongoing surveillance, data base upkeep and undercover operations.

"The gangs here are much less organized, but just as powerful," Ms. Moretta added.

To help the community keep a watchful eye, MPD has an anonymous gang hotline, 644-GANG (4264) where citizens can voice there concerns or report any suspicious gang activity 24 hours a day.

For more information about the Senior Citizen Police Academy or to register for a class, please call (480)644-5014.