New anti-gang task force

This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from The Washington Post.

Montgomery and Prince George's County officials are going to form a joint anti-gang task force that will work with police, social workers and community members to combat gang problems.

The task force will work to diminish the growing presence of organized gangs in the D.C. metro area. By September, the 30-person group will release a list of recommendations for preventing gang involvement. Also, the task force will hold community meetings to get input from the neighborhoods affected by gangs.

Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan feels that law enforcement alone cannot stop gang violence and crime. " We cannot solve the problem relying on police officers alone. We have to work together to prevent our young people from joining gangs and not just arrest them," said Duncan in The Washington Post.

Gang violence in the D.C. suburbs has been on the rise as more young people are joining gangs, like the El-Salvadorian MS-13 ( see SCO story). According to The Washington Post, Montgomery County police estimate there are 75 to 100 gangs with 1,500 and 2,000 members in the county. Gangs often engage in illegal activities that include robbery, assault, selling drugs and even murder. A federal judge in Alexandria sentenced two MS-13 members this month to life in prison for murdering a rival gang member.

See SCO story on gang activity in Blair here.