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Area police to talk about sharing gang data

It's spring, time for police departments to gear up to prevent criminal gang activity, say area chiefs.

Gerald Mourning, chief of police in Arlington Heights, has asked the department's commander of criminal investigations to set up a meeting with police in communities contiguous to the village.

"It's simply a matter of sharing information about gang activity," Mourning said Thursday.

The Elgin Police Department hosts a monthly meeting of a larger geographic area, he said.

"This is more self serving; I am interested in what's occurring in the communities that surround us," Mourning said.

"I want information about known gang members - as much intelligence information as they have in terms of who they are, where they live, what vehicles they drive and who they associate with."

Mourning said some people with gang affiliations live in Arlington Heights, but gang-related crime is almost nonexistent in the village.

He was upset about media reports last week that Cook County Sheriff's deputies chased people into Palatine after the rumor of a gang fight in Arlington Heights.

The building in question was not in the village but in unincorporated Cook County near Arlington Heights, he said.

Cook County officers have not contacted Arlington Heights about gang activity, said Mourning, but county representatives will surely be invited to any meeting.

Rolling Meadows Police Chief David Scanlan said he is eager to meet with nearby departments, although he said his gang specialists already work with officers in other communities.

Tracking gangs is not easy or scientific, he said, and one problem is that the situation is always changing.

"That's why you have a gang unit that maintains a database and keeps up to date," said Scanlan. "We are adjusting to those changes and making efforts to investigate and put the bad guys in jail."

While Scanlan acknowledged gang members live in Rolling Meadows, there is not one dominant gang, he said.

"There are a variety of gang members that come and go," said the chief. "They cross our borders. It's important for surrounding towns to share information about what's active in one place or another."

Certain crimes, such as drug sales, are ways to gauge gang activity, said Scanlan.

"If we see an increase in drug arrests or open dealing or criminal damage to property or burglary of cars or residences, that can be a sign," he said.

When there is a report that someone has been struck by another person, officers check on whether the incident is gang related, said Scanlan.

Graffiti can be a tip off, but sometimes it is done by someone who considers it artistic rather than being a gang symbol.

Since the Rolling Meadows city budget has been cut, Scanlan has obtained grant money for programs and technology. These include a few surveillance cameras in the community and officers working to counter gang recruitment by spending time with youngsters at risk, their parents and schools.