Deputy: Calvert safe from gangs so far

Gang activity increasing in state as a whole

Friday, May 9, 2008

Cpl. Chris Parsons, who is also with the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, spoke to members of the Neighborhood Watch of the Chesapeake Ranch Estates community in Lusby in mid-April.

However, while there is very little organized gang activity here, there are a few legitimate members of the national Crips and Bloods gangs and some white supremacists in the county. There are also young people who are not in gangs but are attracted to the gangster lifestyle, Parsons said.

Gang activity is also increasing in other parts of Maryland.

‘‘It’s something we’re starting to see in Calvert County. We don’t have a gang problem but there is some activity that might develop,” he said. Of the white supremacists, he said there’s only ‘‘a little activity, but it’s here.”

Young people come to associate themselves with gangs through music and television. Some types of music are of special concern because many of the most famous musicians flaunt gang affiliations, Parsons said.

‘‘So kids emulate what they hear, think they’re Crips, Bloods, whatever. They’re what some people call fakers or wannabes,” he said. ‘‘ ... You have kids out here flashing gang signs and they don’t even know what they’re doing. The bad thing is if they do it to the wrong person they’re going to get it. [But] we don’t have real hard-core gangbangers out here.”

The ascendance of gangs in other parts of Maryland has the potential to spill into Calvert County, he said. ‘‘Maryland has seen a huge, huge rise in Bloods gang activity. Prince George’s County is getting basically run by Bloods.”

But law enforcement is already monitoring the situation, Parsons said.

‘‘We’re not making the mistake other jurisdictions have made. Other jurisdictions have denied there was gang activity. ... Meanwhile, it gets bigger and bigger, and that’s not the way to deal with it,” he said.

Outlaw motorcycle gangs like Hell’s Angels and the Phantoms also have a presence in Calvert County. These gangs fight among themselves but are unlikely to harm outsiders, he said.

‘‘Generally, outlaw motorcycle gangs don’t bother people like you and I,” he said. Monitoring outlaw bikers is ‘‘like dealing with high school students. It really is. It’s like they have their own little cliques that get in their own little spats, that sometimes end in violence, unfortunately, and you have to monitor them for that reason.”

But currently the danger is small, he said.

‘‘On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being really concerned [about gangs], where should we go with our worry?” asked Patty King.

‘‘Two,” Parsons said.

‘‘We do not see a lot of graffiti and we don’t have Bloods and Crips fighting over turf or anything like that,” he said. ‘‘We don’t have Bloods trying to dominate Calvert County or anything like that.”

Tammy Gatton, chairwoman of the Neighborhood Watch chapter, said she felt better after the presentation.

‘‘I’m reassured to know there’s somebody out there looking at it,” she said.