DeKALB | The recent increase in DeKalb’s gang violence brings with it a concern for the safety of the city’s citizens.

Community Concern

To address these growing concerns, DeKalb Chief of Police Bill Feithen spoke before the city council in a meeting Monday night.

“Citizens may become frustrated, and I understand that frustration and feel that frustration,” Feithen said.

Feithen said that overall, the serious crimes in DeKalb have decreased since 2000, despite an overall increase in DeKalb’s population.

DeKalb’s police chief presented data that detailed the Part I crimes, which include homicides, attempted homicides, criminal sexual assaults, and other serious offenses occurring in DeKalb between the months of January and July from 2000 through 2006.

“Police are combating the problem by devoting extra on-duty time, which has resulted in nine recent gang-related arrests and three warrants now out for additional gang-related offenses,” Feithen said.

The Nature Of Gangs

Gang activity is cyclical and it depends on the ages of gang members, said Jim Kayes, lieutenant of the DeKalb Police Department Detective Division.

“Often, younger gang members will engage in more violent behavior while older gang members will engage in more sophisticated forms of crime,” Kayes said.

“You’ve got to look at the people involved in this,” Kayes said. “They’re usually people with a lot of time on their hands, prone to criminal behavior, not thinking about the future, just thinking about what they want to do now.”

Kayes said that the conflict between rival gangs is ingrained in the nature of what it means to be in a gang.

“If you put two different gangs on one block, eventually something bad is going to happen,” Kayes said. “There’s going to be this constant provocation because this is part of the gang lifestyle.”

Preventive Measures

Feithen said the police department is asking residents in areas with gang activity to keep their lights on at night and also to report suspicious subjects, vehicles or activities.

“By people reporting problems in neighborhoods, it helps us direct our resources,” Feithen said.

Kenneth Lowe is the Police and Fire Reporter for the Northern Star.