Sergeant Renea Seydel, gang investigator for the Lee County Sheriff's Office, stands by an abandoned building in Sanford known for its gang-related graffiti.
Tackling the gang problem in Lee County doesn't seem like an easy task, but Renea Seydel of the Lee County Sheriff's Office is up to the challenge. Seydel, who has spent more than a year working with the Lee County Sheriff's Department, was recently promoted to a gang investigator position which the department funds through a state grant."Before this position became available, I'd been getting knowledgeable about gangs as a pastime," said Seydel, who has also worked for the Sanford Police Department and the Lee County Schools Special Police. "I've just tried to keep up with what the latest trends are, and so I feel like I was a good fit to move into this position."Seydel said the biggest part of combating the gang problem in Sanford and Lee County. She said there are at least eight known gangs in the county. Focusing on youth and giving them alternatives to gang activity."Our youth are becoming knowledgeable about the gang lifestyle at a very, very young age," she said, explaining that she's seen children as young as nine years old showing signs of gang activity. "The biggest thing is to bring it to the attention of the parents so that they can know what to look for in their kids."Seydel said she's worked in recent weeks to make herself available to churches and community organizations in an effort to educate them about gang life.As for the kids, she said she's taking a different approach."Our kids generally don't need to be educated about what a gang member looks like. With the kids, it's about intervention and prevention," she said, explaining that she's teamed up with the Lee County Boys and Girls Club on a program that teaches young people about the negative impact the gang life can have on them. She said many children turn to gangs because they're missing a strong presence at home or are influenced by outside factors such as music or the media."Before a child turns 18, they've seen something like 5,000 violent acts on television," Seydel said. "Programs like the one I'm talking about can counter some of that."Seydel said that reaching youth is important because most of the gangs are run by older members who are typically career criminals. Cutting youth out of the equation makes it harder for those career criminals to expand their organizations, she said. Still, Seydel said that with gangs in the county involved in crimes ranging from armed robbery to running drugs, the problem requires a proactive approach."These career criminals like to use young people to do crimes for them since if you're under 16 the criminal justice system handles you a lot differently," she said. "A lot of the kids involved in the gangs in Lee County don't really grasp the true sense of what it means to be a gang member."
(Thanks to The Sanford Herald & Gordon Anderson)
1 comment:
Another key issue with gang activity revolves around providing kids and teens with alternatives to just 'hanging out.' In today's world of working parents and latch-key kids, the kids are often left with little to keep them active and occupied, and as they say: 'Idle hands....'
The City of Sanford has begun to reintroduce small neighborhood pocket parks for small children and families, and that's a great thing. But our communities also need to look at other investment in parks, recreation, and attracting business that is kid & family friendly that can augment each other in providing quality activities for kids of all ages.
No one solution is a magic bullet for reducing the influence of gangs though, after all, the components that create the problem run the gamut of the socio-economic spectrum. But every little thing helps.
I am very happy to see that the county is also directing resources such as this new position to help with that effort. Gangs and organized crime prey on the disadvantaged and create a vicious self-fulfilling cycle of community destruction. So anything we can do to reduce that influence is good news.
It's good news to hear about this new effort, and hope to see more.
Regards,
Al
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