ROCKINGHAM — When Brian Taylor first came to Richmond County six years ago to become the certified gang instructor with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and Community Corrections, there were zero validated gang members in Richmond County. Now there are between 40 and 50 at any given time, and Taylor is looking to the community for help.
“People say Richmond County doesn’t have gangs,” said Taylor who did gang investigations in prisons in western North Carolina. “Nobody wants to acknowledge it. It’s the elephant in the room. It’s not just a law enforcement problem. It’s a community problem.”
Concerned residents, educators, social services and family members gathered Thursday in the fellowship hall of First United Methodist Church to gather information from Taylor on what to look for when it comes to gangs and how to keep kids from falling into the lifestyle.
Taylor said the official definition of a gang is three or more people that have the same signs, colors and are involved in criminal activity. With Bloods, Crips, Gangster Disciples and non-traditional local gangs already in Richmond County, Taylor wants people to be able to see the signs.
“If the same group of people are wearing the same color all the time, that may be a clue,” he said. “Gangs have a whole saying of their own with their own language and hand signals. If you start seeing things with their fingers, start looking harder. If you see indicators, start asking questions.”
With gangs constantly changing, he said law enforcement just tries to keep up.
While biker gangs don’t have a huge presence in Richmond County, there are some, Taylor said, as well as the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacy groups.
“Gone are the days when people put on their robes and walked up and down the street,” he said. “Now they’re wearing suits and ties, and they’re lawyers and doctors.”
The key, he added, is to get to young people before they’re allowed to be influenced by gang recruiters and the lifestyle that comes along with it. Taylor said when he arrived in the county, officials said the area had wannabe gangsters, but he said, “a wannabe is a gonnabe.”
“We’ve got to get these young people into something other than the gang life,” Taylor said, using youth sports as an example. “If we don’t give our young people attention, gangs will. Gang recruiters are smart. They can pick out that young person with low self-esteem.”
The perception that gangs aren’t in Richmond County needs to change, Taylor said, adding, “People think that gangs are an urban problem. They are an everywhere problem. It’s here. It’s in our community.”
Detective Lt. Randy Dover, of the Hamlet Police Department, said he believes gangs are responsible for a lot of the recent criminal activity in that town.
Taylor said the best advice he could give was for everyone in attendance to get educated on gangs and how they negatively impact communities.
“I firmly believe gang problems can be fixed,” said Taylor. “It just takes a whole community effort.”
Reach reporter Matt Harrelson at 910-817-2674 and follow him on Twitter @mattyharrelson.
