Rock County Jail unit gathers gang intelligence
JANESVILLE — During the Rock County 4-H Fair last year, two rival gangs were going to fight.
The Rock County Sheriff's Office Gang Intelligence Unit received information about a gang planning to retaliate against another gang at the fair.
Investigators gave deputies packets with pictures of the gang members, their colors and signs. The intelligence turned out to be good.
Deputies removed the gang members from the fairgrounds. A public gang fight at one of the county's signature events was prevented.
The story is an example of how the gang intelligence unit has helped combat gang activity since it formed in 2005, Rock County Jail Capt. Erik Chellevold said.
The unit has a computer database of more than 1,000 gang members and their street names, said Rock County Jail Correctional Sgt. Viengkhone Nouansacksy, who supervises the gang unit.
The database includes photos of gang members, their tattoos, colors, gang signs and other information, Nouansacksy said.
The unit has identified 33 gangs in Rock County. Gang members commit crimes ranging from drug dealing to murder. They also range in size.
Familiar gangs such as the Latin Kings, Gangster Disciples and Bloods are in the area. Other gangs might be smaller and unknown to the public.
The five-member unit includes Nouansacksy and four correctional officers. They have used grant money to receive training on gang trends and investigations. They also give presentations to school officials and others interested in gangs.
The unit gathers intelligence from gang members in jail. Last week, 117 gang members were locked up.
Investigators interview gang members, photograph them, search their cells, track jail graffiti and research their social networking Web sites such as MySpace.
"They freely talk about their gang affiliations," Chellevold said. "A lot of them are very proud."
The information could prevent gang violence or help with criminal investigations, he said.
The intelligence is shared with law enforcement agencies, Nouansacksy said. The unit also has worked with federal authorities, even helping deport illegal immigrants who were gang members.
Janesville police officer Mike Blaser, who helps track gang activity, regularly exchanges information with the county's gang unit.
He might call unit members for information on documented gang members. He also might ask them for help matching a street name with a real name. The information helps identify suspects or witnesses to crimes.
"The jail has their program, and we have our program," Blaser said. "If we cross reference, we end up with twice the documentation.
"By sharing that information, we end up with more clear-cut and better intelligence."
Oct 28, 2009 at 12:55 p.m.
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It is not as simple as fatherless homes. That may be part of the problem but I strongly believe that the real problem is just fitting in. Everyone wants to belong to a group and with bigger and bigger school it is more difficult to be apart of a legit group so kids go elsewhere.
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Plus, being in a gang is a lot easier that making a 12 man varisty basketball team in a school the size of Craig or Parker. Kids like to fit in and avoiding hard work...boom gangs are popular.
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I agree with those saying this is legit and better be taken seriously. I always say this, these gangs deal real drugs, do real vandalism and some carry real guns. This is not a joke.
Oct 27, 2009 at 1:23 p.m.
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And BTW, a single bulldogge is known as a bully~~plural is bullies (which BTW is the same plural for a person) Whatever~~this is silly~~over 200 posts and you are the first person who hasn't 'gotten it'.
Oct 27, 2009 at 1:10 p.m.
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Really? Such a fuss over my screen name?!?! MOST people know what it means. I guess you'll just have to get over it! Sorry!
Oct 26, 2009 at 5:53 p.m.
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I personally know of persons who are "gang-affiliated" and their fathers are in their lives and have not been to jail. However, their parenting styles play more into the choices their children have made. They also choose to be in gangs do to peer pressures, wanting to fit in with friends, and the need to belong. You might also want to remember there are all types of gangs and gang violence that the police do nothing about. Such as hate crimes. In high school I remember white "rednecks" or persons identifying themselves as that of doing acts that display hate towards african-americans and latin-americans. There also lies a problem as persons taking offense may retaliate. These "rednecks" may otherwise be good citizens, but their choices to display hate toward others is not good. I think the police did a good job preventing anything from happening at the Rock County 4H Fair. Preventing harm to others is the job of the police.
Oct 26, 2009 at 5:36 p.m.
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If it were me, I'd get that bully screen name changed.....most people are not going to understand that its a dog
Oct 26, 2009 at 4:56 p.m.
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Also, janesvillian, many of the fathers that you speak of that are in jail are there because the anti-family court system and their cohorts have put them there for preposterous reasons.
Oct 26, 2009 at 4:05 p.m.
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janesvillian- While the anti-family court system and those that make money off it are not the entire cause of gangs, I believe they are largely responsible for the exponential growth of gang-member numbers nationwide as well as the growth of gangs in smaller cities and towns where they may have not existed at all otherwise.
Oct 26, 2009 at 3:33 p.m.
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truth1, first of all, gangs are a problem a lot more complicated than that (among other things, fatherless homes are caused by everything from jail time, to drug abuse, to homicide, to welfare rules -- and many of these tie back to lack of good jobs in cities). Second of all, you're as much as giving up. I suggest you look into some of the scholarly resources on gangs. It's a hard problem to deal with and of course it will never completely go away, but we still have tools at our disposal.
http://faculty.missouristate.edu/m/Micha...
http://www.athabascau.ca/courses/crjs/36...
Oct 26, 2009 at 3:27 p.m.
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**known as
Oct 26, 2009 at 3:26 p.m.
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bobwood
Oct 26, 2009 at 2:26 p.m.
Suggest removal With a user name like bullysarebest , can we take you seriously , on this topic . It would seem somewhat inapproprite to give any advice when you seem to approve of bullies .
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Sorry you seem so hung up on my screen name. It stands for bullies~~bulldogges which are commonly known and bullies.
Oct 26, 2009 at 3:11 p.m.
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Just in case anyone doesn't know.....most "family courts" and "agencies" from federal-on-down depend on broken-home situations for their FUNDING(ah, yes...money)
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There, citizens, is the root of our "gang problems".
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Like I said before, I have no personal interest in this aspect, but to solve a problem, you have to know the "root" of it.
Oct 26, 2009 at 2:53 p.m.
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Backing the police is fine, but I believe the root of the problem is the anti-family "court systems" we have that seem to be in favor of fatherless homes and therefore produce "gang members".....It would seem that until the anti-family "courts" are changed, you can hire all the police you want and its not going to solve anything.
Oct 26, 2009 at 2:36 p.m.
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bobwood- It seems like a bad screen name, I would not have chosen it, but I think they are referring to bulldogs.
Oct 26, 2009 at 1:38 p.m.
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Our own court systems are ACTIVELY CREATING violence that may someday harm the very people that they're *supposed to be* "serving"................Now, *how*about*that*....
Oct 26, 2009 at 12:45 p.m.
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Truth1~~you are very correct!
Oct 26, 2009 at 12:44 p.m.
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It's quite sad that no one seems to take this seriously. Talk of wannabes, not being real gang members, etc. I've worked with these kids IN Janesville. Trust me, you need to take this seriously.
Oct 26, 2009 at 12:15 p.m.
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"GANG INTELLIGENCE"..lol... Is there such a thing?...
Oct 26, 2009 at 12:06 p.m.
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Real ganger would have followed through with their petty little war , regardless of the police`s crack down . These punks are just that, PUNKS . Thats why they need to be delt with now before they settle in , grow , and evolve into real gang banger garbage .
Oct 26, 2009 at 11:58 a.m.
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I believe a lot of this activity has to do with fatherlessness and the anti-family court system here in the USA....I have no personal interest in this but I have read and researched some really eye-opening stuff on this subject.
Oct 26, 2009 at 11:43 a.m.
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Gangs could care a less whether we legitimize them or not. They are going to do what they're going to do. Thanks to the police, they were stopped this time!!!
Oct 26, 2009 at 11:42 a.m.
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If they are engaging in gang activity then they are no longer wannabes. If doesn't matter where they live, who their families are, etc~~if they talk the talk, walk the walk they are gang members. Don't fool yourself into thinking that just because you live in Janesville that there are no 'real' gangs.
Oct 26, 2009 at 11:33 a.m.
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While I know we can't ignore the knowledge and information gained about gangs, I am sure that society needs to stop legitimizing them (the gangs). Giving the subject too much attention. Just squash it where ever it is. If that is the end effect of these 'units' then I support it. But no more game playing!
Oct 26, 2009 at 8:39 a.m.
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"They freely talk about their gang affiliations," Chellevold said. "A lot of them are very proud."-Or maybe they are just stupid wannabe kids impersonating real "gangbangers"
Oct 26, 2009 at 7:44 a.m.
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To bad in this case the police can`t act like south american death squads , and remove the filth at its source , and do away with all these wanna be tough guys PUNKS. Yes its extreme but these losers are equil to Local Micro terrists .
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