Gang membership target of Mercer County task force

By: Jennifer Potash
   Mercer County will form a new task force aimed at preventing teenagers from joining street gangs.
   Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes announced the Mercer County Gang Prevention and Intervention Task Force and plans for a new county police academy Tuesday in his State of the County speech.
   Gary DiBlasio, executive director of Corner House in Princeton, and John Duarte, a social worker at the Mercer County Youth Detention Center, will serve as co-chairmen of the task force.
   The task force, which will assess the gang problem from a community-based and human-services perspective, includes representatives from the county’s Department of Human Services, Corrections Center and Youth Detention Center as well as local law enforcement officers, community leaders and other experts on gang activity, Mr. Hughes said.
   "One of the areas of increased concern over this past year has been gang violence," Mr. Hughes said. "It is certainly clear none of our communities is immune from the threat of this kind of violence."
   Mr. Hughes also announced plans for a new county police academy, which he expects will reduce costs and improve skills for county and municipal law enforcement officers.
   The academy will be located at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor and will complement the existing Trenton Police Academy, Mr. Hughes said.
   "It will enable the (Mercer County) Sheriff’s Office and municipal police departments to plan for their training entirely in county, instead of paying the higher rates of academies in other counties and travel cost," he said. "It will also encourage law enforcement officers to continue their education with associate’s degrees through the community college and with bachelor’s degrees through Thomas Edison State College."