Officials say they are expanding into suburban towns like South Brunswick.
By: Paul Koepp
Residents of a Dayton neighborhood who have been shaken up by the presence of alleged gang members, culminating in a June 18 raid by police on a Jeffrey Circle townhouse, met last week with township officials to discuss their concerns.
Police spokesman Detective Jim Ryan said police Chief Raymond Hayducka pledged to increase patrols of the area and do whatever is necessary to keep residents safe.
The June 18 raid at 84 Jeffrey Circle resulted in burglary, drug and weapons charges against three men, two from Plainsboro and one from New Brunswick, who police said are known gang members. The townhouse is owned by Mohammed and Farida Shariff, of Plainsboro, according to tax records.
About 15 residents of the neighborhood appeared at the June 26 Township Council meeting to complain about criminal activities that they said centered on the residence and required police responses 61 times in the last two years.
A recent study suggests that many people in the state are not as aware of gang activity as those Dayton residents, even when it happens in their own towns.
The study, released Monday by the Monmouth University Polling Institute, found that among New Jersey residents of towns where gangs have been active for at least six years, just 55 percent are aware of that activity. In addition, only 29 percent are aware of such activity in towns where gangs have become active more recently, the study found.
Local and state police gang experts say that residents should be vigilant in reporting any suspicious activities.
Patrol Officer Jeff Russo, head of the Gang Intelligence Unit of the South Brunswick Police Department, said that while full-fledged gang members are more likely to actually commit crimes, people eager to "talk the talk" may go so far as to associate with known gang members. He also said that popular culture is increasingly encouraging young people to copy gang behavior.
Distinguishing between real gang members and copycats is a challenge, according to Sgt. Ron Hampton, of the New Jersey State Police Street Gang Bureau.
He estimated that 60 percent of the people in suburban areas who appear to be gang members are actually "wangsters," or "wanna-be gangsters," while over 90 percent in urban areas who appear to belong to gangs really do.
"In cities, sometimes it’s just a fact of life," he said.
While gangs are far more prevalent in urban areas, Sgt. Hampton said, drug dealers may be drawn to suburban areas to sell narcotics that can be purchased cheaply in cities. As a result, more and more of the drug dealers in suburban areas are gang members, he said.
"A lot of the old drug dealers are now members of supergangs, like the Crips, Bloods, or Latin Kings," he said.
Gang members could have different reasons for moving to a suburban area, Sgt. Hampton said. They could either want to escape gang life or establish a new area of control, he said.
"It only takes one to potentially drop the quality of life in a neighborhood," he said.
Patrol Officer Russo said there has been a resurgence, both throughout the township and at South Brunswick High School, where he is stationed, of gang markers that were common in the mid-1980s, like bubble graffiti.
However, he said that not all of the "tagging crews" responsible for the graffiti are real gang members.
"It’s not too difficult to tell the difference between more artistic graffiti and real gang graffiti," he said. Sometimes, a young person who is new to the area attempts to mark his turf, Patrol Officer Russo said. Often, people who leave gang markers can be tracked by their street name as they try to take credit for their work, he said.
Patrol Officer Russo said he sees "a lot of posturing" at the high school.
"Kids see 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg, and they want to act like that," he said.
He said that keeping kids out of gangs is ultimately a "parenting issue."
"We do what we can proactively, but the Police Department is not here to raise your child," he said.
Sgt. Hampton agreed that residents must be active to keep themselves educated about gangs and keep police informed about suspicious activity.
"Some suburban towns feel that they’re not going to be affected, and they get complacent," he said. "It’s best to arm yourself with information."

