Gangsters are believed to be behind gunfire at an Everett park last spring that sent a Little League team scrambling for cover. They've spray-painted graffiti from Lynnwood to Index.
Some gang members in Snohomish County suburbs have started putting up Web pages advertising their presence. An all-white chapter of the Black Gangster Disciples is working the Bothell area.
Police aren't laughing.
Bona fide gangsters are settling in, and there are enough young people emulating thugs to spark a surge in gang-related violence, drug trafficking and other problems, a countywide gang assessment found.
"It's all building together to make the issue happen," Snohomish County sheriff's detective Steve Haley said.
"It's from one end of the county to the other," he said. "We found gang members in every area of the county."
Over the summer the sheriff's office, along with the Lynnwood, Stanwood and Mountlake Terrace police departments deployed school resource officers to gather information about gang members and their associates.
The survey came as police reported seeing an increase in violent crimes and some types of graffiti, believed to be associated with gangs.
The officers spoke with other police departments about gang activity in their cities and schools. The assessment team also walked the streets, taking hundreds of pictures of suspected gang graffiti and observing suspected gang members.
The assessment was given to police chiefs across the county. Sheriff John Lovick also is reviewing the survey to address gang activity in the county.
He also is paying attention to legislation proposed to combat gang violence.
State lawmakers are considering a bill that incorporates recommendations from a task force that last year studied gang problems statewide.
The legislation calls for $10 million for prevention and intervention programs and tougher penalties for gang crimes, as well as a statewide database to track gang members.
The Snohomish County assessment is being used to create a database to track people who've been confirmed to be affiliated with gangs, Haley said. Local police developed specific criteria to identify someone as a gang member.
The assessment team found about 250 gang members and 200 associates from about 20 different gangs in the county.
The survey confirmed what police already suspected: Gang membership is on the rise.
"We know it's an emerging issue. In the early (1990s) it popped up. Now, we're seeing a resurgence," Snohomish Police Chief John Turner said. "The whole issue of crime as it relates to gang activity is growing. We're seeing an increase in the crimes."
Turner was police chief in Mountlake Terrace the last time gang activity hit an upswing. He helped form a countywide youth gang task force.
Nationwide police are seeing more gang activity in the suburbs. Gang members are moving to where there is less pressure from police, as well as fertile markets to sell drugs, steal cars or commit other crimes, Haley said. That trend is coupled with a surge of young people who are emulating the "thug" lifestyle celebrated in pop culture.
"It sounds cool to these kids. What they don't realize, and their parents don't realize, is even if they're pretending they run the risk of a real gang member taking them seriously," Haley said. "It's gotten very dangerous to even look like you're in a gang."
The Snohomish County assessment found that most gang members are between 15 and 19 years old. The majority are white even though they are claiming membership in traditionally black or Hispanic gangs, Haley said.
Police found during the assessment that people are being more blatant about their involvement in gangs.
"They used to be more low key. Now we're seeing guys decked out in gang clothing, and they have no problem telling us who they are and what gang they're in," Haley said.
That is evident on MySpace and other popular social Web sites where gangs "have gone electronic," Haley said. They're using the technology to promote their gang.
Police also are finding that some gang members don't fit the stereotypical image, Arlington Police Chief John Gray said.
"They don't look the part anymore," he said.
Haley pointed to a gang in south Snohomish County. The members are good students and hold down jobs. They have posted pictures on MySpace of themselves flashing gang signs. Some members of the gang were present at a 2006 homicide, and the group has been linked to numerous assaults and robberies around the county, according to court documents.
"These kids could probably get a scholarship to college if they don't get caught," Haley said. "When they're with their buddies their committing crimes."
Local police agree that gang activity isn't near where it was in the 1980s and 1990s, but they must address the resurgence.
