Parents need to get a clue

Angelina Reyes admits she was in denial over the gang ties of her 17-year-old son, Antonio Marks. After the last of five youths and young adults was convicted last week in the brutal murder of her son, she urged other parents to learn from her tragedy.

Sadly, it’s another in a series of lessons for parents, school and public safety officials, policy makers and others throughout Snohomish County. Gangs are here, in virtually every community, high school and many middle schools, and they’re recruiting children as early as the third grade.

They can be lethal — the stabbing and beating death of Marks in Sultan last summer is just the latest example. They’ve also been linked to rapes, robberies and drug activity, among other crimes.

Efforts to combat gangs in Snohomish County have intensified, with various grants funding coordinated police and social-service strategies. They’re allowing police to focus on areas of known gang activity, increasing their interaction with suspected gang members and other children who, largely because they have little or no supervision, are prime candidates for gang membership.

School resource officers are assigned to nearly every high school in the county, and some middle schools, keeping a close eye and ear on gang behavior and signs that can precede it. The Snohomish County Gang Community Response Team is working with schools and agencies such as Cocoon House — a resource for homeless and at-risk teens — to identify youths who are or could become involved with a gang and intervene.

Funding for such efforts must continue. Strategies also need to be developed to help non-English-speaking parents keep tabs on their kids’ progress at school. And judges need to send a clear no-tolerance message to wannabe gang members by handing down stiff sentences for gang-related crimes.

But the success of efforts to keep a lid on the gang problem depends on adults, especially parents, having a clue about what kids are doing.

Tips to parents from the Gang Community Response Team are straightforward: talking with your kids about gangs and how to deal with peer pressure, getting to know their friends and their friends’ parents, setting firm limits, and being aware of Internet use — social networks have become virtual meeting places for gangs.

“Don’t let your guard down,” is the message Antonio Marks’ grieving mother delivered last week.

Not only parents, but entire communities, should take it to heart.

For more information, go to www.wevaluekids.org/gangs, or call Snohomish County’s Gang Help Line, 425-388-6666.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

toon
Editorial cartoons for Friday, Feb. 7

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Curtains act as doors for a handful of classrooms at Glenwood Elementary on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Schools’ building needs point to election reform

Construction funding requests in Arlington and Lake Stevens show need for a change to bond elections.

Schwab: Trump proves not as bad as feared; it’s worse

Taking food and medicine from kids; surrendering control to Musk; is this what you voted for?

Keep necessary homeless service program at its Everett location

Regarding The Herald’s front-page coverage of the Hope ‘N Wellness community services… Continue reading

We can’t afford the rich not paying their fair share

In a recent column, Todd Welch claims that a wealth tax on… Continue reading

Can we find a politically moderate path, please?

I was just wondering what happened to the moderates. I am a… Continue reading

FILE- In this Nov. 14, 2017, file photo Jaìme Ceja operates a forklift while loading boxes of Red Delicious apples on to a trailer during his shift in an orchard in Tieton, Wash. Cherry and apple growers in Washington state are worried their exports to China will be hurt by a trade war that escalated on Monday when that country raised import duties on a $3 billion list of products. (Shawn Gust/Yakima Herald-Republic via AP, File)
Editorial: Trade war would harm state’s consumers, jobs

Trump’s threat of tariffs to win non-trade concessions complicates talks, says a state trade advocate.

A press operator grabs a Herald newspaper to check over as the papers roll off the press in March 2022 in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald file photo)
Editorial: Push back news desert with journalism support

A bill in the state Senate would tax big tech to support a hiring fund for local news outlets.

Jayden Hill, 15, an incoming sophomore at Monroe High School is reflected in the screen of a cellphone on Wednesday, July 10, 2024 in Monroe, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Students need limits on cellphones in school

School districts needn’t wait for legislation to start work on policies to limit phones in class.

Kristof: World’s richest men take on world’s poorest people

Trump says the USAID is run by ‘radical lunitics.’ Is saving countless lives now lunacy.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Thursday, Feb. 6

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Lake Stevens school bond funds needed safety work at all schools

A parent’s greatest fear is for something bad to happen to their… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.