Public Enemies

Examiner.com - Baltimore

Johnny Depp has a new film coming out, PUBLIC ENEMIES, where he plays John Dillinger. For those of us ages 35-50, that’s our first thought when we think of gangs: guys in fedoras with Tommy Guns, driven to desperate measures due to the Depression. Or, if we’re more musically inclined, we may imagine the Sharks and Jets snapping fingers in WEST SIDE STORY. Or we develop a sudden penchant to watch our “Godfather” director’s-cut collection of DVDs.

We generally don’t think about kids from affluent neighborhoods. But the times, they are a’changin…as the BALTIMORE SUN reports today in the story, “Gangs flourish in suburbs: Ex-gang member says 'fatherless generation' just as susceptible in affluent areas.”

As is all too (sadly) often the case, it took a tragedy to place this issue on the media’s front burner, the death of 14-year-old Christopher David Jones this past May in Anne Arundel County.

Why does this happen? The Sun notes that gang members “tend to be at-risk youth struggling with family problems, such as divorce or separation, physical abuse or dysfunctional parents,” or the lack of guidance from any adult at all. And old, but true formula, as may be seen in William Golding’s fiction classic, LORD OF THE FLIES.

So, what can be done? In the mid-90s I was the Public Information Officer for Thornton, a city in Colorado’s Front Range where gang activity was an increasing problem due to what was called the “smashed tomato” phenomenon. As police cracked down on gangs in Los Angeles and other major California cities, like a smashed tomato, members trickled outward, finding new homes in Colorado. Gangs sought new recruits and spawned “wannabes” from the ranks of area high schools.

One thing the City did to combat the problem was to assign police officers as full-time members of the high schools’ faculty where they taught, among other things, the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program. As PIO, my job was to help promote the City’s efforts which I did through articles in the city’s magazine and through Thornton's cable network.

These same tactics may be effective today in helping deal with the gang problem, if the idea of paying an officer to be a full-time teacher would fly in today’s budget-constricted-restricted times.

Perhaps another way to come at this problem would be to take a page from many hospitals’ playbooks. More doctors and nurses than ever are being trained in spotting signs of abuse, whether physical, emotional, or other form, to help patients get help that they may need beyond whatever landed them in the ER in the first place. Perhaps teachers, school nurses/doctors could receive the same sort of training from accredited counselors to help spot kids who may be in trouble.

In addition, many kids may want help, but don’t know how to ask for it—due to ignorance, fear, peer pressure, etc. Perhaps there might be a website where students could anonymously post their concerns and receive input back through a secure online mailbox. And/or go “old school” with a 24-hour phoneline.

It seems to me the best way to make a difference is to address the social issues at the root of the problem. When things escalate to the point that law enforcement must be called, it’s gone too far. It is the role of public relations people, whether in city government, education, or law enforcement to think locally-and-globally, to provide perspective, and help develop ideas to to help community/government leaders address these challenges. Which is one of the reasons I find PR to be a stimulating career, as one must be a bit of a “everyman”—that is, to cultivate insights and connections with all manner of audiences, and to “know a little bit of everything”…and to apply that knowledge creatively for the betterment of the clients we serve.