The state of Kansas defines a criminal street gang as any association or group of three of more people who claim an identifying mark or symbol and commit crimes. For Dodge City, that definition includes nearly 1000 residents in primarily Latino gangs with a West Coast gang culture influence.
Gang investigations
Officers James Nau and Leslie Lima of the Dodge City Police Department focused on the gang problem in Dodge City during Tuesday night’s class.
Nau said the state of Kansas defines a criminal street gang as any association or group of three of more people who claim an identifying mark or symbol and commit crimes. For Dodge City, that definition includes nearly 1000 residents in primarily Latino gangs with a West Coast gang culture influence.
Home invasions are the most common gang-related crime in Dodge. The majority of victims have been Dodge City’s Guatemalan residents, Lima said.
She explained that victims are often followed after cashing their paychecks at area convenience stores and ambushed at their homes by armed gang members.
Lima told the class that the best move in demolishing gang activity in Dodge City is education not only of youth to keep them from joining gangs, but also of victims.
“We want victims to know it is safe to report gang crimes,” Lima said in reference to victims who may be undocumented. “We aren’t going to deport them if they come to us.”
As many as six different gangs, most affiliated with the well-known Norteños or Sureños, have been identified in Dodge in the past twenty years.
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