The department released all but two pages that asked police to rate the level of gang involvement in different types of crime and to list local gangs by name, affiliation, ethnicity and number of members. Late last year, Springfield police provided the News-Leader with a copy of the local survey. compiled the 2005 National Gang Threat Assessment based on surveys completed by 455 law enforcement agencies across the country. Two gang-focused organizations the National Alliance of Gang Investigators Associations and the National Youth Gang Center in Tallahassee, Fla. I get the feeling they turn a blind eye to things sometimes." GANG THREAT SURVEY "We have a problem with gangs in this area even though the police department says it's not noticeable," Mitchell said. She attributes late-night park activity to gangs. That doesn't surprise Carmen Mitchell, who lives near Tom Watkins Park in northwest Springfield. Pages of a national survey filled out last year by the department's top gang intelligence officer and obtained by the News-Leader show the majority of gang activity in town is linked to neighborhood drug dealers. Rowe denies it, feeding speculation the police department is downplaying a gang problem. Such disputes fueled a recent string of Springfield shootings that have many people wondering if the violence is gang-related. Right now, though, Springfield Police Chief Lynn Rowe is more concerned about gun-toting thugs who settle disputes over girls, drugs or money by squeezing the trigger.
Springfield police say they've been able to suppress gang activity by keeping close tabs on known members and intercepting interlopers sizing up the city for new criminal enterprises. They're also concerned violent Hispanic gangs like Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, could try to fill an unmet demand for methamphetamine in the Ozarks. Officers worry that the most violent international street gangs may be drawn to the area to prey on growing immigrant populations. Springfield has 10 gangs with more than 200 members, but police say that alone doesn't put it in the same league as cities plagued by violent street gangs.
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