By Karenlyn Barone
The Nassau County Police Department defines a gang as a group of three or more people bound together on a continuing basis for the purpose of committing antisocial or criminal acts. By that definition, gang activity is on the rise in Nassau County.
Three officers of the Malverne Police Department have taken a stand against such activity, forming the Malverne Gang Unit within the department. Officers Robert Giacopelli, Warren Clements and Vinny Esposito are serious about infiltrating and curtailing gang activity in their village and have taken a "zero tolerance" stand against gangs.
"Anyone who says they don't have gang members in their village is very misinformed," said Clements, a six-year veteran of the department who previously worked in the Nassau County Sheriff's Department for 13 years. "All you need is a friend who has a friend, and the next thing you know, you have gang activity."
The three-man gang unit is taking a pro-active approach to gang activity, committing itself to educating residents, establishing communications with the school district and being visible to the community.
"We realized gangs were an issue throughout the county, and we wanted to take a pro-active stance against them and their influence over kids," said Giacopelli, a Malverne police officer for 14 years and previously a NYPD officer. "We want to educate rather than enforce."
The team is preparing a presentation geared toward middle- and high-school students, stressing the negativity of gangs and directing the youth toward positive and socially acceptable activities.
"There are no gang hangouts in Malverne, no meetings or gang activity based in Malverne," said Esposito, a Malverne police officer for the past six years who previously worked in the Manhattan district attorney's office. "But before anything develops, we want to crush and defuse it."
Nevertheless, the officers recognize the potential for gang violence, and decided to face it head on. Their approach is to inform the public and let gangs know that they are not welcome in their hamlet. All three have a vested interest in the project, since they live in the area. They have all been certified by the Department of Criminal Justice and New York state to go to schools and host education seminars.
"We are prepared to show tapes that highlight the ills of gangs," said Giacopelli. "We are recognizing the reality of the threat."
Gang-related behavior is seen throughout Nassau County, according to the officers. There are small signals that only the trained eye will see, but nonetheless they are present. The men take their preventive gang program seriously and scour youth-targeted periodicals, school yearbooks and graffiti-riddled walls searching for indications of gang-related activities.
"People would be surprised to know all the little signs a kid uses to show they are in a gang," said Clements. "They usually wear certain colors, and there are even certain hand signals that look innocent, but have a gang connection."
Malverne's Gang Unit hopes to have its program in the schools before the end of the year. More important, they hope to make a difference in the lives of the impressionable young people of their community. "If we can save one kid from getting involved in gangs, that's a big deal," said Clements. "Gangs are a total dead end."
