By Anthony Rifilato
Britto, in an attempt to be proactive, notified his head of security and told him to check out the situation. "He called me back and said, 'Bob, they're just waiting for the bus,'" Britto recalled, explaining that the caller had overreacted based on what Britto says is a myth that gang activity has become pervasive in Baldwin. "There are perceptions and realities, and gang activity is more a perception than a reality."
On Sept. 19, Britto and the 1st Precinct's commanding officer, Rick Capece, tried to dispel the negative perceptions some residents have about Baldwin's schools and the community as a whole. The pair spoke at a Chamber of Commerce meeting, and said that while there may be some gang activity in the community, it is not a major problem in Baldwin.
"[People] see kids who emulate people on MTV," said Capece. But, he added, since he became an inspector at the precinct in January, he has not seen any gang assaults in the schools. "In Baldwin we have certain gang members who live in the area, but not conducting business," Capece said.
After the meeting, the inspector said that while there are gang members in the school, they do not have a large presence. "... They're not running [the school]," Capece said. "We don't really have gang violence in the schools. We had a couple of gang assaults in years past, but they were isolated and far and few between. It's not like we have it continually, and it's not an ongoing problem."
There were some gang-related incidents at a few bars in the area last spring - Capece did not disclose which bars - but the 1st Precinct has been addressing these problems aggressively, he said. "I did what I know how to do ... I stepped on them," he said. "If a bar has assaults and problems, we're going to take care of it."
The 1st has a gang unit, and Capece once worked as a gang-relations specialist in the Nassau County Police Department. He emphasized that in addition to Baldwin, the 1st covers South Hempstead, Uniondale, Roosevelt, East Meadow, North Merrick and North Bellmore. The precinct has its problems, he said, but Baldwin has not been a trouble spot.
Capece pointed to the latest crime statistics, which show that crime is at the same level as last year in Baldwin, and has remained at about the same level for the past 10 years. "This is a problematic precinct, but not Baldwin," he said.
Britto said that when he became superintendent last year, he found that there was a reluctance in the district to use the word "gang." He explained that he had long discussions with the deans and administrators while looking into the issue. "We found that students emulate certain activities," Britto said, adding that kids often tend to mimic actors or rappers on television, and while they may look like they are in gangs, they're often not.
Britto said that when there have been fights in the school, weapons have not been used, and those that have been discovered, such as pen knives or box-cutters, were usually found after a fight, when an administrator checked a student's locker. "During my tenure here, no one has brandished a weapon," Britto said.
Baffling bomb threats
Britto and Capece also addressed last year's bomb threats, which disrupted the high school. Britto said that after the threats occurred, the number of fights in the building plummeted. During the 2004-05 year, the superintendent suspended 50 students, and the number dropped to 23 last year.
"Those are for serious disruptions to the school," Britto explained after the meeting, adding that the drop was attributable to a number of factors. "I guess it was irony," he said. "When the bomb threats began, no one seemed to have a fight again."
Britto also said that when he first became superintendent, he began an initiative to address the school tone and climate, asking principals and deans at the middle and high schools to enhance school safety. The district also expanded its mentoring program, and worked with troubled students who were prone to making bad decisions or fighting - efforts that have proved successful and may have contributed to the drop in suspensions, Britto said.
He admitted his frustration with the bomb threats - primarily that no students came forward to name the culprit or culprits. "It was to the point where the students were sick of it, but no one squealed," Britto said.
While one student was arrested at the middle school in what Britto dubbed a copycat case, no suspects at the high school have been found. "It never came out. Did that individual graduate? I don't know," he said, adding that the suspect either moved out of the school system or has since "grown up" and is not making such threats any longer.
Britto said that he even brought in a handwriting expert to investigate the threats, but to no avail.
Capece said that the police were frustrated as well. "We were kind of baffled by the bomb threats," he admitted, adding that students did not brag about the threats, something that is common during most incidents. The suspect, Capece said, could have been a loner and perhaps did not let other students in on the crime. "In most schools, the kids will talk," he said. "In this case, that wasn't happening."
The district has taken steps to discourage such hoaxes, placing security cameras in the building and the commons area, removing public phones, putting exterior doors on the bathrooms to secure them between classes, and increasing supervision, among other measures. But ultimately, Britto said, it's up to the students to come forward with information in such cases. "The community of students has to say, 'We can't have this here,'" he said.
Britto and Capece both noted that the district and precinct maintain a close relationship, and that there are two school resource officers assigned to Baldwin.
And Britto emphasized Baldwin High's excellence. One parent, he said, expressed his surprise recently after his child entered the high school for the first time and said his fears about the school's supposed negative climate were assuaged. "[The parent] said, 'You know, Dr. Britto, this is a pretty good school,'" Britto said. "How does he know that? Because of his kid's good experience."
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