By FULLER ROYAL

Teachers and support personnel in the Columbus County and Whiteville City schools will spend Wednesday afternoon learning how to identify gang members and the “wannabes” in their schools.

Johnny Hawkins, an intelligence officer with the North Carolina Department of Corrections, will present a gang-awareness training session at South Columbus High School. Hawkins works with the security section of the Division of Prisons.

In his two-hour presentation, which starts at 3:30 p.m. in the school auditorium, Hawkins will discuss why and how school youth join gangs, the effect of entertainment on the spread of gang culture and the mentality of the typical gang member.

He will outline the role of parents and the community in mobilizing to defeat gangs as well as intervention, prevention and suppression strategies.

Hawkins will talk about the five predominant gangs in North Carolina – Bloods/UBN, Crips, Folks Nation, La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Surenos-13.

Hawkins was invited by the Columbus County Schools.

“We want to be proactive with this,” said County Schools Superintendent Dan Strickland, adding that teachers are beginning to see the signs of gangs in the schools. He said the board decided to bring someone on to tell them what to look for and what to do when possible gang links are found.

Heather Wing, a behavior support specialist with the county schools, said Hawkins’ visit is supported by the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Services and local juvenile counselor Greg Worthington.

Wing said that area law enforcement will be involved with the program and that the city schools accepted the invitation to be involved.

“This is an awareness session to learn to spot the attire and the hand gestures,” Strickland said. “This is to start looking to identify these kids and ultimately to deter it. We’re going to look at what we need to do.”

Columbus County Schools Exceptional Children’s Director Dean Swart said, “If we can see which kids are buying into the gangs, then we can provide services and alternatives to them.”

She said that first, teachers and staff must figure out who’s involved.

“A kid 12 to 14 years old will identify with some group,” she said. “If we know these groups then we can get these kids to identify with other groups such as JROTC or chorus.”

Strickland said this seminar is a start and that all of the agencies in the communities must be involved. He said that during a recent visit to an elementary school, a student was wearing a T-shirt with a gang slogan on it.

“We have to start the intervention and we have to inform parents on how to talk to their kids,” he said. “In some sense the schools know some of what to look for but not everything.”

Wing said the process involves monitoring kids and then using preventative measures to keep them out of gangs.

Assistant Superintendent Alan Faulk said that issues facing the larger, more urban school systems are starting to creep into the city and county schools.

“We’re beginning to see the (gang) effects,” he said. “And I think in the community we’re beginning to see these also.

“We’re not seeing a big gang problem now,” he said. “We see it coming and we want to be ready for it.”

“It’s in the community,” Strickland said. “It’s definitely coming to the schools. The key word is ‘proactive.’”

Strickland cited an event last week where a boy was beaten because he refused to join a gang.
Strickland said that all county teachers, barring prior commitments or unchangeable school activities, are expected to attend. The schools are releasing early so teachers can attend.

“We’re expecting about 700 here,” Wing said.