web1_Dalton-Ray.jpg

Tunkhannock’s Dalton Ray signs with Clarion University

Knife attack at German train station leaves 1 dead, 3 wounded

<p>Give gang members in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility a path to escape &#8211; not from the lockup, but from their dead-end lifestyle.</p><p>Prison officials at the Wilkes-Barre facility say they are coping with an inmate population increasingly made up of men and women with allegiances to the Bloods and rival street gangs.</p><p>Guards consequently must deal with troubles that not only consume the workers&#8217; time, but also expose them to risks. Inmates, for example, hide and exchange coded messages, prompting staffers to conduct searches every day, said James Larson, interim county correctional services division head. Gang members also deface cell walls with their symbols and spark fights, often continuing conflicts that began outside the prison, according to <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/539921/gang-presence-is-a-growing-threat-in-luzerne-county-prison" target="_blank">a news article</a> by reporter Jennifer Learn-Andes in Sunday&#8217;s Times Leader.</p><p>For the protection of prison employees, inmates and visitors, Luzerne County officials need to pursue immediate solutions.</p><p>Building a modern prison with a better layout and the latest safety features probably remains cost-prohibitive until the county further pays down its $321 million debt (principal and interest). Until then, short-term remedies &#8211; which also will cost money &#8211; include reviving central court to keep the inmate population lower, restoring the use of drug-sniffing dogs, conducting specialized training for workers and adding guards.</p><p>Beyond those measures, which were outlined in Sunday&#8217;s article, prison officials and others in Luzerne County would be wise to adopt more strategies for discouraging gang recruitment of new members and for pointing current members toward a way out.</p><p>Many of the offenders locked in Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s jail already are far from their usual turf. While here, instead of in Allentown or Philadelphia, they might be more receptive to the idea of getting away from the exhausting, sometimes violent and always pathetic lifestyle that defines most gangs.</p><p>Leaving these groups &#8211; frequently portrayed as an impossible goal &#8211; can be accomplished, especially by members who are newer to the outfit or have weaker ties. People &#8220;age out&#8221; of gangs for many reasons: marriage, the birth of a child, employment, and other grown-up activities. Others break away by moving or &#8220;fading out.&#8221;</p><p>In the Wyoming Valley, professionals &#8211; ranging from police and probation and parole officers to community activists &#8211; potentially could devise ways to reach incarcerated gang members with messages and support to break from their old habits. Resources for this sort of effort include <a href="http://gangfree.org/" target="_blank">gangfree.org</a> and the <a href="https://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/" target="_blank">National Gang Center</a>, the latter of which produces a bulletin with articles such as &#8220;<a href="https://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Content/Documents/Getting-Out-Staying-Out.pdf" target="_blank">Getting Out of Gangs, Staying Out of Gangs</a>.&#8221;</p><p>By all means, take the necessary steps to make the county prison more safe. But don&#8217;t overlook the possibility of also providing certain gang members with a new direction &#8211; and better life &#8211; by showing them they can finish more than prison terms and accomplish more than just surviving their daily struggle.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_LCCF-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_LCCF-2.jpg</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>

Our Opinion: Enable gang members in Luzerne County’s prison to abandon dead-end lifestyle