They may seem different, but a Yakima police gang detective said there are some common elements between gang activity and domestic violence.
Some gang members have been exposed to domestic violence as children, and some tried to defend the parent being assaulted, Detective Patrick Schad told the Yakima Domestic Violence Coalition at its Dec. 12 meeting.
“It springs forth from a bad family environment,” Schad said.
And, as the domestic violence coalition brings groups together to address domestic violence, Schad said eliminating gang violence also requires partnerships across the community, as well as doing more than just locking up gang members.
“The more people you have on your team, the more you’re looking at a problem from different angles,” Schad said.
Schad and Lt. Chad Janis, a former gang detective who now heads the domestic violence coalition, said a disrupted home life, especially if domestic violence is involved, can be a factor in deciding to join a gang, which offers a false sense of stability and belonging.
Pointing to the top five “super shooters” the gang unit tracked down, including a pair of twin brothers, Schad said they all started having run-ins with the law in middle school, were raised in a single-parent family and their mothers were domestic violence victims.
During the pandemic lockdowns, Schad said there was a drop in gang violence, but an increase in domestic violence, suggesting that violent tendencies shifted from the streets to homes.
Gang activity starts young
YPD data shows that there is a spike in violent crime for ages 12-20, which slowly tapers down into the 30s. Schad said the reduction is due in part to convicted gang members being sent off to prison where, in more than a few cases, they become even more indoctrinated in gang life and start recruiting younger people to join gangs.
“I was made aware of a jail phone call where Sureños were telling junior-high gang members to stay in school because that is a way to recruit,” Schad said. He said young people get lured in a variety of ways, from barbecues to offers of free marijuana and vape pens, becoming ensnared in a gang that demands total loyalty.
YPD’s approach to gang violence has changed, Janis and Schad said. Instead of targeting all gang members, the unit works to identify the leaders and the ones committing the most crimes, a tactic Schad said has resulted in a 20% reduction in aggravated assault, with the goal of disrupting gang activity.
Walk About Yakima
The unit will also refer people to the Walk About Yakima program, which works with youth and young adults most likely to be incarcerated for gun violence or to be shot to death. The program uses a combination of counseling and peer mentorship, enlisting former gang members to help steer participants away from gang life.
Schad said other assistance includes help with moving away from neighborhoods where former gang members are more likely to face opposition from their former associates.
Schad said the gang unit works with partners in the community, including the Dispute Resolution Center of Yakima and Kittitas Counties, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
“It doesn’t do a whole lot of good to arrest people and not have teamwork or data-driven strategy,” Schad said.
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