They may not be wearing colors or throwing up signs, but Oxford police say there is reason to be concerned about teens and potential gangs in the city.
“We have gangs in the sense that there are organized groups of teenagers here,” said Katherine Evans, Oxford Police Department housing agent. “Are they huge criminal enterprises like what you see in large areas? Are there a lot of gang-related crimes? No. Not yet. ‘Yet’ being the
operative word.”
To keep the problem from growing, police are moving into some neighborhoods and reaching out to adolescents with a positive message.
“As law enforcement, we can’t be a negative group of people. We’ve got to be positive. We’ve got to be in the community,” said Jeff McCutchen, OPD sergeant of investigations.
“The kids and the parents have got to know us so that when their kids are going down this path, or when we see it, we can address it, but we can address it from a positive standpoint.”
In one effort, the police have teamed up with Oxford Housing Authority to form what is known as OPD’s Housing Division. Agents assigned to this field are responsible for overseeing about 1,000 residents in 312 government-funded units.
These officers are on the frontline of curbing what McCutchen calls a “gang-like mentality” that he said has recently surfaced among youths within the city.
The officers’ main targets are preteens.
“Are you going to necessarily affect a 16-to-18-year-old kid now? Maybe not, but you might get their younger brother,” McCutchen said.
Evans, or Miss Kat, as some kids call her, is one of the agents assigned to OPD’s Housing Division. She and others try to mentor children ages six and older in what is known as the Oxford Police Club.
They organize activities ranging from arts and crafts to lake days at Sardis and football drills at Rivers Hill Park with former Ole Miss football players. However, it’s not all fun and games.
“There are kids in the Housing Authority (housing) that are not being properly taken care of,” Evans said. “Now, that’s not to say that all of them are not. There are some very competent and capable parents that are in the Housing Authority (housing), but there are also parents there that are not getting children the basic needs. We know that we can’t go to the parents and expect the ones that are not doing it to start doing it just because we ask them to. So, instead we step up, and we take the role.”
Using a portion of what the housing authority refers to as “resident funds,” officers such as Evans are able to provide the children who need them necessary toiletries, such as soap, toothpaste and deodorant.
For Tykia Gipson, an 11-year-old member of the Oxford Police Club, the experience has changed the way she views local law enforcement.
“I used to be scared of the police,” Gipson said. “Hanging around Miss Kat really helped with that. They’re not going to arrest you for nothing. They just want to be friends with you. They are willing to put their life on hold to have you safe from harm.”
As for Evans, she is cautiously optimistic about the impact of the gang prevention program.
“I hope that we’re making a small difference. I know that we’re not making a huge difference,” Evans said. “We all know that. We know that we cannot change what they go home to everyday in an event every two weeks. You know, we have realistic expectations, but as long as we have a glimmer of hope, we’ll continue to do the programs as long as we’re able.”
