Simon, I read your post dated Jan.'08..I agree with you completely..The police are so focused on gang "activity" and "pot" busts that they are either naive or just stupid when it comes to the heavy drugs in this town..I know for a fact that the use of Oxycontin and Heroin has escalated above and beyond belief..They bust marijuana dealers and out a price tag of 3-5 million.. No stories of Heroin or prescription drug abuse or deals..I have a son who is addicted to opiates..(Heroin,Oxy etc...)He tells me about the drugs and the dealers and the police turn a blind eye and a deaf ear..I guess it is easier to tell parents to search their childrens things..looking for wide end markers...This town is a joke..

simon/david....I've read your post three times and have tried to compose myself and write something that you can comprehend. Well I have come to the conclusion that you are a complete idiot and need to get off the pipe. You claim to have first hand knowledge of all this police activity but yet you imply that you and your homeys stay inside all the time doing god knows what. And that crack about the krispy creams...that's getting a little bit old...maybe when you come to your low ,just before lighting up again you might try something a little more original.

i cant believe what ive read, evansville housewife, you write as intelligent woman, but are you serious, the jdc is a country club for these kids, it isnst anything as bad as you are describing it. i have had the mis dealings of children who have been sent there they loved it fun and games and being told it was there parents fault they were troubled and sent there. between my two younger children they were probably sent there 37 times did it do any good? no, tell me how should they be treated? big screen tv, stereos,gourmet food,etc., some of these kids are hardcore, they would just as soon kick your teeth in than look at you. not all detention officers are good at what they do there, some even atagonize those kids, but a good 90 percent of them try very hard to help those kids, and all they get in return in negative feedback,you try doing there job for one shift, and let me know how it goes after the kid pisses on you or spits in your face. believe im the mother of two of the kids that spent quite a bit of their teenage years as the jdc guest

simondavid-janesville is not the little sweet town it once was. we have a gang-unit officer,unless you have had first hand experienced with this issuse it's real scarey !! everyone wants to believe it doesn't happen here ! it does and most wouldn't believe who is involved. we all need a good security system !

in janesville if you really actually think about it the gang activity is nowhere near close to the sorrounding areas of janesville.like beloit,chicago,rockford,all of those places have a higher crime rate then most any other city besides the hardcore spots.and i think giving money to the police for overtime is outrageous.because the cops most of the time just sit in parking lots waiting for a call to come in on a local crime nearby.i have seen my fair share of officers while on duty going into stores and buying those "krispy cremes" not to rag on anyone at the moment but if you dont do your job already why get paid more to not do it? is anyone else on the same page that i'm on right now with the community.and as for "tagging" i know that most of my friends dont even go outside to let alone make a snowball then to walk a half mile away and "tag" a building with a gang symbol or name.the city is going to hard on the graffiti crimes.what they need to do is find more of those illicit drug lord houses and get search warrants issued so that way we can keep all the hard drugs off of the streets so they are safer for the children.
-simon

I find it interesting that evansvillehousewife responded to points 1 and 2 of unkbd's post, but not to number 3. And this glaring omission puts an exclamation point on that very point!

I thought evansvillehousewife was banned from posting????

JJackson's comments about the sheriff's department are right on. The sad part is the general public and, every four years the voters, either don't remember or don't care.

Actually BI the correct spelling for the gardeing tool is spelled "hoe"
Any how I don't feel we have a problem with gangs too bad in Jtown...it could be worse. The problem that we have is that most of them are not even from here. They come from Rockford, Racine and Chicago area. I always wonder why they flock here and it's because JTown is the center of these other cities.
the biggest problem we have in Janesville is the dealing and use of crack....I have dealt with this problem with people I know personally and it makes me sick. People that have never smoked a cigarette are addicted the it. I have seen deals going on in public places here and cannot believe the people I see buying it. Anywhere from Doctors to lawyers to scumbags. You guessed it, right out in the open and nobody says a word. It makes me sick!
I think the city of Janesville needs to take a closer look and get crackin on the crack dealings. If we do that then these so called gang bangers will not have a reason to come to JTown.

unkbd posted:Evansvillehousewife, you seem to have something to say about everything that comes up in these discussions, and you seem to be informed about what you post. Annoying as that tends to be,

WHAT? It's annoying to read an INFORMED post?
Your theories on my personality are interesting- you are somewhat correct on having a good memory and a high level of interest. As far as me having too much time on my hands, I post about 3-4X a day, 3-4 minutes apiece. A MAXIMUM of 30 minutes a day. Most people probably spend more daily time watching TV commercials than what I spend here. I spend ZERO- nada- time in front of the TV. Sometimes I read/post while waiting on my Blackberry.
What I would like to know, unkdb, is why my presence brings up so many issues for YOU. Why need to question what I am as a person? Since I care naught about you and yourself, why do you care about me?
If reading an informed post causes resentment in you, perhaps you should look at why you resent and fear intelligent persons.
As far as having the time to tour JDC.. have you considered the *slight* possibility that I am NOT infact a housebound housewife, and am already serving in the public interest?

I agree, the wannabe is a huge pain for law enforcement too; Punks without parents. Evansvillehousewife, I agree that the JDC is a hard environment. It's hard to imagine that a child is victimized and as a safe measure is housed there, but in those cases, they have nowhere else to go, they don't have the family structure most of us take for granted. The JDC is a reflection of how Rock County has changed in twenty years. The JDC met the needs of the community much better when it was built.

I was going over the article and I noticed that BPD and JPD made comments about the grant and "gang activity," which is all good. But what I noticed was that the Rock County Sheriff Dept. made no comment about how they are going to use the grant... they actually made no comment at all. Which makes me believe that they'll probably use the money to redo their offices like I said earlier. While the actual jail working conditions is horrible; the Administration is living the HIGH LIFE. The Administration bought brand new leather presidental type chairs but the chairs the Officers use in the Units are falling apart. Administration has new carpeting while the floors in the jail are disgusting. Adminisration got new office paint jobs while the the paint is coming off the walls in the control booth where the officers work and the units where the inmates are housed. Administration got new Impala's that they can drive home while the Central Control booth is outdated to the point of extinction. Like I said, the HIGH LIFE. So I was thinking of some ways how they might use the money. Lets see, they might get the clerks some massages, they might send the Administration to some so call training seminars in Las Vegas, California or Florida while Correctional Officers and Deputy's put in training request for much more important training seminars only to be told..."We have no more money left for training." I would say our sheriff dept. but to me its a disgrace. Yes JPD and BPD does a good job and actually put theirs grants to use. But the Rock County Sheriff's Dept never uses money right. they go out and buy unneccessary things. Actually all the the money they used to redo their offices,could have probably bought 8 new double bunks. Thats 16 more inmates that not housed out of county. But they want to paint this picture like they need help, we don't have the money or room. See the actual picture is this they want to build a new sheriff's dept. The heck with the jail. As long as their workin area is all nice and pretty everything is fine in their eyes. Ask them to go work in one of the units for an 8 hour shift and see they could handle. Sure most of them probably started in the Jail...back in the 70's and 80's. But its 2007. Times then changed, society then changed and inmates then changed.

To sum up what I'm saying, the Rock County Sheriff Dept uses money unwisely. They paint pictures for this community. If they wanted to get the backing from the community for this new jail, while they was having those so call tours...the only they had to do was tell the Officers to make sure the inmates didn't clean the unit. Then what do you have a messy, messy disgusting jail. Think about it people, just think about it.

I understand that this is off topic but I hope that you all will bear with me. It has come to the point where I have to say something or bust. Evansvillehousewife, you seem to have something to say about everything that comes up in these discussions, and you seem to be informed about what you post. Annoying as that tends to be, I would like to know how much time you have in your day as compared to the rest of us? I mean really, touring the JDC, unless it is part of your job/education process, who has that kind of time or desire. By no means is this an attack on you, but I have come to the following conclusions: A. You are an obsessive compulsive fact gatherer with a photographic memeory for facts and data. B. You have way to much time on your hands and would be better off putting your "talents"/percieved passion for the public welfare to use as an elected official somewhere, rather than being a "housewife". and 3. Your posts, however intelligent, do have the faintest taste of disdain towards those you direct your comments to. In hopes that this post doesn't get removed I would suggest that public education, namely parents of middle and high school children, could make a difference in the prevention of some gangs/gang activity. The local Park Place pamphlet that comes out to the Janesville residents would be perfect for this. I drive through many parts of town and wouldn't know gang related graphiti if it was on my vehicle. Tell the public what to look for. If two kids are wearing baggy pants and gold chains, which one is the gang member? Is it the one with the sideways NY baseball cap or is it the one with the blue bandana tied around a belt loop?

pigbrain and dw- I was shocked when I toured the JDC. I was even more shocked when I found out that teen kids with no foster homes were housed there. Imagine coming forward after being raped or abused by a family member and being put in that horrible facility. It's like something out of Saudi Arabia. I expressed concern at the bleakness and humiliation of this place to a recent victim,and the caseworker I was with shrugged his shoulders and said "Well, at least they're not being abused."
I looked over to a very angry "secure"teen who was screaming obscenties and grabbing himself.
"They're NOT?" I asked. Silence, no reply.
Rock county has very little for its children. Little help for foster parents, even less help for children and their welfare. There's enough vacant buildings here.Why not more group homes?
DW, HEAR HEAR. Does the public actually believes that those that investigate and recover evidence have careers in forensic sciences?
A field trip to LA or NYC would be FUN to see how a real gang task force works. Five of those NYC gang task forces would shut the crap in this town down in a week, tops. Course, we don;t have the room to hold them.
Personally, I think jailing people for unpaid fines is bunk. We need work farms.

Mymaro-
What you see are not bloods and crips, but they are fledgling violent criminals. When someone is coming after someone with a baby Uzi or a ballbat, it doesn't matter how long the gang has been around or the membership. They're bad news for the community.
Milwaukee had a HUGE influx in the early 90's from Chicago.
Yeah, their young, yah, they look stuppid in their baggy ass pants, but they're dealing, they're making money, and there's guns out there/

having lived out west where there are actual gang members i have to laugh at all these wannabes runnin around here calling themselves"gangsters" what a joke all of them are. theyre worse than the "real" gangbangers. they seem to be people who cant handle life themselves, they have to have their "gang" to make them feel big.

Having started my LE career in corrections, I have to agree with some of your statements. I believe Rock County is trying to improve its CO treatment with the new administration, but much is needed on the juvenile side. As mentioned by an earlier post, the time to act with these kids is before they become adults, but the JDC is unable to devote the needed time and resourses to really change the direction of most offenders. And they have a tough job, dealing with some of those kids is worse than the inmates in the jail by a huge margin. Juvenile corrections and rehabilitation are wide open goldmines for opportunity for new LE cadets.

Having seen the "Rock County" way as both a Corrections Officer and a JDO, I have to agree. I am a personal witness to the "Rock County" ways.

The CO's, they treat the good CO's horribly. There exists a definite "good old boys" club. If you are not in that club you aren't worth anything.

One of my friends at the jail had a lot of knowledge regarding gangs. When the jail formed a "gang unit," instead of allowing him to participate, the admin chose 2 "good old boys" to run it. They could not distinguish between a gang member and a member of the lollipop guild. Their idea of "gathering intelligence" was to take photos of grafitti, occassionally it wasn't even gang related.

In respect to JDO's, their hands are so tied. Heaven forbit the violent little dears, who are spitting on, kicking and throwing feces at our public servants, get even one little scratch on their body, and the JDO experiences the admin stapling an excessive use of force complaint to your file. You never hear of the violence against these people, but you will here of their complaints.

With all of my comments, I hope the county understands, while using this grant, PUT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE TRAINING in charge of your team.

To the general public, I urge you to dig deeply into why the county doesn't hold Corrections staff all that well. Equal treatment is one of the reasons at the top of the list.

We must understand, gang activity is here and it will stay. We had the opportunity to stop it, but years of denial has allowed the activity to propagate.

Our gangs are Non-violent? I beg to differ. People are being killed for gangs. I recall a story of a young man kidnapped and beat for a gang related drug deal. When I was a JDO I recall a couple of fights that were gang related. Gangs = violence. there is no doubt of that.

to say "If we’re addressing the drug houses and addressing disorderly activities in neighborhoods, it tends to address gang issues at its core.." is quite the distortion of truth. sticking otherwise good kids with possession charges makes nobody safer. if the pot arrests in the paper every day have anything to do with gangs, rock county must have about the worst gang problem in wisconsin

I agree, But I am so sick and tired of Rock County saying that we have no gang problem or crime problem. They try so hard to cover every little piece of criminal activity up. I used to work at the Rock County Juvenile Detention Center and believe me, I know they could use the money too for some programming activities for the juveniles. But still both JDO's and CO's need help and the County fail to realize that. Instead they buy office furniture, re-decorate their offices, carpet their adimistrative offices and forget about everyone else but themselves.

Maybe instead of always concentrating on Correctional Officers, they should concentrate the money on the Juvenile Detention Officers. The Detention officers are the ones who will have extended contact time with most the juvenile gang offenders. It seems like Rock County residents at times only believe the Jail exists. There is a Juvenile Detention Center were the officers are underpaid and dealing with most if not all the juvenile gang offenders from the area. Put the money into programs for these kids, attempt to help them before they end up in the system. The only thing the gang units really do, are arrest more juvenile offenders, take them off the street, put them in the detention center, and then the juveniles get released back to the street. It is a never ending cycle, hopefully soon Rock County could open there eyes and put the money into something really needed.

Why is that Rock County try and make it seem as though this area has no high crime problem or gang problem. This area covers up so much criminal activity its crazy. They want visitors and everybody else to think that this is the safest place to live and it probably is when compared to Rockford, Chicago or Milwaukee. But believe me, Rock County Has a Gang Problem. If they didn't the JPD, BPD wouldn't have a Gang Unit or Street Crime Unit and the Rock County Sheriff's Dept wouldn't be trying to build a new jail. Oh and Do Rock County Sheriff Dept even have a Gang Unit? Last I knew they didn't. Maybe they can use their part of the grant to pay for more Correctional Officers. So that the already understaffed, underappreciated Correctional Officers can have the benefit of spending some time with their families; especially for the holidays. I mean, I'm sure the Administrative Staff will be home with their families. Thats just how I feel.