OLATHE, Kan. – Around Olathe, you’re not going to see the organized gangs involved in violent crimes.
“We deal with a lot of low-level street crimes,” said Sgt. Grant Allen with the Olathe Police Department.
According to Sgt. Grant Allen, the biggest concern in Olathe when it comes to gangs is graffiti.
But Sgt. Allen says while the crimes haven’t been too serious, they’re always on the lookout for serious gang members.
“One good thing about Olathe is we don’t have a lot of the violent criminal gang crimes, but we do have a lot of the violent criminal gang members that come in and out of our city,” Sgt. Allen said.
To take a more proactive approach against gangs in the metro, Sgt. Allen says area law enforcement including suburban police departments and Kansas City police, meet once a month to share the latest gang information and trends.
Not every police department has that kind of network, however, which is why Sgt. Allen says “Gang Free Kansas,” an initiative announced by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt last year, could help.
“I think it’s a great part, a great organization for the state of Kansas as a whole,” Sgt. Allen said.
The goal is to rid the state of gangs, and the latest statute announced, if passed could make it easier to prosecute gangs.
“The racketeering law will give us the ability to prosecute that pattern of conduct, and to really go after leadership of gangs,” said Attorney General Schmidt.
Schmidt says the federal government has used a similar statute for years, and he hopes the state statute will be as effective.
