By Ryan Haggerty
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MILWAUKEE — Crime has decreased in a north-side neighborhood since a crackdown last month on a violent gang that operated in the area, Milwaukee police officials said Tuesday.
The gang, known as the Nash Street Boys, terrorized residents in the neighborhood near N. 19th and W. Nash streets, selling about $1 million worth of cocaine and marijuana over a two-year period, officials said. The gang was targeted Feb. 14, when teams of law enforcement officers, led by Milwaukee police and the FBI, arrested 39 people suspected of gang involvement.
The bust led to federal indictments against 45 people on counts ranging from conspiracy to drug dealing and weapons violations.
In the month since the raid, reported incidents of both total crime and violent crime in the neighborhood have dropped when compared with the month before the raid, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Police Department.
The dip in crime is due to both an increased police presence and greater activism by residents, Police Chief Edward Flynn said.
“We’re not declaring victory, and this campaign is far from over, but there are positive signs of life in this neighborhood,” Flynn said during a news conference at the District 5 police station Tuesday night. “Those signs of life are directly attributable to the efforts of our police officers, working together with the residents . . . to create a safe environment.”
According to police, 24 incidents, ranging from shootings to theft, were reported in the neighborhood in the month before the raid and 16 the month after.
“The added police presence has been good,” said Al Hegwood, a community activist who attended the news conference. “They’ve been strategically placed. They know where they need to be.”
Copyright 2008 The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel