Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) should have been faster to report the armed robbery of two students to the Tufts community. Four days passed between the robbery and TUPD's e-mail that alerted students both of the robbery and its possible gang relation. Tufts is a campus that thrives on instant-communication. Why should an event as important as this take four days to report?
While an instance of armed robbery is frightening enough, the fact that it could be a part of wider gang violence in Somerville is more worrying. Somerville is one of many American cities now infiltrated by the Salvadoran MS-13 gang, which has contacts across the United States, Canada and El Salvador. MS stands for "Mara Salvatrucha," which roughly translates into English as "Tough, streetwise Salvadorans."
MS-13 has made headlines for infiltrating into suburbia, previously thought to be immune to gangs. This gang has no overarching hierarchy; instead it is run on a regional clique basis. Gang members maintain close links with El Salvador (and increasingly Mexico) to obtain cheap weapons and drugs.
Somerville has tried to pass laws to curb gang activity, which have largely been controversial. The Anti-Gang Loitering ordinance, which prohibits suspicious looking groups from gathering in public areas, came under criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union and Tufts students. The ordinance was written too broadly, and could easily be construed into an assault on the civil liberties of Somerville residents.
State senator Jarrett Barrios presented a new plan to fight gangs in Somerville via "funding devoted to partnerships between local law enforcement and community-based anti-violence organizations," according to Thursday's Somerville Journal. Barrios, who represents Cambridge, was a staunch critic of the Anti-Gang Loitering ordinance. Barrios' initiative is an important effort to halt gang activity in Somerville, without targeting Hispanics or restricting citizens' right to assemble.
Tufts appears to be seeing a rise in crime, with burglaries over winter break and now this armed robbery on Talbot Ave. Students must be more cautious, both at home and while moving about campus. We've taken our safe campus for granted. Start preventing crime by not leaving your bag unattended in the library for hours at a time or walking about with your iPod so loud you're oblivious to your surroundings. Stick to well-lit pathways, and try not to walk alone at night.
There's not much individual students can do to stop gangs in Somerville, but we must be aware of the changing nature of our surrounding towns. If another incident occurs on or near campus, hopefully TUPD will alert the Tufts community immediately. Even though the suspects were quickly apprehended, it is still important for students to know about safety threats on campus as soon as possible.
