Ephrata unveiling gang plan Wednesday

EPHRATA — Ephrata city officials are unveiling preliminary plans for dealing with gang issues in the city Wednesday.

EPHRATA - Ephrata city officials are unveiling preliminary plans for dealing with gang issues in the city Wednesday.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. at Ephrata City Hall, located at 121 Alder Street SW.

City Administrator Wes Crago said the plan will involve new laws, policies and procedures, along with coordination with other agencies.

"All we will really be talking about is the general plan," he said. "There will be a city council meeting on Sept. 15 that will lay out the program more specifically. We thought it was important to get consensus from the community leaders that this is the right direction to take."

Gangs are an issue affecting the entire community, making it important for all of the different agencies to agree how to respond, Crago said.

"We've been dealing with a large number of small burglaries, car prowls, break-ins and graffiti. Some of those we know are gang related. Some of them we suspect are gang related," he said. "It tends to come in bursts"

City officials researched what other communities did to combat gangs, and are adapting the methods to work in the city, Crago said.

Once the more detailed plan is presented, city staff will solicit input from the public, he said.

"In September, when we will have very specific detailed planed we'd like to get as many people at the meeting as possible," he said.