A longtime member of the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office was recently honored for his work in training people across the state in gang awareness.
YPSO Lt. Dennis Ivey received the 2013 Virginia Gang Investigators Association Volunteer of the Year award Oct. 15 at the group’s annual conference at Virginia Beach.
“It’s one of the greatest honors of my career because [VGIA] is a great organization and I’m proud to be involved with it,” Ivey said.
Ivey is a certified gang specialist with the group. He has trained hundreds of law enforcement officers, social workers, probation officers, advocates, civilians and members of local commonwealth’s attorney’s offices in gang awareness.
He got his start with the group while attending the 2001 state conference. He said his interest in gangs developed as he noticed motorcycle gangs at various events for motorcycle enthusiasts — Ivey is a lifelong motorcycle rider — eventually leading him to learn about street gangs and other groups.
Gang activity isn’t commonplace in York County, but that does not stop YPSO from working to raise awareness throughout the community. Over the past few years, deputies have done awareness training at York County’s libraries. Ivey said he has had success talking with parents before a juvenile’s involvement in a gang spirals out of control.
“I’ve been able to talk to parents and get them before they really start committing crime,” Ivey said.
He has also talked at church lock-ins and to administrators and teachers in the York County School Division about what to look for.
“I want them to recognize what the kids do, their writings and drawings,” Ivey said. “I don’t want to stereotype, but certain ways they dress, certain accessories they wear, we train on that. It’s been successful because the schools have brought things to our attention and we’ve been able to get through to kids before they get hardcore.”
When working with law enforcement, Ivey teaches officers what to look for on the street, how to stay safe and how to interact with suspected gang members.
Ivey got his start in law enforcement in 1988 as a member of the Newport News Sheriff’s Office, where he worked in the jail and in transporting prisoners around the state. He joined YPSO in 1990, starting in the county’s jail before joining uniformed patrol in 1992. After a five-year stint in narcotics working with K-9 units from 1995 to 2000, he became an investigator and then a street lieutenant.
He left YPSO in 2005 to pursue work in the private sector, however he came back within six months because he missed the work.
“It’s about being a community caretaker and helping people,” Ivey said of his work with YPSO. “It’s about making a difference in the community. I want to stay at it until I retire.”
The Virginia Gang Investigators Association got its start in 1997 when a group of law enforcement officers came together to work on responding to street gangs in Virginia.
