Slowly but noticeably, gang activity is on the rise in Utah County.

Recent high-profile gang fights in Orem and Spanish Fork have put a spotlight on gangs in Utah County, though those incidents may not be representative of the problem. While gang problems in larger cities are often characterized by shootings, stabbings and other violence, the biggest indicator here is an increase in graffiti, according to Sgt. Darcy Simmons of the Utah County Sheriff's Office's major crimes task force.

"I think it's just kind of the popular thing to do for these younger members. One kid starts doing it and then brags about it to his friends and then the other ones follow their lead," Simmons said. "In the olden days, a lot of gangs used it to mark their specific territory for protection, to mark their specific territory for their drug sales, those types of things. I don't think it's necessarily that type of reasoning here. I think here it's just more ... the younger guys trying to prove themselves."

Over the past several weeks, taggers have left their mark in Pleasant Grove and Lindon, spraypainting a billboard, a historic building and several stores. Earlier this year in Springville, the City Council debated how to combat the city's growing graffiti problem. Police in all three cities said gangs were responsible for the rash of graffiti.

In 2005, Orem police had 1,257 reports of criminal mischief, which includes numerous types of vandalism but is mostly graffiti, according to Simmons. In 2006, that number rose to 1,387, and the city is on pace for 1,404 this year.

Orem police spokesman Lt. Doug Edwards said his department got 20 reports of graffiti on Wednesday alone, which he said is more than usual. Graffiti is the most common symptom of gang activity he sees in Orem, but there are often confrontations and other encounters as well.

Last week, in an incident that police said was a clash between rival gang members, a 17-year-old boy was attacked by three people with pipes or bats. Two days later, a 19-year-old whom police said had former ties to one of the gangs involved, reported that someone shot a hole in his car. These incidents came several days after six people were arrested in a gang fight in Spanish Fork. Simmons said the Orem incident was retaliation for the Spanish Fork fight.

Edwards said incidents such as last week's fight are not common, and even the graffiti has not jumped drastically.

"It's certainly not a daily occurrence, but yeah, we're aware of it. It's manifested itself in the schools," he said. "It's kind of an incremental increase over the years."

Not everyone in the county has seen the same trend. Lt. Steve Adams of the Spanish Fork Police Department said his department has not seen a noticeable rise in gang activity. The city had 19 graffiti reports in 2006 -- only two were certified as gang-related -- and it has had 15 so far this year. Spanish Fork is on pace for a slight increase in graffiti in 2007, but Adams attributed that to the city's rising population, which jumped from about 20,000 to more than 25,000 from 2000-2005.

"This last incident over the 24th was one of a very few that we ever have," Adams said of the gang fight in Spanish Fork. "We've had more graffiti than we've had in the past, but we also have a lot more people living here in town, too."

Utah County's population in general has increased drastically in the past several years, jumping by more than 100,000 people since 2000. Edwards said most of the gangs in the county are Hispanic and he believes the gang activity in Orem is probably increasing with the city's Hispanic population.

"Virtually all the gang-related stuff that we deal with has ties more to the Hispanic population," he said.

Simmons said there are seven or eight known gangs operating in Utah County.

Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it