St. Peter police are being proactive in dealing with gang activity, and concerns in that city serve as an important reminder to remain vigilant all across small-town Minnesota.

Youth gangs are not just a big-city problem, they’re not only a problem when strictly associated with outright threats and thuggery, and any community looking the other way or downplaying gang-related issues is asking for future trouble.

Two teens appeared in Nicollet County District Court this week for felony charges of committing a crime for the benefit of a gang. They painted gang graffiti on the Highway 99 bridge.

Some will say graffiti hardly constitutes a crime worth noting, but to their credit the St. Peter police are taking it seriously. There have been between 30 and 40 such incidents there in the past year.

It is important to crack down on so-called “lesser” crimes before they lead to something worse, and it has been well documented generally that small crimes lead to bigger crimes that become uncontrollable when left untended. Lack of an aggressive community response leads to fear and intimidation as well.

Despite continued evidence of gang-related activity in the southern Minnesota region, there is ample evidence that the public doesn’t understand or appreciate the problem. One aspect of this is that, though local law enforcement personnel stand ready to speak to groups and lead classes about gang issues, reportedly there have been no requests for information in the last two years.

For people who are interested in how the gang mentality persists here, experts say there appears not to be an “organized” gang structure. Gang members aren’t focused on protecting a turf and they don’t band together in traditional gang-like groups. Most activities are related to narcotics and the accumulation of money through drug-related activities. Gangs are responsible for a significant amount of narcotics crimes and many gang members are brought into the area from other Midwestern cities.

Violence between groups is minimal, at least for now. But if a continuous stream of gang members is allowed, sooner or later they’re liable to turn on each other.

This is why it’s crucial to continue supporting the Minnesota Gang Strike Force, created in 1997, and locally support the Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force, which deals directly with gangs. Presently, there exists one officer in this area to cover four counties.

Is that enough? The federal government, fickle as ever, has trimmed the task force budget, leaving the state to pick up a greater share of the tab. By carefully monitoring our neighborhoods, we can judge for ourselves whether we are all sufficiently equipped for the task.