MADISON, Wis. -- Madison's mayor and police chief are working on a plan this week to crack down on gangs in Madison.

According to new numbers from the Madison Police Department, there are now more than 900 confirmed gang members in the city. When their associates are included, the number is more than 1,400 people, with many engaging in criminal activity that includes burglaries, robberies, drug dealing, aggravated assaults and shootings.

The mayor said the city needs to send a message to gangs.

"First of all, we need to send the message to existing gang members who want to relocate to Madison that they're just not welcomed here. We don't want them here," said Mayor Dave Cieslewicz.

The mayor and police chief's plan could move some officers out of administrative desk work and into every police district, bringing the number of gang officers citywide from two to five.

The mayor said there is no new funding to make these changes, which is why he's working closely with the chief to see how they can move resources, specifically people, around to combat gangs.

The mayor said real change has to include adults in the community. One Madison man agrees but said the entire city and its leaders need a reality check before things get worse.

"Here's what it is. We have police officers but what we need more of is (activities)," said Tony Travis, a former gang member who works with youth at the Wisconsin Youth and Family Center. "I came from a place where there were no community centers. There weren't a lot of opportunities. We got pretty much used to hearing about people dying."

Travis doesn't shy away from his own past gang involvement in Chicago, but he said he has found his calling in Madison, working to get youth off the street and out of trouble.

"I spent so much time of my life taking away and doing nonsense and stupid things that I didn't have no business doing whatsoever, so it feels good to me to finally be able to give something back," Travis said. "I like to have fun with these kids. I love to be outside play and baseball, football."

It's a community effort that Travis said he doesn't feel the city does enough for.

"I'm not trying to be disrespectful toward anyone, but when I came here there was so much to do; there ain't nothing for these kids. They need people (who) let them know, 'We care about you, man,'" Travis said.

Travis said the Wisconsin Youth and Family Center on the city's West Side, near Elver Park, coordinates with other nearby centers like the Meadowood Neighborhood Center so that children always have a place to go.

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