As gangs go, these guys are pretty low-key. Police say they’re on their radar, a blip that showed up just before Christmas.

But after a fight brought the arrest of six on Monday, these young men have some residents on St. Joseph’s South Side worried.

Former mayor Larry Stobbs Sr. said perhaps the so-called gang has been laying underground for awhile, just getting by doing “silly stuff,” but the recent fight has now put them into the public eye.

“They’re trying to get up now, and be something more important,” said Mr. Stobbs, president of the Southside Progressive Association.

“And that’s where you want to cut their feet out from under them.”

When talking about South End youth gangs, or as some residents and police call them “wannabes,” there are fewer than three groups.

The South Side Criminals (also known as the South Side Crusaders) is the dominant group, commonly the SSC13. The other is the King Hill Posse, commonly the KHP, and sometimes known as the Joe Town Kings. Police believe the Joe Town Kings may even be their own group.

The ages in the groups range from teenage years to members in their 20s.

At this point, the extent of their criminal endeavours are scattered and ostensibly isolated to property crimes — mostly in the form of spray painting tags. The graffiti on buildings is a way to build name recognition or claim territory, police say.

They also fight, among themselves.

This was most recently evident on Monday evening when the SSC13 and KHP joined, and pelted rocks toward the home of a former member.

The St. Joseph Police Department arrested six group members, including an 18-year-old, who was Tased when he didn’t follow orders.

The rock fight violence may seem significant, but as one radio show caller to a discussion on Barry Birr’s “Hotline” on 680 KFEQ Friday morning pointed out, at least it was fought “with rocks and not guns.”

But a larger issue this week has emerged from the incident. It is in the form of concern, especially by top brass in the police ranks.

In visits to prisons around Missouri, they’ve found inmates who say they were active in St. Joseph gangs about 20 years ago, when police at that time did not believe they had a gang presence.

Cmdr. Jim Connors, a 28-year veteran in the department, said there had been locals who went to prison while still actively in a gang.

With that realization has come a renewed impetus to not allow a recurrence, and stifle actual or potential groups.

The general order in the Police Department has been aggressive patrols that actively enforce laws on suspected juveniles.

Zero-tolerance toward the problem has built at the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department.

“I think by all means zero-tolerance is the absolute and only approach to take this problem head-on,” said Sgt. Brian Carter, who tracks gang activity for the Sheriff’s Department.

Sgt. Matt Rock, the police gang intelligence officer, said the presence of three different groups brings questions on whether there soon will be violence over territory.

And while some South Side residents are taking a wait-and-see approach, others are sounding a dire warning.

Sandra Downs, whose son was the target of Monday’s rock attack, said her then 17-year-old son joined SSC13 in December, and wanted to leave a month later. She said her son was told he would have to be “jumped-out” to leave the gang, but the family refused.

“And they have been harassing us since, saying they are going to rape our daughter, kill (my son), bust in our door and burn down our house,” Ms. Downs said.

Key members of the groups, through intermediaries, declined to be interviewed for this story.

For now, beat cops in the South Side, like Police Officer Jason Strong, hold mental and written records on suspected youth and groups hanging out with one another. Officers hope this street level intelligence will chip away at the groups, until they ultimately break. “There is no doubt that this has turned into a pretty good priority in the South End,” Mr. Strong said. “It’s not something we’re going to push by the wayside. We’re aggressively going after them.”

Ahmad Safi can be reached at ahmadsafi@npgco.com.