Officers from around Story County sharpened their skills at a gang seminar in Ames earlier this week.

The seminar was organized by Jerry Spencer, the K-9 officer for the Ames Police Department.

The one-day event, offered both Monday and Tuesday, informed police officers from Story City, Marshalltown, Huxley, Nevada, Ames and the Iowa State Department of Public Safety about things to look for and how to interpret gang activity, said Shawn Phipps, Ames special investigations officer.

“We like to stay ahead of trends in the criminal justice system,” Phipps said.

Phipps said local officers like to be informed about gang happenings from around the country. The community doesn’t have a big gang problem at this time, but the seminar provided information on techniques and trends to stay ahead, she said.

Speakers from the Polk County Attorney’s Office presented information about prosecution techniques for dealing with gang activity.

“This began bridging officers and prosecutors into one successful entity,” Phipps said. “We were happy with the information disseminated and some experience shared to promote officer safety. We went away knowing more [than we knew] prior to the seminar.”