North Carolina prison officials want to cut off the gang violence other states have seen by segregating those inmates in a special close-custody unit at a prison in Morganton.

Many of the inmates won't get out until they complete a program that teaches them to control their anger and drop their gang ties.

"We want to help them think in a different manner, help them resolve a potentially dangerous situation without resorting to violence and hopefully give them the skills to help them renounce their gang identification," said Bob Lewis, the state Correction Department's assistant director of support services.

Growing gang activity across North Carolina is sending more gang members to the state's prisons. The Gov.'s Crime Commission concluded last year that about 390 gangs operate in the state, with more than 8,500 members.

The department wants to open the 192-bed unit at Foothills Correctional Institution in western North Carolina sometime this summer. It has received a $770,000 federal grant to train staff and complete renovations, such as adding a recreation yard and expanding certain areas. The state will have to assume the program's expense in two years.

Some inmates are known gang members when they enter prison, others' affiliation becomes known after their convictions, still others are recruited behind bars.

Gangs bring particular problems for prison staff members and other inmates.

Sometimes, inmates are required to assault other inmates or staff as part of their initiation. The gangs also intimidate other inmates, and they are often involved with drugs and other contraband being smuggled into prisons.

Lewis said the rising numbers of gang members in prison have not led to gang fights or rampant violence, but with nearly 500 identified gang members behind bars, the department sees trouble on the horizon if it does not act now. There are about 35,000 inmates in the prison system.

In North Carolina prisons last year, inmates attacked staffers 552 times and attacked other inmates 165 times. Prison officials said they confirmed that 11 assaults were gang-related.

The first state to establish a separate unit for gang members unit was Connecticut, 10 years ago. Prison violence in general has dropped by roughly 80 percent in that time, Connecticut officials say. The state has segregated male, female and youth gang members in special units.

"We had a lot of gang hits, a lot of gang assaults, and we had to realize that the gangs in Connecticut were running our prisons," said Capt. Armando Valeriano, the Connecticut prison system's security risk group coordinator.

Segregating gang members had an immediate impact, Valeriano said. Many inmates changed their behavior to avoid being transferred. Those who didn't found themselves in a six-month program that teaches them how to serve their time with the least amount of trouble. You don't get out if you don't pass the program, Valeriano said.

So far, less than 5 percent of those who complete the program come back, he said.

New Jersey began segregating gang members in 1998, and since then assaults on staff have dropped 50 percent.

North Carolina's program will last at least nine months. Those who do not pass will stay until they do, unless they've completed their sentence, Lewis said. The inmates will continue to have the same privileges as other inmates in close custody, such as visitation and access to a telephone.

Prison officials have identified at least four gangs with members in prison, and 471 gang members.

Nearly half of them belong to the United Blood Nation. United Blood Nation, the Five Percenters and the Crips predominantly draw African-American inmates. The Folk Nation is composed mostly of white inmates, Lewis said.

Lewis would not explain publicly how prison officials identify gang members.

N.C. prison officials plan separate unit for gangs