Law enforcement officers working in the trenches readily admit that a small gang problem exists but, still find themselves going back to the denial stage, because the police brass or politicians refuse to acknowledge the presence of gangs for one or more of the following reasons.

1. Denial.

2. Lack of gang education.

3. Fear, loss of revenue (beaches, parks, amusements etc.).

4. Loss of property value (home, businesses etc.).

5. Have no idea as to how to address the gang problem.

6. Political suicide (if I admit gangs, I'll not get re-elected to office).

7. I must agree with the politicians or I will not get promoted to my next highest rank.

8. If I ignore the problem, it may go away.

1. Conduct an assessment of the community

a. Character and scope of youth gang crime

b. Data on gang crime to be collected

c. Sources of information

d. Reporting, coordinating, verifying, mechanizing and analyzing official data

e. Assessment of community resources

Not all street gangs are drug related in nature. Assessment of the problem is therefore necessary to identify distinctive aspects of gang crime requiring targeted law enforcement attention and resources.

Example of the types of Gangs one may encounter:

1. Turf Gangs 2. Drug Gangs 3. Motorcycle Gangs 4. Money Assault Gangs

5. Satanic Gangs 6. Hate Gangs 7. Criminal Information Gangs (CIA)

8. Sex Posse (Gangs) Spur Posse
9. Extremist Groups to the far Right & Left

10. Terrorist Groups (Domestic and International)

Two types of assessment activities are needed:

First an assessment which collects and analyzes meaningful data on gang crimes from various official and non-official sources.

Second an assessment or community resource analysis, which focuses not only on what law enforcement does but what a variety of community agencies can do collaboratively to address the gang crime problem.

Certain information is required to determine whether a gang problem exists, and if it does, its scope and character. The problem is expected to vary in emerging and chronic cities. An important first step is to understand the nature of the problem in operational terms; i.e., to develop definitions of the terms gang, gang member, and gang incident.

Keep in mind, that any true assessment that is conducted should be hands-on (face to face) and not a written survey. Also a good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that the gang member could care less about your definition or how you use it. For they will continue their activities so long as their is something in it for them.

Every organization has its rules and regulations, the gangs are not the exceptions. No matter what gang you deal with they will have at least the following rules:

1. Supreme loyalty to the gang

2. Sharing of criminal profits

3. Never inform on a fellow gang member (banger)

4. Always side with the gang, no matter what

5. Abide by the code of honor

6. Must past a test of acceptance

7. Never speak to the police or anyone in authority about the gang

8. Denial of the gang when ever possible

1. Sex: is both male and female

2. RACE: White, Latino, Asian, Black, and Indian.

3. Average age: 8 - 24 years

4. Weapons: Knife, Gun, Bleach, or street weapons

5. Graffiti: AKA: Street Newspapers (Signs, symbols, etc.)

6. Involvement: Criminal Mischief to Murder

7. Some are anti-establishment and/or anti-police

8. National Recruitment Location is the schools during the month of April - July.

9. Hangouts: Parks, Beaches, Malls, Street Corners, Recreation Centers, Fast Food places, Schools

Bars, Arcades, and the like.

The following definition is used and accepted by the National Concerned Officers Organization, and has been recognized and accepted by the several states as a working definition of a street gang.

1. Street Gang. An ongoing organization, crew, posse, cartel, association, or group of three (3) or more persons, whether formal or informal, which meet the following criteria:

A. Has a common name or common identifying signs, colors, or symbols, and

B. has members or associates who, individually or collectively, engage in, or have engaged, in criminal activity.

2. Youth and Street Gang Member - A person who meets any two       of the following criteria:

A. Admits to gang membership.

B. Is a youth up to age 18 who is identified as a gang member by a parent or guardian.

C. Is identified as a gang member by a documented reliable informant; or a reliable person who is

known to the officer who is not a listed informant.

D. Resides in, or frequents, a particular gang's area and adopts their style of dress, use of and signs, symbols, or tattoos, and associates with known gang members.

E. Is identified as a gang member by an informant of previously untested reliability, and it is corroborated by independent information.

F. Has been arrested more then once in the company of identified gang members for offenses which are consistent with usual gang activity.

G. Is identified as a gang member by physical evidence such as photographs or other documentation.

H. Has been stopped or observed in the company of known gang members four (4) or more times.

I. Information must be confirmed by trained police or a reliable source.

J. Any adult 19 years or older, who also meets any or part of the above criteria.

THE NEED FOR SPECIALIZATION 

Gang violence has reached epidemic proportions and poses a serious threat to society. The insidious growth of gang activity, including both planned and unplanned gang violence, does not lend itself to either a simple or lasting solution. Even saturating a gang-impacted area with patrol forces has only a limited degree of success, and then, for just a short period of time. It is evident, therefore, that if any real progress is going to be made to secure society against the threat of gangs; it will have to be through the use of sophisticated, specialized law enforcement or civilian units, SPECIALLY TRAINED in combating those elements. The nature, size, techniques, and other matters relative to the formation of such units will depend upon the severity of the problem within the community and the resources that the community itself is willing to dedicate to solving the problem it faces.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Before a gang unit can be formed, decisions must be faced with reference to what goals and objectives can be realistically expected and attained. One foremost problem, as stated earlier, is a lack of sufficient resources, and, that limitation will shape what can be done. Even so, realistic forethought and planning can go far in developing a unit which can be both efficient and cost effective, proactive instead of reactive.

The following is a list of typical questions which one may be asked:

Q. What will be the unit's primary function?

Q. Will the unit be responsible for criminal investigation of all gang cases?

Q. Will the unit be a police or civilian organization?

Q. Will the unit handle field enforcement operations and patrol gang areas to curtail violence?

Q. Will the unit operate as a monitoring section, compiling and disseminating intelligence information?

Q. Will the personnel work in plainclothes or in uniform?

Q. Will the unit operate covertly, with undercover operations?

Q. Will the unit function as a line or support section?

Q. What will be the best hours of operation, and how many days a week should the unit be on the street?

Q. Where will the unit be assigned (Patrol, Detective, or Administrative)?

Q. Will the gang unit be on call 24 hours a day?

Q. Will the unit be attached to a Bias Crime Unit?

COOPERATION BETWEEN AGENCIES

Since gangs do not exist solely within city, county or state boundaries, and since gang clashes all too frequently involve more than one jurisdiction, it helps to know what gangs are active or reside in adjacent areas or jurisdictions. Even though the task is demanding, it is imperative for an officer to be informed as to which gangs are active in his or her own jurisdiction. It is more difficult to have other than a general knowledge of which gangs are active in neighboring jurisdictions. To keep informed it is necessary to maintain a good working relationship and have an effective information exchange arrangement with gang units of other law enforcement agencies or personnel who have been tracking gangs for two or more years. Each gang should be filed by name separately and alphabetically.

In jurisdictions with a large number of gangs, it may be useful to further subdivide them according to type; i.e., motorcycle, prison, car club, etc. Some agencies have developed a gang biography card to profile each gang. This is filed with the described gang and should include as much of the following information as possible.

1. The number of active and associate members.

2. The type of gang it is (street, motorcycle, etc).

3. The ethnic composition of the gang.

4. The gang's territory and boundaries.

5. The gang hangouts.

6. The type (s) of crime (s) the gang member (s) commit.

7. The gangs method of operation (M.O.).

8. The gang's choice of victims.

9. The members who fill leadership roles.

10. The members who are known to be violent.

11. The gang's weapon of choice