Gangs

[Hawke]

Greetings...

Today when I got home I noticed some graffiti at my place. The tags were x3. I called my local cops and was informed that was the tag for a Mexican gang (x3 = 13 = the letter M in the alphabet = Mexico). I just painted over all their tags to remove their symbols.

I talked with my neighbors and discovered that the non-latinos were getting hit. One of my neighbors mentioned two people going along the street, a lady talking with kids to see who the non-latinos were in the neighborhood and a male driver with a cap down to cover his face.

Anyone have any advice with dealing with gangs?

 

[jks9199]

Greetings...

Today when I got home I noticed some graffiti at my place. The tags were x3. I called my local cops and was informed that was the tag for a Mexican gang (x3 = 13 = the letter M in the alphabet = Mexico). I just painted over all their tags to remove their symbols.

I talked with my neighbors and discovered that the non-latinos were getting hit. One of my neighbors mentioned two people going along the street, a lady talking with kids to see who the non-latinos were in the neighborhood and a male driver with a cap down to cover his face.

Anyone have any advice with dealing with gangs?

More accurately, it's a mark of quite a few Sureno (or "Southerner") Latino gangs. It could be MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha), Sur Trece, or several others.

Painting over it was the right thing; by tagging your property up, they were trying to claim the turf -- and you took it back. I wish I could say I was surprised your police department didn't take a report... Because, without reports, they won't know who's starting to show up. There are 4 Rs of graffiti: Report, Read, Record, Remove. Reading takes skill and practice, as well as local knowledge because the symbols of one area may not be the same in another. Recording allows gang experts to compare and know what's going on -- and coupled with reporting and reading, can provide vital information about what's going on. We often refer to graffiti as "the newspaper of the streets." It tells you who's there, what they're doing, who they're beefing with and who they're getting along with... and lots more.

If you're just starting to see it -- it's time to act. A coordinated, and concerted effort between your local PD, the community, and the government can keep gangs manageable. They're not going to go away. But you can keep them from becoming a neighborhood power.

A decent on-line resoure is http://knowgangs.com/. Also -- you list that you live in LA; the various police departments there have been dealing with Latino gangs for decades, and I'm sure they'll have lots of resources to assist you.

 

[Hawke]

Thanks for the info JKS9199.

The police I talked with over the phone made a report and recorded the location.

I will be attending the next neighborhood watch. After talking with neighbors I discovered that a patrol car sweeps by.

I did some research and went to knowgangs.com before posting here. Thanks for confirming that's a good resource.

 

[MJS]

Thanks for the info JKS9199.

The police I talked with over the phone made a report and recorded the location.

I will be attending the next neighborhood watch. After talking with neighbors I discovered that a patrol car sweeps by.

I did some research and went to knowgangs.com before posting here. Thanks for confirming that's a good resource.

You did the right thing IMO. The watch group is a good idea, as was painting over the graffiti. Don't hesitate to call the police when you see something suspicious in the area. Give them as much info. as you can, ie: make/model of the car, plate number, description of people in the car, etc.

 

[Makalakumu]

More accurately, it's a mark of quite a few Sureno (or "Southerner") Latino gangs. It could be MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha), Sur Trece, or several others.

Painting over it was the right thing; by tagging your property up, they were trying to claim the turf -- and you took it back. I wish I could say I was surprised your police department didn't take a report... Because, without reports, they won't know who's starting to show up. There are 4 Rs of graffiti: Report, Read, Record, Remove. Reading takes skill and practice, as well as local knowledge because the symbols of one area may not be the same in another. Recording allows gang experts to compare and know what's going on -- and coupled with reporting and reading, can provide vital information about what's going on. We often refer to graffiti as "the newspaper of the streets." It tells you who's there, what they're doing, who they're beefing with and who they're getting along with... and lots more.

If you're just starting to see it -- it's time to act. A coordinated, and concerted effort between your local PD, the community, and the government can keep gangs manageable. They're not going to go away. But you can keep them from becoming a neighborhood power.

A decent on-line resoure is http://knowgangs.com/. Also -- you list that you live in LA; the various police departments there have been dealing with Latino gangs for decades, and I'm sure they'll have lots of resources to assist you.

There is some really good info here. As a citizen, you can really make an impact by following it. In fact, if you can discern which of your neighbors are also being tagged, I would invite them over for a BBQ and see if you can form a coalition to do exactly what was suggested above AND keep an eye out on your neighborhood. My wife and I started this in my neighborhood and it's already starting to make a difference. Plus, it gives you a chance to meet all of your neighbors!

 

[shesulsa]

Greetings...

Today when I got home I noticed some graffiti at my place. The tags were x3. I called my local cops and was informed that was the tag for a Mexican gang (x3 = 13 = the letter M in the alphabet = Mexico). I just painted over all their tags to remove their symbols.

I talked with my neighbors and discovered that the non-latinos were getting hit. One of my neighbors mentioned two people going along the street, a lady talking with kids to see who the non-latinos were in the neighborhood and a male driver with a cap down to cover his face.

Anyone have any advice with dealing with gangs?

I used to call local gang activity "The weather in LA."

You've already received good advice - don't take it lightly. Keeping your territory your own takes courage and commitment. Find out if there is an anti-graffiti group in your area and if there isn't one, see if you can organize one within your neighborhood watch.

Report all gang activity, keep a journal. Don't flash valuables or keep stuff in your car. Watch your back.

 

[jks9199]

There is some really good info here. As a citizen, you can really make an impact by following it. In fact, if you can discern which of your neighbors are also being tagged, I would invite them over for a BBQ and see if you can form a coalition to do exactly what was suggested above AND keep an eye out on your neighborhood. My wife and I started this in my neighborhood and it's already starting to make a difference. Plus, it gives you a chance to meet all of your neighbors!

Community is the key to controlling gangs.

We cops can go out, arrest bangers all day, and they'll eventually be back. With more status for the arrest... But we don't KNOW your neighborhood the way you can. Get to know your neighbors; get to know them so that you know that if you tell a group of guys hanging out on the corner to move on, you know that your neighbors are going to back you up, not hide inside. And don't be afraid to call the cops. Trust me -- if they're needed elsewhere, the dispatcher will send them there first. So, the worst that'll happen is you'll tie us up so we don't write someone a ticket.

I'm fortunate; my jurisdiction doesn't have a large VISIBLE (important -- they're there, and they do act!) gang problem -- and I'm fighting to keep it that way! When I do community presentations, I have a slide that answers why we don't have a visible gang problem. I list two reasons: an active, involved police department -- and, equally (or even more!) important, an active and involved community.

 

[Makalakumu]

Another thing that needs to be done is that we all need to make an effort at combating the popularization of the criminal mindset. Even in the worst neighborhoods, there are lots of opportunities to connect with other people and form positive relationships. The schools and churches have great programs that can offer kids an alternative to gang life. An alternative that can keep them safe and give them the familial relationships they may be lacking.

The unfortunate reality is that kids are joining gangs because its cool to be a criminal. These organizations make no attempt to hide what they are really about. They sell drugs, they rob steal and murder, and they fight with other gangs over who gets the rights to do that in a particular part of town. Kids who join gangs think that stuff is cool!

Theres no reason to be sympathetic to the criminal mindset here. The kids who join gangs think its cool to be a thug, they want to ride that power trip, and they don't care who gets hurt. We need to stop making excuses for these kids and hold them accountable for their actions. We need to take back our culture from these thugs and shun the people who promote it.

Nobodies here should be a gang member and anything that makes a thug into a role model should have no place in our households. That's another thing to discuss with your neighbors.

Practice the phrases

"Pull your god damn pants up!"
"Put that hat on straight!"
"Thugs are not cool."

 

[kidswarrior]

More accurately, it's a mark of quite a few Sureno (or "Southerner") Latino gangs. It could be MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha), Sur Trece, or several others.

Good info. The 'others' could also be 'La Eme' (in English: The 'M') for Mexican Mafia (a prison gang based in SoCal, but now spread by the prison system throughout the state); or 'M' for marijauna, usually a double meaning with one of the Mexican or Central American gangs (M is the 13th letter of the alphabet).

The guys doing the tagging would not be a part of the actual adult organizations; they're just trying to gain acceptance by those adult bangers--by intimidating you and your neighbors. BTW, La Eme (as jks said, often abbreviated 13, or XIII) fights with its arch rival in NorCal, El Norte (so, Enye's {N's} instead of Esse's {S's}), and symbolized by XIV or 14 (N is 14th letter of the alphabet). The reason I started this (yes, there was a reason ), is if you ever see 13s and 14s crossing each other out, it signals a big problem.

Painting over it was the right thing; by tagging your property up, they were trying to claim the turf -- and you took it back.

If it was actually on your property, then yes, by all means remove it. If it's on city signs, commercial buildings, or walls in the area, etc., you may want to get PD's input before covering it. Well-intentioned people here have been hurt and even killed while painting over graffiti.

I wish I could say I was surprised your police department didn't take a report... Because, without reports, they won't know who's starting to show up. There are 4 Rs of graffiti: Report, Read, Record, Remove. Reading takes skill and practice, as well as local knowledge because the symbols of one area may not be the same in another. Recording allows gang experts to compare and know what's going on -- and coupled with reporting and reading, can provide vital information about what's going on. We often refer to graffiti as "the newspaper of the streets." It tells you who's there, what they're doing, who they're beefing with and who they're getting along with... and lots more.

If you're just starting to see it -- it's time to act. A coordinated, and concerted effort between your local PD, the community, and the government can keep gangs manageable. They're not going to go away. But you can keep them from becoming a neighborhood power.

A decent on-line resoure is http://knowgangs.com/. Also -- you list that you live in LA; the various police departments there have been dealing with Latino gangs for decades, and I'm sure they'll have lots of resources to assist you.

Excellent stuff to consider. One last thing: you mentioned one guy had a ball cap. If you see Michigan ball caps on guys who don't really look life U of M fans, it could be advertising the same 'M'.

 

[kidswarrior]

You've already received good advice - don't take it lightly. Keeping your territory your own takes courage and commitment. Find out if there is an anti-graffiti group in your area and if there isn't one, see if you can organize one within your neighborhood watch.

Report all gang activity, keep a journal. Don't flash valuables or keep stuff in your car. Watch your back.

Ditto to some excellent ideas.