Pages from a “Gang Knowledge Book”

031 = LOVE FOR BLOODCODE MEANING

31 I’M BLOOD

031 LOVE FOR BLOOD

404 SEND MONEY

Courtesy of K. Ferguson Kelly, STG-A

David Barksdale

GANG NAME :AFFILIATION:ETHNICITY:SYMBOLS:AKA:COLORS:SAYING:

BLACK GANGSTER DISCIPLESFOLKSMOSTLY BLACKUPWARD CROSSED PITCHFORK AND SIX POINT STARBGD /  BGDN / BGDs / SUPREME GANGSTERSBLUE AND BLACK

Dirty White Boys

This gang is not affiliated with any White supremacy groups..members tend to be white males who feel they do not fit in with Caucasian community because they were raise around minorities, but also feel rejected by minorities for being white.

MS-13

MS-13~MS-13~Mara SalvatruchaMara Salvatrucha Colors-Blue and White

Wear gang-related tattoos visibly on body

Ages range from 11 to 40 years old

Named after “La Mara”, street in

El Salvador and “13th Street” in Los Angeles.

They have no structural leadership, but they are organized into cliques.

MS-13 members are moving to the United States because of laws against gangs in other countries.

Lets Look at the Stereotypes…..

SURENOS 13

Stereotypes that are not true… Gang members are all males…. violent, addicted to drugs

and confrontational.

They are all African American or Hispanic.

They are ignorant and uneducated and poor.

They thrive in the inner city neighborhoods.

They only prey upon other gangs.

The deal heavily with drugs, especially crack.

ALL gang members wear colors

Gangs are ONLY criminal enterprises.

Stereotypes that are true… The connection between gangs and drugs is as strong as

believed.

It is not as difficult as believed for youth to refuse to join a gang.

Gang members often leave their gang with serious consequences.

More gangs are in suburban areas , small towns, and rural areas than in the past.

There is more gang presence in school today than in the past.

White gangs are more prevalent among teens gangs than in the past.

Why do you think they join???

Discussion…..

Factors that contribute to Youth joining Gangs…

Youth join gangs for various reasons….

The overwhelming reason for most youth to join is to meet a need that is not being

fulfilled by their family, school, or environment.

How Do Youth Join Gangs? Initiation…..

A rite, ceremony, or instructions with which one is made a member of a set or society, or is vested

with a particular function or status.

Initiation is used to determine if a potential member is mentally and physically strong

enough to be worthy of membership.

To become a gang member one must “put in work"

Initiation Methods Beat in or “jumped in”

Armed Robbery

Drive by shooting

Assault

Rape

Blessed in

Sexed in

Murder

Initiation cont..

Female Initiations

Sexed in: A die is rolled and the number rolled determines the number of sex partners the initiate must accommodate.

Jumped in: This method is becoming more prevalent with female gangs

Male Initiations

Jumped in: The initiate is beaten by the other members for an indeterminate amount of time.

Blessed in: If deemed worthy by the O.G., or “Original Gangsta,” founder or older member of a gang, they are automatically accepted.

Traditional Gang Attire

• 1. Beads: May be found on necklaces, keychains, rosaries, and any other jewelry. Thecolors found on the item can be linked to thegang and the order of the beads may indicatethe subject’s status in the group and/oractivities they have engaged in.

• 2. Tattoos/Markings: May simply have thegang’s name or symbols associated to the gang(i.e. crowns, numbers, pitchforks, dots, etc).Markings may be applied with pens or markersto be easily removed and prevent detection byparents, educators and law enforcement.

Traditional Gang Attire cont..

Clothing:

Colors are used to show association

with the gang. Apparel may have

numbers or acronyms related to

the group (Very common with

sports apparel). Clothing may

be altered to identify the gang.

Bandanas are the most

common piece of clothing

members use to represent the gang.

Traditional Gang Attire cont..

Personal Appearance/Grooming:

Hair styles and eyebrows may have covert numbers or symbols (i.e. lines shaved in eyebrows or hair). Pants worn up on one leg, hat tilted to a certain side and unusual hand gestures may also be used.

Gang Signs and Symbols

Warning SignsAdmits to hanging out with known gang members

Begins to have criminal involvement.

Shows a strong interest in one or two particular colors of clothing, a particular logo, or odd clothing features such as wearing the belt buckle to the right or left, or cuffing one pant leg

Has an unusual interest in gangster-influenced music, videos, movies or website materials

Uses unusual hand signals to communicate with friends

Has specific drawings or gang symbols on school books, clothes, walls or wants a very specific tattoo

Has unexplained physical injuries (fight-related bruises or wounds)

Has unexplained cash or goods, including clothing or jewelry

Has been in trouble with the police or at school

Exhibits negative changes in behavior such as:

Withdrawing from family

Declining attendance at school

Declining performance or increase in negative and/or disruptive behaviors (ISS / OSS)

Staying out late without good reason or permission

Desire for secrecy

Signs of drug use

Breaking rules consistently or suddenly using gang-style slang

Carries or expresses a desire for weapons such as:

guns knives baseball bats brass knuckles rolled coins

PANEL DISCUSSION

What Can Schools Do?

Tips to Preventing Youth fromJoining Street Gangs

Tips Spend quality time with students

Keep students involved in school activities

Be a positive role model and set the right example

Encourage good study habits and academic excellence, tutor students…give help as needed.

Get to know your students friends and their parents and keep an open line of communication.

Provide job training, internship opportunities

Tips Encourage participation in positive after-school

activities with adult supervision, organized sports, and youth groups.

Make anger management, conflict resolution and stress management for students

• Teach your child how to cope with peer pressure and help them develop good conflict resolution skills.

Be proactive and ask questions.

Be Proactive…….

The first step of action, is to get out of the “Denial Syndrome”!

When the first signs of gang involvement are present staff need to intervene.

Get a “Plan of Action” for each suspected gang affiliated youth and document in their file.

Get a “Plan of Action” to deal with general gang problems

TEAMWORK!

Remember….Membership in a gang in itself is not illegal

One indicator or a combination of many does

not automatically mean a subject is member of a

criminal street gang.

Enforcement of all school policies (i.e. Dress code violations)

should be done equally and be based on the subject’s

actions and not their possible affiliations.

The best defense for preventing a child from joining a gang starts at Home.

This presentation was designed to create awareness for your school and staff.

When making observations you should understand that one sign, symbol or color of clothing does not identify a gang member.

It is the totality of identifiers…