Early Prison Gangs and Their Impact Today on Crime

The Mexican Mafia, aka La EME dates back to late 1957-1958, and was founded by Louis Jesse “Huero Buff” Flores at the Deuel Vocational Institute in Tracy, CA.  As with many new organizations, it started out with a small nucleus and was slow to catch on fire at first, but once people bought into the idea it really started to take off. One noted prison gang investigator notes that EME shotcaller Rodolfo “Cheyenne” Cadena (characterized in the movie "American Me" as "Santana") could not have joined until about 1960 as he was barely convicted of murder in December, 1959. Joseph “Pegleg” Morgan (characterized as white convict "J.D." in the same movie) was not an original member, but joined in 1968. By late 1965-1967, the Mexican Mafia/EME controlled many yards in the CA Dept. of Corrections (CDC) and started to victimize Northern California inmates and inmates from Southern California who would not join their gang. The majority of EME(ros) were from Southern California Barrios (or Varrios as the gang members like to call it even though misspelled in Spanish). Some EME members were against Mexicans victimizing Mexicans in prison, especially some Maravilla gang members from East L.A. According to 1^st CA Prison Gang Task Force Coordinator Robert “Moco” Morrill, a Mexican Mafia and El Hoyo Maravilla member named Louie Araujo helped the “Blooming Flower” pen the 1^st NFM-Nuestra Familia Mejicana (Our Mexican Family) Constitution between the lines of legal work. The draft was covertly smuggled out to others at Soledad Prison who voiced concerns about La EME’s tactics. The first NFM Padre was John "Lips" Valdez.

You can read more about early California Gangs in “The Mexican Mafia; The Story”:

http://freewebs.com/behindprisonwalls/ 

Several incidents led up to the infamous "Shoe War" prior to September 16, 1968, that just so happens to be Mexican Independence Day which celebrates Mexico’s Independence from Spain on Sept. 16^th, 1810. First, NFM member Phillip “Rebel” Neri from Bakers was hit by EME members. One interesting detail, per former California Prison Warden Tony Casas (deceased), was that EME leader “Cheyenne” Cadena went out with Neri's sister. Casas should know, he personally pulled high security prisoner Cadena out for ride-a-longs to various drug programs. The EME was something that few people were aware of at the time. When Casas did this, he took Cadena out unchained, much to the dismay of Corrections Officers. Once he asked Cadena while traveling over the Tejon Pass to Bakersfield (The Grapevine), “What shall we do now?” Cadena responded, "Well you can kill me, or I can kill you, or we can get along?" The ride went smoothly.

The second event was when NFM member “Sonny” Pena  from New Mexico and Maravilla was murdered by La EME. NFM members were very upset at these acts of disrespect to their members. Finally, the “Shoe War” at San Quentin was started by EME Robert “Robot” Salas fighting against NF Hector “Mad Dog” Padilla over a pair of shoes (not boots) which were stolen by Salas’ crime partner Carlos “Pieface” Ortega. Padilla did not die, but several other inmates did in subsequent battles. Finally, after four years of intense bloodshed (September 1968-September 1972) Cadena was approached by the CDC Administration for peace talks and transferred from Folsom in Northern California to Chino Prison in Southern California in October, 1972. The plan was to meet with the leadership of the Nuestra Familia in an attempt to put an end to the war. Two NF soldiers had been killed a few months prior by La EME at the Tehachapi Prison and tempers were hot. In his futile talks, Cadena may have not been aware of another attempted murder of one of the Nuestra Familia’s 1^st Captains at Chino called by Joe Morgan himself which occurred a few months prior to Cadena's arrival.  Finally, the twin Aranda Bros. from the NF were stabbed by EME at Chino Prison on December 15, 1972, which was the “final straw”.

La EME did not kill Cadena as depicted in American Me. As the official reports show, at approximately 1:05 pm, on December 17th, 1972, the alarm sounded in the Palm Hall Adjustment Center at the California Institution for Men in Chino, CA.  An altercation took place on the second tier (not the third). Inmates Frank “Joker” Mendoza and Juan "Manzanas" Colon, both members of the Nuestra Familia, were observed stabbing Cadena. Inmate Gilbert Sandoval and Steven Oropeza, members of the Mexican Mafia, attempted to assist Cadena and were also stabbed. Both Cadena and Sandoval were then thrown off the second floor tier. While both victims were laying on the floor, inmate Refugio “Tiny” Contreras who was aligned with the NF continued to stab Cadena numerous times. Cadena received 57 stab wounds in his chest and back area and died from his wounds. (The picture above is from Cadena's Funeral.) Inmate Sandoval received numerous stab wounds as well as a split skull. Sandoval was taken to UCLA Medical Center. He survived the attack, but was left paralyzed. Steven Oropeza was stabbed, but not seriously, he was able to retreat and was taken by correctional staff to the prison infirmary for medical treatment. To this day EME (SUR) and NF (Norte) fight because of these violent incidents. It is sort of like the Hatfields & McCoys dispute, most lost sight of what started the feud in the first place.

In the early 1970s, the NF elected Robert "Babo" Sosa to be their new leader. In the 1980s, the XIV Bonds were written at Folsom Prison's 4-A Building. This was different than the NF Constitution, this was a new "Northern Structure" meant to groom young Nortenos in what became known as "Nuestra Raza". The Mexican Mafia and Aryan Brotherhood were allies, thus, the AB did many hits for La EME in the 1970s including hits on Nuestra Familia who were common enemies. In the same regard, the BGF and NF were prison allies and warred against EME and AB. Aryan Brotherhood members Donald Hale and Fred Mendrin killed an NF member for La EME’s "Honorary Godfather" Joe Morgan in 1972.

While there is no hard proof, AB members were said to have originally gone by various names such as the Diamond-tooth Gang, Bluebirds, NAZIS, and finally the Aryan Brotherhood. This prison gang started in San Quentin in 1967. An AB member by the name of Jack Mahoney, who was Irish, influenced the AB, also called “The Brand” to use a "shamrock" as one of their symbols. According to prison gang expert Brian Parry, to be a bonafide AB you must have “the rock”. It is still used and often adorned with the numbers "666". They often use a runic alphabet to communicate. Early AB’s were Eddie Vaughn, Wayne “Bulldog” Ladd, and William McGirk who had Mob ties.  There was “Bucky” Garrett, Carl Nooner, and Mark Duclas who all had ties to Washington State. Other early AB were “Tall Dennis” Murphy and Joe Morse. Ronnie “Spots” Berg, Tommy “Slim” Center, Ronnie Harper, Robert “Chuco” Wendekier, Larry Witzig, Mike Carmichael, George Harp, and Eddie Burnett also played major roles early on.

The Black Guerrilla Family was the most political of all the CA prison gangs and the most dangerous towards Police and Corrections Officers in the late 1960s through the early 1970s. The BGF started out in the California Department of Corrections in 1966 as the Black Family and Black Vanguard. They were started by George Lester Jackson and W.L. Nolen. Jackson's group was the Revolutionary Armed Movement (RAM) which was considered an arm of the Black Panther Party. Jackson became a revolutionary in prison and wrote several books including “Soledad Brother – The Prison Letters of George Jackson” and “Blood in my Eye”. Jackson then merged with James "Bone" Johnson's group called the Black United Movement (BUM). These groups formed the early BGF. The following is typical of what Jackson preached, “Settle your quarrels, come together, understand the reality of our situation, understand that fascism is already here, that people are already dying who could be saved, that generations more will die or live poor butchered half-lives if you fail to act. Do what must be done, discover your humanity and your love in revolution. Pass on the torch. Join us, give up your life for the people.”  Jackson was later killed in a bloody escape attempt from San Quentin Prison's Adjustment Center-High Security Unit in August of 1971. There was also a BGF support group active in Washington State called “The George Jackson Brigade”.

The Texas Syndicate (TS) officially formed at San Quentin and Folsom Prison during the early 1970s. Its nucleus was made up of inmates from Texas who were incarcerated in the California Department of Corrections (CDC). These inmates often came from the EPT or El Paso Tip, but did not call themselves TS as has been reported in error by some sources. The founder of the TS was Francisco “Panchito” Gonzales who designed the "TS Copia" at Folsom. During the 1970s, the Texas Syndicate recruited heavily to build numbers within CDC. While the TS prison gang was small, they were the most feared on the yard because of their propensity for violence and serious assaults. Today the TS is active in Texas, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and the Federal BOP system but are virtually unheard of in California.

Other California Prison Gangs spread out from the state or started emulators or rivals. Groups like La EME have worked for Mexican Drug Cartels for many years. They have worked with Organized Crime Groups like La Cosa Nostra. While prison gangs are not as numerous as street gangs and may not have the power and control they once did with all of the defectors, warring factions, and new opposing group around today, they still can be very dangerous. Frank “Paco” Marcell is considered an expert on “Career Criminals” and was a Security Threat Group (STG) Manager at the Maricopa County Jail in Phoenix, AZ, as well as many other facilities in the U.S. during his long career. He says, “The impact that prison gangs have across the U.S. within our communities, jails and prisons differs; however, in the north and southwest they control a large proportion of criminal activity.” They still impact a lot of crime inside correctional institutions and out on the street.

You can read more about this subject in “La Familia: The Family; Prison Gangs in America”:

http://www.gangpreventionservices.org/merchandise.asp#PrisonGangsBook

Do you have any stories about prison gangs or concerns you'd like to share?

“Is Race a Factor in Gang Related Violence and Crime?”

This past Memorial Day weekend, Seattle was hit with another rash of violence. In just four drive-by shootings committed in South Seattle, gunmen fired more than 60 rounds, riddling four houses and several cars with bullets. No one was hit in those shootings, but a teenage girl had to quickly dive to her bedroom floor in order to avoid being shot. In another shooting, at the Seattle Center Folk Life Festival, a Hispanic suspect and self-admitted gang member shot an innocent person after the suspect was involved in a confrontation with a third individual. A couple of days before, Justin Ferrari, a 43-year old father of two, was killed in the Central District. A few days before that shooting, there was another murder in the South End by a gangster rapper suspect who gunned down a well known OG during a rap video gathering, allegedly over a piece of jewelry. The accused raps about material things, nice cars, dope, money, pimping, bitches, and murder in songs like "Dumbass Slap":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzcKsvr3358  

Not even half way through the year, Seattle had almost a dozen and a half homicides, while at the same timeframe in 2011 there were only three. The Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative (SYVPI) is still in place. So what’s happening with all of the latest violence? Is it just a burp on the radar screen or a sign of a bigger problem?    

It is no big secret that White criminals mostly prey on other Whites. Hispanic gangs mostly prey on other Hispanics. In fact, it is rather shocking to see how often gang members who have racial pride tattoos and often play the race card, victimize their own people.  Crime statistics back this up. Recently, I came across communication from a former WA State politician that criticized the examination of “Black on Black Crime”. This individual claimed that the term “Black on Black Crime” was a nonsense term that caused “fear and loathing for an entire race of people”. Is this Correct or Denial? There is a program in Little Rock, Arkansas, that seems to differ:

http://www.hhscenter.org/bonbstat.html

Years ago, I had several arguments with some well known Chicano activists who blamed all gang activity on the “capitalist and racist system”. It was not the fault of the lumpen gang and criminal element, but the system’s history of abuse towards the masses. But, they negated to note that the fastest growing group of gang members (not the biggest) is suburban middle class White kids. Other local figures, who I respect but disagree with, criticized the large amount of young Latinos currently locked up in the juvenile justice system. Were they talking about L.A. I wondered? I visit the King County Youth Services Center frequently, and on average there are no more than a half dozen Latino youth locked up there at any given time, while the Hispanic population in King County is estimated in 2012 to be close to 150,000 representing approximately 7% of the population. In fact, lately the entire population in the youth detention facility has been under 100 inmates for a County of approximately 2 million people. Maybe the system is too lenient?

It is also no big secret that males make up 90-95% of the incarcerated population of the United States and that people of color make up a disproportionate amount of that population. So does this statistic lend a hand to the argument that males are far more violent than females? Why is it that so many Black and Latino youth are acting violently? Is there a grossly unjust system or are there other issues to consider?

In these individual’s defense, they properly identified education as a key factor in violence and gang involved activity. My own work and surveys show youth that are incarcerated, regardless of race, often dropped out of school between the 9^th and 10^th grades (Freshman and Sophomore years). Many of them could only read or write at the 3^rd or 4^th grade level. They could not function well in society and knew few good life skills to survive in the modern business age. Some did not even know how to fill out a job application, let alone know how to properly dress for an interview, or use professional language during a job interview. Many of them had single mothers that were too busy working to spend a lot of quality time with them and were absent a father figure or good role model when they were a child that could elevate their success in school or success in life.

The first individual mentioned also claimed that two young men robbed robbed their home recently and stated that the robbers were “victims” too. Another Black community leader, who I respect in many ways, promotes apologizing to the young Black generation for letting them down. This puzzles me? Again, all the blame for these criminal’s actions was placed on “the system” not working for them. These individuals often state they feel bad about the perpetrators being locked up, losing their freedom, losing time from their lives, and losing their place in society. There was no blame placed on the parents and no blame was placed on the criminals’ conscience decision to disrespect and victimize another human being. There was no indication in the first case that the criminals broke into the home’s kitchen cupboard just to have something to eat. There was no mentioning of learning about choices and consequences. Both of these individuals have correctly stated that positive interaction with the police at early ages can make a difference in how they view law enforcement and I have addressed many of these issues in my workshops and in my 1^st book:

http://www.amazon.com/Varrio-Warfare-Violence-Latino-Community/dp/147523497X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0/191-5064326-0840110

It is obvious to me, more and more today, that many parents do not have good child rearing skills. Many of them came from dysfunctional families and have passed that dysfunction on. The school is viewed not as an institution that can improve their child’s life, but viewed as a convenient and affordable daycare. The children in the school rooms and hallways I visit often lack discipline. Bullying is epidemic! The schools often blame the parents for the child’s behavior and the parents blame the schools for inattention to their child. The kid gets caught in the middle…

I believe the schools not only need to teach the “3 R’s”: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, but “3 Other R’s”: Respect, Responsibility, and Reason. Of course, many schools will state that it is the parents’ job to teach good morals and values. Thus, we go back to square one, many parents are not doing their jobs! Kids should learn how to respect each other and about the harm that teasing and bullying does to the human psyche. They should learn responsibility for their own behaviors. Adults, including police and politicians, need to role model this behavior as an example to the child. Lastly, they should learn to reason and question everything, to think for themselves but use tact, cognitive and analytical thinking of the information that bombards them today in the media and other sources.

I also believe we can do a better job of overhauling the criminal justice system. Far too often people of color, who economically cannot afford an attorney and have little understanding of the process, are given public defenders that tend to push for plea bargains. The “War on Drugs” tends to effect minority youth more. They do not always have parents who can afford private counseling and often turn towards alcohol and drugs instead of seeking good coping therapies and learning conflict resolution strategies. But we must all take responsibility for our own role in crime and other problems in society. I also think we need to rethink our priorities on spending. We spend billions overseas when the infrastructure here at home is literally crumbling beneath our feet. When we do spend on infrastructure, sometimes it is not spent wisely. I saw on the news recently that approximately $30 million spent on Green River Flood preparations, for a flood that never happened, will not be reimbursed by FEMA. Juvenile Justice and Gang Workers were only requesting a few million for Prevention and Intervention programs that were promised but never funded.

I also suspect, as noted in my previous Blog post, “Major Reforms Ahead for Seattle Police?”, that some Officers in Seattle have been less pro-active recently due to threatened or active investigations of the force. This has occurred previously in other big cities under the Department of Justice microscope. We should address this situation now as well as other far reaching complicated issues effecting the Criminal Justice System and the General Public. There is no gang problem, there are gang problems, plural. Therefore, it takes multiple solutions.  Parents, Schools, Gang Workers, Church Clergy, Community Organizations, and Leaders should stop being enablers. Certainly, race, poverty, lack of educational and job opportunities are factors but not the only ones. If we decide to look at all of the issues, leaving nothing sacred or politically incorrect to discuss or examine, then maybe we’ll finally start to better control crime long-term in all of our communities regardless of race?

Drug Cartel Bloodbath as Mexican Elections Draw Closer

The dismembered bodies of 43 men and 6 women were found along a stretch of highway in northeastern Mexico on May 13, 2012. The bodies, some with heads, hands, and feet chopped off, were discovered by local authorities on the edge of the town of San Juan on a road that connects Monterrey to the Texas border. The bodies were believed dumped by the Zetas drug cartel since an arched welcome sign near the killing field had graffiti reading, "100% Zeta."

Jorge Domene, a state security spokesman said, “This is not an attack against the civilian population." But others disagree. On April 17, the mutilated bodies of 14 men were left in a minivan in downtown Nuevo Laredo. On May 5, the bodies of 23 people were found, some hanging from a bridge and others decapitated and dumped near city hall. On May 9, eighteen dismembered bodies were discovered outside Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city. Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey are considered Zetas territory, while Guadalajara has been controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel. The Zetas and Sinaloa Cartel are now the two biggest cartels in the country. Tourism, a major driver of the Mexican economy, has taken a hit due in large part to the cartel killings which are a daily occurrence.

In September, a Sinaloa drug gang dumped 35 bodies in Veracruz, Mexico. In August, a Zetas attack on a Monterrey casino left 52 dead. Since 2006, when Mexico's President Felipe Calderon announced a crackdown on cartels, more than 47,500 people have been killed in drug-related violence. Massacres have increased around Mexico in the last six months of escalating fighting between the Zetas and Sinaloa, which is led by fugitive drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada versus Zetas' leaders Heriberto “Z-3” Lazacano and Miguel “Z-40” Trevino. The Zetas were started by renegade Mexican Army special forces who used radio call signs, Z-1, Z-2, etc., pronounced “Zeta” in Spanish.

Under President Felipe Calderon's nearly six-year offensive, the two cartels have emerged as Mexico's two most powerful gangs and are battling over strategic transport routes and territory, including along the northern border with the U.S. and in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.

Mexico is now in the midst of presidential race to replace Calderon, who by law can't run for re-election. The election will be held in July 1^st, 2012. Drug violence seems to be escalating, but none of the major candidates has referred directly to mass killings. All say they will stop the violence and make Mexico a more secure place, but offer few details on how their plans would differ from Calderon's administration.

Do you think the wave of violence has anything to do with the presidential election?

What do you think it will take to stop the violence in Mexico?

How does it affect citizens here in the United States?

Also see: http://www.insightcrime.org/criminal-groups/mexico/sinaloa-cartel

http://narcoguerratimes.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/zetas-everywhere-on-everything/   

Guest Blog: Behavior and Group Dynamics In Gangs

April 29, 2012

By Lou Savelli

PoliceMagazine.com

Gang members form powerful social connections that multiply the violence. Outlaw motorcycle gangs, organized crime, drug cartels and ethnic gangs come together for a common purpose that may start as a social thing but can evolve into something anti-social or criminal when the members who make up the gang are antisocial or criminals themselves.

Sociologists believe that a gang will take on the morals, or lack of morals, of the worst members and often exceed that lack of morals. This behavior often manifests itself in most or all of the gang's members, especially when they are together. This behavior can be explained as 'group dynamics,' which is essentially the way individuals behave when they are part of a group.

The behavior can become extreme. Such behavior is often displayed around the world during rioting. The riots that occur during or after sporting events or protests can lead individuals who may not be inclined to act in a violent manner to act in such a manner and exceed their own planned actions or expectations.

In the case of college students who usually display disciplined behavior and conformity, attendance at a post celebratory rally for their college's team can cause them to get 'caught up' in the more severe behavior of their fellow rally-goers. This can result in the usually behaved student becoming violent, undisciplined and uncontrollable.

This group dynamic that leads to bad behavior is also evident in so many of the "Girls Gone Wild" videos advertised on television networks after midnight. Individual behavior becomes elevated to the worse behavior being displayed by friends, as the crowds cheer them on with the presence of the camera and the brief opportunity for fame.

Many of these individuals, college students, girls going wild or gang members may later be shocked by their own behavior.

Several gang members have told me that they were dabbling in minor crimes such as graffiti and petty larceny before their membership in the gang but committed more serious and more violent crimes far beyond their nature and expectations as a member of the gang.  

One long-time gang member admitted to me that he never thought he could kill someone even if his life had depended on it but was involved in several gang-related murders as a member of his New York City gang. He freely told me he became physically ill during the first murder and, as he stated, 'puked his brains out' immediately afterward. Such stories were typical of the many gang members that I have interviewed during my law enforcement career and subsequent contacts.

I'm not making excuses for those individuals who typically, and as I have learned, join gangs, many members are merely followers. The hard-core members, overall, number a few in most of the gangs across the U.S. Nevertheless, the members of the gangs I'm going to highlight would easily kill someone or have already killed some or many. These gangs have shown a level of violence that may have led to their members, who were initially unwilling to reach such a violence level, become a savagely violent and callous person.

There is no excuse for someone who consciously makes the change from a person who is non-violent to someone who is violent and eventually kills with or for his gang. All are equally guilty.

Many gang members I have met, when isolated from their gang, show their true personalities. They often show signs of low self-esteem, being frightened by the thought of being alone in the streets or other traits quite opposite of the traits they show when with the other members of their gang.

These gang members can be merely frightened children who grow up into frightened adults who learn to victimize others as a way of making them feel better or committing crimes, because it seems easier than working at making an honest living. These frightened individuals lack discipline and social skills. Many have dyslexia or another form of learning disability, while others are bipolar or have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Some gang members fit the typical profile for what we would expect from a street thug. They come from dysfunctional families and lower socioeconomic and high-crime neighborhoods. There are also those members who come from solid backgrounds and middle-class neighborhoods who gravitate to gangs for popularity, street credibility, money-making or protection.

While many gang members have different personalities and traits and come from a variety of broken homes, most seem to be looking for an identity of their own or a chance to belong to something. These reasons satisfy powerful needs to an individual, especially a teenager. These needs include, but are not limited to, self-preservation, protection, love, discipline, identity, camaraderie, power, money, popularity or a chance to stand out or to get respect.

After the gang forms, it creates its own subculture that develops social standing and mores. Sociologically speaking, the gang becomes its own society for its members, while those members lose the connection to normal society and their biological or legal families.

Their goal is to maintain the function of the gang and the individual's social standing within the gang. Members may naturally fall into comfortable roles within the group. Leaders develop from those members who are usually more violent than the others or those members that are more charismatic or who have the desire to lead. Members with proven track records as risk-takers will socially end up near the top of the hierarchy of the gang. Those members who are less motivated and lack the guts of the others will take on less important roles.

Mores—moral rules and customs of a social group—develop as the gang develops. Acceptable behavior for the gang such as drug selling, drug use, shootings, stabbings, sexual deviance and other behavior become the norm for the gang.

Gang members find it increasingly difficult to interact in mainstream society. They make excuses for their behavior and blame everyone else for their failure. The more disconnected they get from society, as outlaws, the closer their connection to the gang and its mores.

This helps keep the gang's control over its members stronger. The members become more disconnected from society, old friends and real family. The activities of the gang become their normal functions. Others are viewed as outsiders and, at times, enemies. There is a lack of empathy toward others.

The gang's limited social conscience causes the individual member to find it difficult to interact with others who aren't members of the same gang. The gang becomes a job and a social function at the same time.

This article was republished with permission by Police Magazine. Sgt. Lou Savelli is the co-founder and vice president of the East Coast Gang Investigator's Association, a 23-year NYPD veteran, a former correctional officer with the Broward County (Fla.) Sheriff's and Hollywood (Fla.) PD. His Gangs Blog can be found at:  http://www.policemag.com/Blog/Gangs.aspx 

Guest Blog: Gang Truces Usually Turn Out Badly for Cops

April 17, 2012
By Richard Valdemar
PoliceMag.com

El Salvador's El Diario De Hoy newspaper announced on March 23 that the leaders of the Mara Salvatrucha and Mara 18 Street gangs in El Salvador had reached a truce. The gang leaders met to negotiate the peace in prisons located in Ciudad Barrios and Cojutepeque.

The talks leading to the proposed truce were facilitated and mediated by the Salvadorian government and the Catholic Church. The head of the army and police chaplain corps Monsignor Fabio Colindres said, "We never spoke of a negotiation between the government and the gangs, nor between the church and gangs." And "we were mediating an understanding between rival gangs to decrease the violence."

According to a recent U.N. report, El Salvador and Honduras have the greatest rate of homicide in the world, 66 per 100,000 inhabitants in El Salvador, and 82.1 per 100,000 in Honduras. Guatemala with a rate of 41 homicides per 100,000 makes up the third part of the Central American killing ground for these two murderous gangs.

The Salvadorian authorities facilitated the movement of the imprisoned rival gang members for the truce talks but were not directly involved in the negotiations.

Romero Henriquez represented the Mara Salvatrucha gang and Ernesto Mojica represented the Mara 18 (18th Street) gang. The El Diario newspaper claimed that it had confirmation of the truce from Ernesto Mojica and with half a dozen other gang leaders.

Judging from the general celebratory commentary from the clueless American media and the reaction from police commenters on the Worldwide Web, you might presume that this is a good thing. Excuse me good senors and monsignor, but I think this treaty is only good for the predatory gang monsters in and out of those Central American prisons; it can't be good for us.

For years racist Black leaders have attempted to unite Crip and Blood gang members in well publicized "peace treaties." And like the MS-13 and 18th Street treaty the media just ate it up. The original Crip-Blood treaties were financed by local drug dealers, facilitated by the Nation of Islam (NOI), and supported by local politicians. The Crip and Blood gang wars were bad for business and the truce allowed the dope trafficking to continue. It also meant that the bothersome police would concentrate their efforts somewhere else.

The Nation of Islam utilized the truce to recruit young men and women into their movement. The strong presence of the NOI's security force the Fruit of Islam (FOI), that mediated the gang truce, gave NOI and FOI street credentials with the community. However their real intent was to turn the gang hate and violence against the police. About the time of the 1992 Rodney King Riots the NOI circulated flyers in the Los Angeles projects calling for jihad against the LAPD.

The local Los Angeles politicians had no fraternal motivation either in supporting the Crip and Blood truce, they were just looking for photo opportunities to be seen shaking hands with African American gang members hoping to reap votes in the South Central L.A. communities. They hired gang members into their failed gang intervention programs and paid them with millions of taxpayer funds. But the truce and the programs all failed to make it safer in the L.A. Projects.

Even in the U.S. prison system these gang truces have been tried several times. They have all failed within a short time.

And thank God for that. Can you imagine what a gang formed from all aligned Crip and Blood gangs or between the Mexican Mafia and the Nuestra Familia might be capable of? No longer distracted by their war against their rival gangs, they could direct all their efforts into victimizing citizens, killing cops, and industrializing their drug production and distribution.

History backs me up. In August 1939, Russia and Nazi Germany signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. This truce was a non-aggression pact that enabled both nations to invade Poland without fear that the other would attack them. Before this they were bitter enemies. Shortly afterward, the pact failed. But imagine what would have happened in World War II if Hitler hadn't attacked Russia. It's unlikely that the Western allies could have prevented Hitler from conquering Europe if his armies weren't committed to the Russian campaign.

In 1931, the Commission was formed in New York, the Commission was actually part of a peace plan or truce devised to end the Italian Mafia wars. The truce established a governing gang commission and divided the mob into five New York families; Luciano, Magano, Gagliano, Propaci, and Maranzano.

While this for a time reduced the number of "made men" murdered annually, it did not make New York a safer place. The man who brought the truce plan into being became one of the first victims of the commission. On Sept. 10, 1931, "Lucky" Luciano assumed leadership by murdering Salvatore Maranzano, the commission founder.

Today, an alliance between the two largest criminal transnational gangs in the world, Mara Salvatrucha and 18th Street, could be a very dangerous thing in Central America and here in the United States. Members of both gangs have not signed truces with the government or with law enforcement. They will continue to traffic in drugs and humans, and they will continue to use violence against their victims. This truce will not reduce the violence it will merely redirect it.

All the experienced gang officers I've contacted agree that this truce will also soon fail. But well-intentioned people will continue to try to get these gangs to the peace table, and others will try to utilize a truce for their own political purposes.

As thinking citizens of a lawful government our goal should be, disrupting, dismantling and eradicating all criminal gangs, not brokering dialog and peace treaties between them. Gang truces can only make the task of ending criminal gangs more difficult.

This article was republished with permission by Police Magazine. Sgt. Richard Valdemar retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after spending most of his 33 years on the job combating gangs. His Gangs Blog can be found at:  http://www.policemag.com/Blog/Gangs.aspx 

 

Do Anti-Gang Violence Programs Work?

As most gang workers and police know, gang activity and gang crime is often a very hard thing to assess by looking at just statistics alone.  The National Gang Center website, formerly the National Youth Gang Center, states that it has a good analysis of “evidence based” findings.  They also have nearly 15 years of data collected by their annual National Youth Gang Survey of 2,500 U.S. law enforcement agencies.  Groups like the NGC focus on youth gangs, but not the vast majority of adult offenders that police crime and gang data bases (whether or not they admit they even exist for fear of legal issues) show are gang affiliated.  There appears to be a denial of some facts on the part of NGC and a big problem for communities when it comes to trying to get an accurate description of gang related issues they may be facing.  (See the NGC Response in below Comment section).  While the NGC and major government funded groups like them do some real good work in many areas, the widely-circulated and relied upon gang information released from groups like them often controls subsequent government grant funding:

http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/

Some critics point out this so called evidence and stats generated by it can be skewed and sometimes misleading.  Agencies may choose not to fill out surveys, do it incomplete, or enter info based on their own systems that may not be entirely accurate.  Studies written on gangs are often based on this data and are often authored by college professors that have little to no hands on experience working with street gangs.  It is often hard to match these academic studies with reality in the field.  First of all, there is no gang definition or validation form that is standard nationwide.  Different agencies define gang members differently.  Competing data systems like GANG-NET and RISS do exist.  This can lead to discrepancies in reports on levels of gang activity which are often relied upon as “scientific proof”.  No matter how the data is gathered, many communities have tried to address gang violence problems via local government supported programs. 

In Seattle during the 2009-12 fiscal years, the Youth Violence Prevention Initiative budget included a multi-million dollar effort to try and change how the city dealt with youth violence.  This included monitoring gang members, who commit a far higher number of crimes than your average youth, but was not exclusively limited to gang members.  It was noted, youth-at-risk, gang associates, and so called Wanna-B’s will often commit crimes in efforts they say will protect themselves, or to impress older Original Gangsters (OGs), or so that other youth will fear them.  The Initiative serves about 800 young people a year who are at highest risk of perpetuating violence or becoming victims.  In 2008, five teenagers were shot to death in Seattle, then-Mayor Greg Nickels brought together community leaders, principals, members of the faith community, and others to develop a new approach to preventing youth and gang-related violence.  The program was continued under Mayor-elect Mike McGinn.  Previously, the city had a “Team for Youth” program that in early years seemed to work effectively but some said had outgrown the times.  Others said the change was more about youth service providers jockeying for position for government funding:

http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/education/youthInitiative/AboutUs.htm

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa points to a 17% overall reduction in gang crime since the city’s new anti-gang program started, but there again stats can be skewed, and the drop in crime may not be entirely attributed to such programs.  One piece of the Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) Program that seems to be working well is the Summer Night Lights (SNL) program which keeps parks in gang-plagued neighborhoods open at night during the summer.  But, many critics also point out that gang and drug intervention programs are easily infiltrated by gang members who may use these programs as fronts.  This includes the hiring of many “former" male gang members as well as hiring female staff that often are married or have boyfriends who are or were gang members.  In Los Angeles, it was found that some gang intervention workers were involved in criminal activity, funding was scrapped for some programs and a new initiative was put in place.  Other people say only past gang members can understand current gang members and their issues.  Regardless, ever since it was implemented, there has been a lot of debate over the L.A. Mayor’s expensive gang program:

http://mayor.lacity.org/Issues/GangReduction/index.htm

In Chicago, a long tradition of gang violence surged in 2010-12.  Some former gang officers stated that it was due in part to a new generation of gangsters eager to make their mark on neighborhoods.  Some former Chicago Police Department staff confided that the department changed how it operated after several scandals hit the Gang Units and not always in good ways.  Some officers believed CPD engaged in de-policing for fear of being investigated or wrongfully accused by gang members.  They said it was best to just sit back and not be pro-active any longer.  Gang crime soared!  In particular, as it was pointed out, gang crime would go up when there was a gang shooting and right afterwards there was a retaliatory shooting so the crime rate doubled right there unless better efforts were made to be pro-active after a gang shooting.  "The Chicago Police Department is going to retool our gang strategy from top to bottom", said Supt. Garry McCarthy on March 19, 2012.  McCarthy said the department's new strategy will include a gang audit that merges two kinds of intelligence data into a central repository for the beat officer.  This effort was supported by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel who was the former Chief of Staff for President Barack Obama.  Meanwhile, Chicago’s Cease Fire program hired former gang members as “Interrupters”. The program focused on three main stages to reduce violence: 1) Identification & Detection, 2) Interruption, Intervention, & Risk Reduction, 3) Changing Behavior and Norms:

http://ceasefirechicago.org/how-it-works

All four of the above cited programs with internet links have their critics and their supporters.  Again, the problems raised above often makes it very hard to tell if gang prevention and intervention programs are always effective.  Still, we must try to combat gang problems in our communities.  We must try to figure out how well it is working but not just rely on stats alone.  Gang unit officers, youth intervention workers, gang prevention workers are the real experts when it comes to dealing with gangs.   Parents and school staff are also big stakeholders.  I say survey all of them "anonymously" in the areas of Suppression, Intervention, and Prevention, because otherwise they might feel compelled to rate their success higher due to employment or funding issues, and that will likely be a good gauge if programs and agencies really work?  We must also remember that it can cost $40,000 or more a year to house somebody in prison.  A police officer’s salary can range from $50,000 a year to nearly $100,000 in some places.  A small amount of money spent on trying to prevent and deter youth from joining gangs or time spent intervening with young people can save us all a lot as a society in the long run and give us a quality of life that money alone cannot measure!


What are your thoughts on gang prevention, intervention, and suppression programs?  Do they work or are they just a waste of tax payers’ money?

Major Reforms Ahead for Seattle Police?

On March 29^th, 2012, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and Police Chief John Diaz announced sweeping reforms in response to a highly critical federal Department of Justice report following a series of high-profile incidents involving people of color:

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/275050-doj-investigation-report-on-spd.html#document/p1

As a result, 20 major reforms were proposed by the city and SPD brass:

http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/media/PDF/SPD2020.pdf

McGinn, Diaz and Mike Sanford, the department's assistant chief of operations, state the proposed reforms fall under 5 main categories: protecting constitutional rights; training for Seattle's values; earning public trust; using data-driven practices; and partnering with the public.

SPD has been in the hot seat many times since the creation of the city. Some old scandals make some of the more recent ones seem pale in comparison. SPD survived those and was able to shake things up and improve its image. Very few people will deny that Police-Community Relations have been deteriorating in recent months, including the shooting death of a Native American wood carver named John T. Williams, and an incident involving a former gang unit officer and Latino youth:

http://www.angelfire.com/biz4/stopvarriowar/Police-Community-Relations-2010.pdf

So, what do you think of these new reforms? Will line staff buy into it? Does SPD racially profile people? Is there a culture of police brutality and excessive force at SPD or were these incidents just the case of a few bad apples spoiling the whole bunch? Are these proposed reforms just a ploy to try and head off DOJ monitoring of the department? Was this all racially and politically motivated? Will anything change at SPD?

Problems with the Yakima Gang Free Initiative (GFI)?

The City of Yakima decided to re-bid the position of Project Coordinator for their Gang Free Initiative (GFI) on March 26, 2012. The GFI was created after the gallant efforts of former city council member Sonia Rodriguez-True and a few others to address the city’s gang problems. Many of the problems had grown out of control after decades of denial and lack of will by the city council to do much about it. The GFI is based on five principles of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP) Comprehensive Gang Model. This model and other “Best Practices” are used by communities across the U.S. to address gang crime and youth violence.

The GFI is an opportunity for the city to be pro-active in areas of prevention and intervention. The selection of a Coordinator is supposed to be to provide services as specified in the scope of work for the GFI Project; however, the selection process seems to be highly political, and some council members are still not sure it is money well spent. The job application and bid does not even state candidates may be interviewed or that a personal presentation on combating gangs and coordinating services may be seen, it only states TBD (To Be Determined). It appears the GFI Selection Committee, made up of (3) council members, can make up their own rules:

GFI Reservation: The City reserves the right to award the contract to the applicant that it deems to offer the best overall qualifications/proposal in its sole discretion. The City reserves the right to revise the RFQ schedule, to revise the RFQ and/or to issue amendments to the RFQ. The City also reserves the right to cancel or to reissue the RFQ in whole or in part prior to the execution of a contract. The City also reserves the right to refrain from contracting with any and all applicants. The release of the RFQ does not compel the City to enter into any contract pursuant to the RFQ.

http://www.ci.yakima.wa.us/services/purchasing/openings/11210-P-RFQ-Re-bid-Gang-Free-Initiative-Coordinator-YPD-Council.pdf

Clearly, the city should ensure its needs are met in dealing with this under addressed problem, but is a long history of alienating the Latino community by the political establishment continuing? Do you think the GFI is a good idea? What do you think can be done about gangs in the Yakima area that is not being done now?

Accurate assessments of problems are critical for effective solutions and to ask for state and federal anti-gang funding down the road. Yakima allegedly paid $75K for the GFI study, was it money well spent? Any comments or concerns about how this process was handled?

See the Yakima Gang Assessment/Community Profile at:

http://www.ci.yakima.wa.us/services/police/docs/GFI-Community-Profile.pdf

New Book: “BEST-Barrio Eighteenth Street, Mara Salvatrucha & Other Sureño Gangs Across America”

Andrew Eways and Gabriel Morales have a new book out on Sureño gangs.  It describes the problems of Sureño gang migration from Southern California, all across America, and even beyond U.S. borders.  The book goes into detail about the origins and expansion of 18th Street and Mara Salvatrucha to American communities large and small as well as to Central America. Also covered is Florencia 13, the Avenues, White Fence, Logan Heights, and many other Sureño gangs, as well as rival Norteños.  It explains how to read Gang Graffiti, how to help eradicate it, shows how to decipher drawings as well as gang tattoos, and other warning signs of gang activity.  It includes “The Fight Against Gangs”, what strategies seem to work and which don’t.  It is meant for Gang Cops, Patrol, Corrections, Youth Workers, and the General Public.

What do you think?  Would you buy it?  Why do you think these kinds of gangs exist?

See: http://www.gangpreventionservices.org/merchandise.asp#book