Officer Richard Neil retired What crimes are they

Officer Richard Neil (retired)

What crimes are they predominantly involved in? Drugs, auto theft, intimidation, weapon sales, burglary, and violent crimes are all common.

SPO #1 -CRIMINAL GANG DEFINED n ANY COMPANY OF PERSONS, WHO GO ABOUT TOGETHER OR ACT IN CONCERT, MAINLY FOR CRIMINAL PURPOSES

Ohio Law ORC 2923. 41 n “Criminal Gang: ” means an ongoing, formal or informal organization, association or group of 3 or more persons to which all the following apply:

1. 2. 3. It has as one of its primary activities the commission of one or more of certain, specified offenses It has a common name or one or more common, identifying signs, symbols or colors The persons in the organization, association or group individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity

“Pattern of Criminal Activity” n n n Means that, subject to specified conditions, persons in the criminal gang have committed or in any manner have caused the commission or, in any manner, have caused another to commit 2 or more of any of the following offenses: A felony OR… An offense of violence OR. . .

n n n n 2907. 04 --Corruption of a Minor 2909. 06—Criminal damaging/Endangering 2911. 211 --Aggravated Trespass 2917. 04 --Failure to Disperse 2919. 23 --Interference with Custody 2919. 24 --Contributing to Unruliness of a Delinquent 2921. 04 --Intimidation of an Attorney, Victim or Witness

n n n 2923. 16 --Improperly Handling Firearms in a Motor Vehicle 2925. 03 --Trafficking in Drugs 2927. 12 --Ethnic Intimidation

Pattern of Criminal Gang Activity n A Pattern of Criminal Gang Activity exists if all the following apply to specified offenses AND persons in the criminal gang caused in any way the commission of those offenses OR caused another, in any way, to commit those offenses:

n n n At least 1 of the 2 or more offenses is a felony The last of those 2 or more offenses occurs within 5 years after, at least, one of those offenses The two or more offenses are committed on separate occasions by 2 or more persons The penalty for participating in a criminal gang is a felony of the 2 nd degree ORC 2923. 42

SPO #2 - CHARACTERISTICS OF CRIMINAL GANG MEMBERS n n n COMMIT CRIMES FREQUENTLY HAVE PROPENSITY FOR VIOLENCE HAVE ACCESS TO WEAPONS DISREGARD LAWFUL AUTHORITY DISREGARD THE VALUE OF LIFE, INCLUDING THEIR OWN

Gang Nuisance Abatement n Any building, premises or real estate including vacant land that is used or occupied by a criminal gang on more than 2 occasions within a 1 year period to engage in a pattern of criminal gang activity constitutes a nuisance subject to abatement

Gangs are not exclusively a minority phenomenon n n White Supremacy n 1. KKK n 2. Aryan Nations Left wing radical gangs n 1. Animal Liberation Front n 2. Earth Liberation Front, typically upper class, college educated, caucasian

Gangs are visible in the community in a number of ways: n Graffiti n 1. Sends messages n 2. Warns and challenges intruders and rival gang members n a. Police officers are considered to be intruders n b. Graffiti is the newspaper of the street

Media n 1. News n 2. Popular music n 3. Movies n Schools n 1. Nearly twice as many teenagers reported gangs in their schools in 1995 as in 1989 n 2. The number of students victimized by violent crime increased nearly 25% at the same time n

Gangs are visible in the community in a number of ways: n n n Malls Theaters Hospitals Parks Civic events

Type ~ Delinquent Gangs n n n Groups of young people who “hang-out” together and. . Possess a name Have a leader or leaders Possess identifying signs Engage in: Truancy, Minor vandalism, & Status offenses to get attention from police, parents, and schools (Typically not charged with serious crimes)

Traditional Turf-Based Gangs n n Groups of young people who possess: A name, A leader or leaders, and share identifying signs Group is committed to defending its reputation and status as a gang Associated with a geographical territory which it defends against rival gangs Key identifying characteristics are turf and gang rivalry

SPO #3 -CRITERIA TO DECRIBE THREAT GROUPS n n INTERACTING TOGETHER REGULARLY ORGANIZATION, STRUCTURE AND LEADERSHIP PRESENT WITHIN GROUP COMMON SIGNS, SYMBOLS AND NAMES CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR COMMITTED BY OR FOR THE GROUP

National Socialist Movement

Violent/Hate Gangs n n n Group engages in violent acts for ideological or religious reasons, such as racism Skinheads, KKK, Aryan Nation, Black Panther Party, Nation of Islam, Mexica Movement Collectively, members engage in violent acts toward other groups or individuals whom they see as being different

Violent/Hate Gangs Turf and material gain are of secondary importance if present at all n Offenses include: Intimidation, Serious assaults, Homicide n A Partner with some street gangs are the Prison Gangs n In some cases the power base of the gang is actually in the prison (Aryan Brotherhood) n

Gang Alliances All gang problems are local in nature n Gang members model themselves on national gangs n Very few, however, will have direct links to Chicago, Los Angeles or New York n 2. An individual gang, typically, tends to align itself with a large overall alliance of gangs called a “Nation” n

Gang Alliances Purpose of “National” affiliation: n Method by which gangs are categorized n Method of identifying gang rivalries n A “Set” describes a particular gang n within the “nation” n One estimation gives 100 distinct “sets” of gangs in Northeastern Ohio alone

Gang Alliances n In Ohio the most common “Nations” are? The People Nation n The Folk Nation n

“People Nation” n n n Custom is to wear gang identifiers to the left side of the body Earring in left ear Left pant leg rolled up Cap tilted to the left side Hand signs thrown to the left Uses 5 -pointed star in gang graffiti

“Folk Nation” n n n Custom is to wear gang identifiers to the right side of the body Apparel is worn in opposition to the People Nation Uses the 6 -Pointed Star in their graffiti

Some gangs in Ohio have also modeled themselves after Los Angeles based gangs: Crips--Identifies with the color Blue n Bloods--Identifies with the color Red n

Ohio Gangs n n Miami Valley ~Diamond Cut, Dayton View Hustlas, Dope Boy Mafia, BGDs, Greenwich Village Crew/Catel/Clique, MS 13/SUR 13, Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, Aryan Nation, Black Pistons +++ Prison ~Aryan Brotherhood, Black Gangster Disciples, Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, Mexican Mafia, MS 13

TYPES OF GANG MEMBERS n n RECRUITS PERIPHERAL ASSOCIATE/AFFILIATE HARD CORE MEMBER

Gangs Working Together

SPO #4 -INDICATORS OF GANG ACTIVITY IN THE COMMUNITY n n n PAGER/CELL PHONE GANG “LIT” (LITERATURE SHOWING GANG ALPHABETS, SYMBOLS, ETC. ) WEAPONS DRUGS GRAFFITTI ON BOOKS, POSTERS AND CLOTHES WEARING GANG COLORS/CLOTHES 3

SPO #4 -INDICATORS OF GANG ACTIVITY IN THE COMMUNITY n n n USING HAND SYMBOLD TATOOS WITH GANG INISIGNIA PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF GABEE MEMBERSHIP SUSPICIOUS WOUNDS OR BRUISES-MAY BE PART OF INITIATION ACTIVITIES POSSESSION OF GANG PHOTOS USING UNCOMMON TERMS OR SLANG

SPO #4 -INDICATORS OF GANG ACTIVITY IN THE COMMUNITY n n BEHAVING IN A SECRETIVE MANER INTERACTING FRQUENTLY WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT CARRYING LARGE SUMS OF MONEY BUYING EXPENSIVE ITEMS

Motorcycle Gangs Began in early 50 s as loosely knit rowdy groups as a form of social protest n Have evolved into recognized, dangerous criminal groups n They are a major threat to law enforcement due to: n Their possession of and expertise with sophisticated weapons n Intricate intelligence networks n

n n n Estimated by one source that only 1% of bikers nationally engage in criminal activity Commonly known organized criminal motorcycle gangs: Hell’s Angels n Iron Horsemen Outlaws n Mongols Pagans n Sons of Silence Bandidos

SPO #5=MOTIVATORS FOR CRIMINAL GANG INVOLVEMENT n n n n LACK OF FAMILY LACK OF ROLE MODELS LACK OF ELF-ESTEEM LACK OF FUTURE PEEP PRESSSURER A SENSE OF IDENTITY THRILLS AND EXCITEMENT OF GANG LIFE

REASONS FOR LEAVING A GANG n n n n GROWING UP AND GETTING SMARTER FEAR OF INJURY FOR SELF AND OTHERS DEVELOPMENT OF INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP FINDING EMPLOYMENT BEING CONCERNED FOR THE YOUTH OF THE COMMUNITY HAVING A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE HAVING AN ADULT TAKE AN INTEREST IN, ASSIST OR ENCOURAGE YOUTH

Stanley Tookie Williams

SPO #6 -MOTIVATORS FOR GANG RELATED CRIMES n n n POWER/ CONTROL ANGER/AGGRESSION PROFIT OTHER “BUSINESS” THE GANG DEFENSE OF

SUPPRESSION IS THE CALCULATED AND DELIBERATE EFFORT TO CURB GANG ACTIVITY n n n AGGRESSIVE ARREST PROSECUTION INCARCERATION OF GANG MEMBERS

TYPES OF SUPPRESSION STRATEGIES n n n INTELLIGENCE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS INFORMATION SHARING USE OF SPECIALIZED UNITS ZERO TOLERANCE

GATTEHRING INTELLIGENCE REGARDING A GANG n n n SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE GANG SIGNS AND COLORS GANG TERRITORY GANG HANGOUTS GANG NAMES/NICK-NAMES GANG RITUALS

Officer Richard Neil (retired)