Gang Intelligence Methods in Law Enforcement

GANG INTELLIGENCE METHODS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT

The American headlines of any large city will site killings on street corners, robberies, assaults, intimidation, and drug interaction. While not all-criminal activity is associated with gangs, the 780,000 strong members do account for a large majority of the problems that are plaguing America. There is no one-way to stop gang activity in one single swipe, but through a combination of cooperation, education, and training techniques law enforcement can minimize the gang’s movements and even stop a crime before it is committed.

A gang is defined as a group of individuals with the same objective that are bound together by a bond of trust. The majority of gangs are young people, but not every gang member is in his prime. The people that make up a gang are usually trying to achieve something, either money, respect, freedom from the oppression of another gang or law enforcement agency, the need to belong to something greater than themselves, or a combination of any of these. The individual that joins a gang is usually after the same goal that the gang is seeking to obtain.

Different gangs have different characteristics, but all gangs possess at least one: A hierarchy. Whether the gang is a small local crew that never moves out of the neighborhood or a larger well organized team that controls an entire district, there will always be a leader. The leader of the group is the focus of gang-related law enforcement intelligence investigations. Often times the leader of a gang may already be incarcerated, and is still communicating and giving orders from within the walls. The leader is the individual that is usually the strongest member of the group with the most charisma, not necessarily the smartest member of the group or the member that has been in the group the longest.

Membership in a gang does not necessarily mean that the person is uneducated. Some gang members may have positions within the law enforcement communities (Sulc, 65) and some gang members earn college degrees in business, law enforcement, finance, etc. This type of education whether formal or on-the-job will make the gang even stronger. If an individual cannot afford to go to college, this type of scholarship program could be an incentive to stay or join up with ...

... middle of paper ...

...mericans understand that catching criminals and bringing down a gang ring is not an easy task. As long as there is an active show of interaction between law enforcement and the public, than the likelihood of information sharing is always greater.

The gang related activity of America cannot be extinguished overnight, but understanding that the fight against such crime is not an easy task will help win the American people’s support. The average citizen is enraged as well as discouraged by the acts of criminal gang forces, and the majority of Americans stand behind law enforcement already. The only way to put a dent in the criminal gang forces of America is through a combination of cooperation, education, and training techniques.

WORKS CITED

Lowenthall, M.M. INTELLIGENCE: FROM SECRETS TO POLICY.

Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2000.

Peterson, M.B. APPLICATIONS IN CRIMINAL ANALYSIS. Westport,

CT: Praeger Publishers, 1998.

Peterson, M.B. INTELLIGENCE 2000: REVISING THE BASIC

ELEMENTS. Sacramento, CA: LEIU, 2000.

Sulc, L.B. LAW ENFORCEMENT: COUNTER INTELLIGENCE. Shawnee

Mission, KS: Varro Press, 1996.