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
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ANY COMPANY OF PERSONS,
WHO GO ABOUT TOGETHER
OR ACT IN CONCERT, MAINLY
FOR CRIMINAL PURPOSES
Ohio Law ORC 2923.41
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“Criminal Gang:” means an ongoing,
formal or informal organization,
association or group of 3 or more persons
to which all the following apply:“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”
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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...
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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
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2923.16--Improperly Handling Firearms
in a Motor Vehicle
2925.03--Trafficking in Drugs
2927.12--Ethnic Intimidation
Pattern of Criminal Gang
Activity

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:
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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 2nd degree ORC 2923.42
SPO #2- CHARACTERISTICS OF
CRIMINAL GANG MEMBERS
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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

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
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White Supremacy
 1. KKK
 2. Aryan Nations
Left wing radical gangs
 1. Animal Liberation Front
 2. Earth Liberation Front, typically
upper class, college educated,
caucasian
Gangs are visible in the community
in a number of ways:

Graffiti
 1. Sends messages
 2. Warns and challenges
intruders and rival gang
members
 a. Police officers are
considered to be intruders
 b. Graffiti is the newspaper
of the street
Media
 1. News
 2. Popular music
 3. Movies
 Schools
 1. Nearly twice as many teenagers
reported gangs in their schools in
1995 as in 1989
 2. The number of students victimized
by violent crime increased nearly 25%
at the same time
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Gangs are visible in the community
in a number of ways:
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Malls
Theaters
Hospitals
Parks
Civic events
Type ~ Delinquent Gangs
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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
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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
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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
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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
 Offenses include: Intimidation, Serious
assaults, Homicide
 A Partner with some street
gangs are the Prison Gangs
 In some cases the power
base of the gang is
actually in the prison
(Aryan Brotherhood)
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Gang Alliances
All gang problems are local in nature
 Gang members model themselves
on national gangs
 Very few, however, will have direct
links to Chicago, Los Angeles or
New York
 2. An individual gang,
typically, tends to align itself
with a large overall alliance
of gangs called a “Nation”

Gang Alliances
Purpose of “National” affiliation:
 Method by which gangs are
categorized
 Method of identifying gang rivalries
 A “Set” describes a particular gang

within the “nation”
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One estimation gives 100 distinct “sets”
of gangs in Northeastern Ohio alone
Gang Alliances

In Ohio the most common “Nations”
are?
The People Nation
 The Folk Nation
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“People Nation”
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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”
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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:
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Crips--Identifies with the color Blue
Bloods--Identifies with the color
Red
Ohio Gangs
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Miami Valley ~Diamond Cut, Dayton View
Hustlas, Dope Boy Mafia, BGDs, Greenwich
Village Crew/Catel/Clique, MS13/SUR13,
Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, Aryan Nation,
Black Pistons +++
Prison ~Aryan Brotherhood, Black Gangster
Disciples, Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, Mexican
Mafia, MS13
TYPES OF GANG MEMBERS
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RECRUITS
PERIPHERAL
ASSOCIATE/AFFILIATE
HARD CORE MEMBER
Gangs Working Together
SPO #4-INDICATORS OF GANG
ACTIVITY IN THE COMMUNITY
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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
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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
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BEHAVING IN A SECRETIVE MANER
INTERACTING FRQUENTLY WITH LAW
ENFORCEMENT
CARRYING LARGE
SUMS OF MONEY
BUYING EXPENSIVE
ITEMS
Motorcycle Gangs
Began in early 50s as loosely knit rowdy
groups as a form of social protest
 Have evolved into recognized,
dangerous criminal groups
 They are a major threat to law
enforcement due to:
 Their possession of and expertise with
sophisticated weapons
 Intricate intelligence networks
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Estimated by one source that only 1% of
bikers nationally engage in criminal
activity
Commonly known organized criminal
motorcycle gangs:
Hell’s Angels
 Iron Horsemen
Outlaws
 Mongols
Pagans
 Sons of Silence
Bandidos
SPO #5=MOTIVATORS FOR
CRIMINAL GANG INVOLVEMENT
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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
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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
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POWER/ CONTROL
ANGER/AGGRESSION
PROFIT
OTHER “BUSINESS”
OF THE GANG
DEFENSE
SUPPRESSION IS THE CALCULATED
AND DELIBERATE EFFORT TO CURB
GANG ACTIVITY
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AGGRESSIVE ARREST
PROSECUTION
INCARCERATION OF GANG MEMBERS
TYPES OF SUPPRESSION
STRATEGIES
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INTELLIGENCE
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
INFORMATION SHARING
USE OF SPECIALIZED UNITS
ZERO TOLERANCE
GATTEHRING INTELLIGENCE
REGARDING A GANG
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SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE GANG
GANG SIGNS AND COLORS
GANG TERRITORY
GANG HANGOUTS
GANG NAMES/NICK-NAMES
GANG RITUALS