No matter how small or large a town they work in, and whether they work urban or rural, gang cops need to know about and recognize the signs of criminal...

Two recent investigations show us the value of gang task forces that combine resources from law enforcement, prosecutors, and corrections to take down...

Sureños can be found in every major city in the U.S. They can be found in Canada, Mexico, Europe, and South America. The big transnational super gangs such...

For undercover police work or even off-duty use, a small gun that can easily be concealed yet fires a reasonably powerful cartridge is essential. Kel-Tec...

You don't become a gang expert overnight. You don't become qualified to testify in court in just a couple of years. LAPD rotated its officers in and out of...

Mexican drug cartels are now operating deep in the U.S., according to the recent Associated Press report. They're operating not just in border areas....

Like the evolution of the Italian Mafia in U.S. cities such as New York and Chicago, Mexican smugglers or "contrabandistas" evolved from crude thuggish...

Varrio Hawaiian Gardens was a Sureño gang fiercely loyal to the Mexican Mafia, and the Mafia was in a racial war against Blacks. Varrio Hawaiian Gardens...

The Black Panther Party was formed to protect and defend African-American neighborhoods from police brutality. By the late 1960s, it represented a major...

Autonomous cliques of the Mara Salvatrucha gang communicate internationally through the same social networks we use, including Facebook, MySpace, Twitter...

When you plan a raid of Hell Angels outlaw motorcycle gang locations for felons, drugs, and guns, don't assume you'll encounter good old boys who ride bikes...

Every time law enforcement thought that they had knocked out or retired the Eme organization, they found that the Eme came back again. The Mexican Mafia...

Based on my experience, I'd say my paintball games were more realistic and useful training experiences than any contrived multiple-target drill, falling...

Wake up California; you've been sold a lie. This lie has allowed the Mexican (and other) cartels and gangs to produce huge crops of unregulated marijuana...

Do yourself a favor. Your planning for the many facets of an unthinkable off-duty situation must be serious and deliberate. Think about it, and be prepared...

The Mexican Mafia is composed of cell-like cliques united in a coalition under the umbrella name. These cliques or sub-groups are led by informal...

If you live in one of the cities that accepted Katrina refugees, you know what followed. While most Katrina survivors were appreciative of their host...

To Bryan Stow and the rest of the sane world, his Giants baseball gear represented his love of baseball and his support for his team. To that cowardly pack...

Vetrovec and I were at the south window in hyper-vigilance mode, when one of the Geraghty homeboys pulled down the plywood covering the living room door,...

I've always marveled at this irony. Young men who rebel against authority and parental control, who commonly hate school, hate memorizing verses and...

In police work I would never wish to return to those ancient cumbersome flashlights, or Nash Rambler patrol cars, or the lack of portable radios or body...

The Mexican press estimates that 19.5% of the official ballot boxes were installed in areas controlled by the drug cartels. Many voters avoided the poles...

In recent years, attacks against police officers have increasingly become sneaky ambushes rather than direct confrontations. They may involve improvised...

Like the unwanted dandelions that sprout in lawns, cartel and gang partners continue to adapt and survive. The systematic corruption of our police, courts...

"Rampart" is another depiction of the evil white-guy cop, played this time by over-the-top Woody Harrelson, and the good black guy played by...

Do not underestimate gang members because they are young or small, scrawny wolves. Maybe you have even encountered and dealt with several of them...

Sometimes separate local, state, or county police are used for physical surveillance. Occasionally when intercepted communications seem to have gone...

The Black Guerrilla Family was founded by George Jackson, a former Black Panther and excellent orator who rallied inmates by speaking about the system's...

There seems to be an illogical perception in the U.S. that "bad guys," especially those associated with criminal gangs, are dumb—or at least uneducated. But...

The court transportation system is the first weak point. Did you know that 40% of all inmate escapes occur during transport? Any gang member who's spent any...

The Barrio Azteca gang members organize themselves using a paramilitary structure and apply English terms or their Spanish equivalent words for ranks such...

Two New York officers threatened in a gang wanted poster should consider the threats from the bad guys a true compliment. It means they are making a real...

In prison, forms of black slang and African languages are used to code conversations to prevent non-black inmates and staff from understanding the...

It is this use of illicit drugs that first seduces young men into the criminal underworld and later makes the gangs the principal purveyors of this...

Tagger crews often include people from different ethnic backgrounds and both male and female members. The boys are “Kings” and the girls are “Queens.”...

Like war, police work can be an ugly job. Like military service, it can be dangerous physically and psychologically. But who's better prepared to endure...

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Curtis Jackson pioneered a different way to attack gangs. Instead of using "show of force" suppression patrols, Jackson...

The 211 Crew is a white-supremacist prison gang. The loosely structured group had its early formation in the Denver County Jail, and its members included a...

Former Mexican Mafia leader Ramon "Mundo" Mendoza's motivation for writing, "Mexican Mafia: The Gang of Gangs," is to get the book into the hands of gang...

If I worked a gang unit in your area, I would send plainclothes officers inside to monitor any Lowrider shows near your jurisdiction. I would also watch...

Every victim or witness had heard the stories in the ghetto about gang retaliation against those who were foolish enough to snitch on gang members. Most of...

A gang murder investigation requires your best detective skills to solve the crime and protect the witnesses.

Denial and minimization of a gang problem allows the city's criminal gangs to take root. It also thwarts proactive anti-gang measures.

While in custody, most Sureño gang members are educated in martial arts fighting tactics and are primarily trained in fighting with edged weapons. The...

In a federal indictment charging the suspects, it was alleged that the center of their criminal operation was an Iraqi social club in El Cajon, and...

Edged-weapon gang culture flourished most prominently in American jails and prisons. Every inmate is expected to be able to defend himself. Gang members...

By the late 1960s, many of the Black Panther Party leadership had become entangled in criminal trials or were serving long prison sentences. Some had been...

Operation Black Flag was another "staggering and comprehensive blow" to California's most powerful gang, according to U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte. However,...

No matter which big bad bloody band of barrio bad boys you might be dealing with, I'll bet they are taking their orders from prison-gang inmates. And when...

Like so many lucky lotto winners, the same fame and financial fortune that helps them escape the ghetto contributes to bringing them down. This is...