I remember riding with another L.A. Deputy Sheriff in an East Los Angeles gang car in 1975. To me, it was a privilege working with a special gang...

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

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

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...

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

The word "war" is not just hyperbole; it correctly describes what is going on. It's estimated that the violence—kidnapping and murder—has driven 400,000...

Anyone who has worked in the jail or prison for any length of time is probably aware of the psychological manipulation practiced by many sophisticated...

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...

In April, I joined many other local, state, and federal law enforcement experts in Washington D.C. to voice opposition to the flawed amnesty bill misnamed...

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...

Jose "Bat" Marquez received a life sentence for trafficking methamphetamine from a prison cell. Most law enforcement officials would consider this a...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

Even in the murderous world of gangs, the most wicked killings are perpetrated by individuals who seem motivated by some other dark, twisted presence within...

One at a time each of the three targets got out of the vehicle, walked in a big circle around the McDonald’s, went inside, only to return to the vehicle...

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

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...

The careful study of the Norco incident reveals many outstanding training lessons about non-traditional and unusual criminal groups, multiple advisory...

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

The girlfriend was provided with a “burnout phone.” A burnout phone is one that would be operational for a few months before being burned out. By that time...

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

The transnational gangs, drug trafficking organizations and Muslim terrorists have taken advantage of American apathy and the lack of will in Latin America....

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...

If ending corruption is the real goal, let's apply all the regulations equally across the board. I can support mandatory financial disclosure for all...

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...

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

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...

Some human sacrifices to Santa Muerte have been claimed in Tijuana and Nuevo Laredo in 2006. In 2008, 11 headless bodies were found in the Yucatan and the...

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...

One afternoon about five years ago, I was summoned from my desk at the detective division of a major Southern California urban sheriff's department and...

State lawmakers are positioning their budget axe over the heads of the state Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement (BNE) and Bureau of...

Although the Brown Berets claimed to be advocates of education and the politically informed, the majority of the Brown Beret members were high school...

In paintball scenarios, you battle multiple adversaries often in close quarter combat in urban or built-up locations. You either assault or defend a...

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...

We often focus on one puzzle piece rather than the whole puzzle. If we would slow down and step back, we might see the whole of our enemy's tactics and...

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

Federal, state and local police as well as other government officials have succumbed to the money involved in the cannabis cancer. Whether it's the legal...

The Times apparently now has a policy of protecting teen suspects from public exposure, while choosing to expose a witness who courageously risked...

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

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...

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

Heroin's old dirty image is being revamped to appeal to the younger generation. Heroin that is smokable or snortable can be marketed to avoid the old...

Why do some people feel the need to rewrite history to suit their needs? Many of these "documentaries" are only as good as their sources of information and...

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...

No one in a predatory environment wanted tight, close-fitting clothing. Status in custody was displayed by wearing new, especially large baggy clothing,...

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...

Gang members belong to a gangster culture, believing that only lame punks do menial work for "the man." Why be a lowly worker, when you can be the boss? As...