Sureños identify with the color blue and use tattoos with the number 13, sureño, sur, south sider, or "kanpol" (a word taken from the ancient Aztec language...

I was assigned to L.A.’s Men’s Central Jail, Module 2400, without the benefit of any custody training at all. There were about 250 inmates divided among...

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

In Los Angeles, the Armenian Power street gang was linked not only to the Sureño alliance and the Mexican Mafia prison gang, but also to their elders in the...

The jail-made "shank" is fashioned from this material by sharpened by scraping the metal on concrete floors. A handle is fashioned from paper or cloth....

The drug is dangerous to law enforcement in several ways. The chemicals utilized are highly toxic and volatile. Clandestine labs are often booby trapped...

"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...

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

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...

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

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...

Any suspect, who may feel cornered, may unexpectedly turn and ambush pursuing police officers. Situations for possible gang-ambush traps may spring from...

I have never arrested a gang member who lawfully possessed a gun and who purchased it legitimately. So banning legitimate gun-related purchases only...

Gangs have evolved in criminal and technical sophistication from the school dropouts of the 1960s. Today's gang members utilize all the modern electric...

This wanton disregard for others including the innocent children who must live in a gang household is like the twisted sickness that causes arsonists it...

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

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...

The abuses from professional sports would eventually taint college recruitment. Money under the table, trips to strip clubs and topless bars, and steroid...

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

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...