Graffiti & Gang Problems:

Here are a few tips if you suspect gang activity in your area. (If gang activity is already heavily established in your area, it is harder, but not impossible, to get rid of).

· Don’t ignore a problem. A problem will get bigger if ignored. If allowed to “hang out”, a gang will quickly claim the area as their turf. It won’t be long before graffiti covers everything and gunshots ring out. If you see people starting to hang out at a location, drinking, gambling, and even illegally parking call the police. You can remain anonymous, and if the problem people get “harassed” by the police enough, they will leave for another location where everyone looks away and allows them to terrorize the neighborhood.

· Don’t be intimidated. Gangs work on intimidation and violence. In most areas, people are afraid to stand up to the gangs. I have been to the scene of a shooting where 40-50 people witnessed the shooting, but not one will talk to the police. (Some will come to the police station or call in a tip anonymously later). This intimidation is what fuels a gang and gang activity. By no means should you stand up to a gang physically; you do it through the police and as a neighborhood group. A gang will not remain in an area if their intimidation does not work, where they are constantly reported, where they can be driven out.

· Call your local police department. In this day and age, almost every police department has a gang task force, or at least a gang expert. Talk to the gang unit; tell them of your observations, any graffiti you see forming. They are the experts in your area, and they can tell you if this might be a kid playing with a spray can, or if it is a serious problem forming that they need to be aware of. Gangs forming in an area are like a health problem. If it is caught early enough, it can be solved rather easily. If allowed to grow and fester, it is harder to get rid of.

· If you see graffiti, report it immediately to the owner of the property, the police, or your local code-enforcement division if you have one in your city. If allowed to stay, it invites more graffiti, rival gangs coming in to tag their names, and a turf war erupts. The police know this and they don’t want gangs infesting neighborhoods either.

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Freeway Violence & Road Rage:

· Control your temper. The angrier you get, the more of a chance of a confrontation. Go ahead and say what you want inside your vehicle, but don’t flip off or confront the other driver. Don’t get into a stare-down or any type of confrontation. Chances are, if you ignore the other driver, they will just pass you by.

· If someone gets behind you, starts flashing lights or tailgating you, pull over to the next lane when possible and let them go by. Don’t get into a stare down or flip off confrontation. Let them go by to get on someone else’s nerves. Chances are, if you let them go by, you’ll forget about them in moments. If you get in a confrontation, it will bug you and have the opportunity to escalate into more if the situation persist.

· Always Remember: Don’t do something out of anger that you will regret later. It’s just not worth the risk nowadays.

· If by chance someone does start following you, whether from a vehicle incident or any type of incident, DON’T drive home. Drive to the nearest Police station. If you don’t know where a police station is, pull into a gas station, store, anywhere there is alot of people around. Usually, the other person will leave because they don’t want to be identified. If they don’t leave, yell for someone or the clerks to call for the police.

· I still get angry if someone tailgates me, especially if I see someone tailgating my wife. It’s human nature to have pride or to defend our families or ourselves. But it’s when pride overrides common sense when we get into trouble. It’s gotten to be a violent world at times and it’s not worth the risk to show our anger over minor traffic altercations. Take a deep breath, pull over, let the idiot go by even if he’s flipping you off. Then you can laugh a few miles up the road when you see him pulled along the side of the road with a police vehicle with flashing red and blue lights behind him. Revenge can be sweet at times.

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Reader Question:

“i got stopped today because my exhaust system was making too much noise so the cop asked me for registration,insurance,and license i told the cop the truth meaning i didn’t have it registered or insured neither i had a license to be driving  and to complete this nightmare i just lost my id for my luck i didn’t have any papers proving that i owned the car the cop called  a tow truck and they took my van to my house for $88 the point is that i have to go to court now and he gave me advise in trying to get the car registered and insured before going and to make an appointment of a driving test in the ticket he gave me explaining the charges which i don’t understand one of them 1.oper w/o license 2.oper w/o insurance 3.oper unreg.mv and the one i don’t understand is 4.misuse marker.  i just want to know what’s gonna happen to me in court and what does that 4. means.”

ANSWER:

Sounds like you got a nice cop. He must have been able to confirm who you were because most cops would take someone without ID to the station for identification purposes. And here in CA, cars belonging to people without a drivers license are taken to a tow yard, not the persons driveway. The car can not be picked up without proof of ownership and current registration. The tow fees and daily storage charges add up fast. Driving without a license is actually a misdemeanor and is an arrestable offense but in CA we just issue a citation for the person to appear in court if we can confirm their identity.

And the cop that stopped you gave you good advice for court; if you can get the vehicle registered and insured and have a valid drivers license when you appear in court, it might impress the judge. You’ll still have to pay a fine but the judge will probably have a little mercy on you for correcting the violations. I have no idea what #4 is on your citation, did you have a fake registration tag on the van? You’ll have to call the police department or courts where you live to find out what it is.

Good luck on this one…..It might be a tough road but you should make sure everything you need to get done is complete before the court date.

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Reader Question:

“I am 17 years old and I  recently bought  a car. I saw a bmw sitting on the street and the owner was just about to put the  selling sign on it So I  asked how much it was and it was pretty darn cheap and I had the money saved up so I bought it a few days later. The car has been sitting in front of my house.I  haven’t put it under my name or insured it. I didn’t have the money to do all the paperwork, and my parents didn’t want to help me . So It was a Saturday night and my boyfriend and i wanted to go out, so we took the car out and got stopped. My boyfriend was driving and didn’t have a license. I was really scared because it was my first time  getting stopped and i lied to the officer and said the car  belonged to my uncle. The officer found out that the owner had recently sold the car and  got really mad. He gave us a ticket and towed the car. I’m really scared what should I do. My boyfriend has to go to court. What will happen to him? We live in California. I would really appreciate if you guys helped.”

Answer:

When a car is purchased, people can start the registration process in their name without having to pay all the fees up front. They can pay part of the fees and get a temporary sticker to put in their window allowing them to drive the vehicle for a month or so while getting the required paperwork together, smog check, etc. Without a temporary sticker, a car can be cited for expired registration even if it’s parked. And the car can be towed if the registration is expired over 6 months, even if it’s just sitting in front of your house. A vehicle must be registered and insured to be on the roadway, even if it’s just parked.

And cops get mad when someone lies to them. Lying can be the difference between a warning and a ticket. If I stop someone and they are totally honest with me, I may cut them some slack and let a licensed driver take the car. If someone lies to me and I catch them lying, they get no breaks. Lying to a cop is actually a misdemeanor, an arrestable offense. And if someone gives false information such as a name, date of birth etc that actually belong to a real person, it’s a felony! You get taken to jail!

I’ve arrested several people for lying and giving me the name of a sister, brother, etc. The reason it’s a felony is because the unsuspecting innocent person will suddenly have a warrant out for their arrest for a missed court date for an offense they never committed. They will have to go to court to try to straighten out the mess and clear their name. That’s why it’s a felony to lie about who you are.

Here in CA, someone with a suspended license gets their car towed and impounded for 30 days. It’s not cheap to get the car out after 30 days. If it wasn’t impounded, it will still be held until the registration is brought up to date in your name. Your boyfriend will have to go to court and face a judge to explain why he was driving without a license, he’ll probably just have to pay a fine. And the more tickets he gets for driving unlicensed, the harder it will be for him to get licensed again. If he misses his court date, a warrant will be issued for his arrest. You don’t want to piss off a judge by not showing up for a court date. 

Bottom line is don’t lie. Some cops will write tickets no matter what, but some cops will give a break to an honest person. I’ve given many a warning to people who were upfront and honest with me. No cop will let an unlicensed driver drive away (liability reasons) but honesty could be the difference between getting the car towed or letting a licensed driver take it.      

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