Graffiti. More than pretty pictures; it can signal a war ready to erupt in your neighborhood. It used to be kids with cans of spray paint spraying their names, or I love Judy on the side of a building. But graffiti has become the written form of language for gangs. The graffiti can be information about past, current, or future gang activities. Graffiti can signal many things. It can mark turf boundaries, threaten another gang or rival member, announce a gangs presence in a particular area, and many other things including death threats. Some people can not “read the writing on the wall”, in other words, the graffiti is not written in common words or sentences we are all used to. Usually, a gang will use a few words, phrases, numbers or symbols to represent their gang. Gangs usually also tag their moniker names, nicknames given to members (such as happy, joker, etc.) Graffiti can be anything from a simple one-color scribble of a symbol or initials, to an elaborate multicolor mural on the side of a building.

Aside from the gangs for a moment, there are taggers. Taggers may work alone or in a group at times, but they usually are not confined to a particular area, and usually are not associated with the same kind of street violence that the street gangs are known for. Near my area, there was a group of “taggers” working the area. This type of “graffiti artist” usually is just that, graffiti artist. Usually not associated with a street gang, the taggers usually just spray pictures or spray their moniker names in as many places as they can, usually just for recognition. The ones near my area used a train barrier wall to display their pictures. One thing that I’ve noticed is that some of these taggers are actually pretty good. If they replaced the spray cans and concrete walls with paintbrushes and paper, they could probably earn a living doing the same thing that most call vandalism now. It takes millions of dollars each year to cover the graffiti now displayed almost everywhere you look. I have passed by a location several times in a night while on patrol without seeing anything suspicious, but when first light hits in the morning, the same area is covered with graffiti. Although taggers are usually annoying and bothersome, they are usually harmless, not wishing to become involved in the violence associated with the street gangs.

Street gang graffiti is the graffiti to be very concerned about. I’m sure you’ve driven down a road and saw some writing on a wall, overpass, building, and not thought much about it. What you saw, probably meant nothing to you. But that may have been a threat of impending death to a rival gang. A slap in the face is for a rival gang to come into an area and cross out or deface a rival gangs graffiti, replacing it with their own symbols. In my area, the biggest gangs are Nortenos and Surrenos. These are usually identified as Norte and Sur, or XIV and XIII painted on the side of fences, garages, houses, etc. There are a lot of small gangs which have formed using their own gang name, usually reflecting the area or location where they live, but they are almost all in alliance with one of the above sects. The most common colors for the gangs are red or blue. I have seen innocent people shot for simply unknowingly wearing red or blue in a rival gang’s area. A lot of gangs have become aware of increased penalties for gang association, and some have gone to wearing neutral colors. But they wear the red or blue underneath the neutral colors, and most carry a bandanna with their color of choice in a pocket, able to be quickly displayed when needed. It doesn’t take long for a quiet, peaceful neighborhood to turn into a loud, noisy, and dangerous place to live with gangs, comes drugs, noise, graffiti, and gunfire. It is common to go into a gang infested area and see graffiti covering almost everything, bullet holes in houses, cars, and people afraid to come out of their houses. The scary part is seeing children playing in the same area. Unfortunately, gang members have children too, raising them in this dangerous situation. How did it get this way? People would rather hide in their homes instead of getting involved in neighborhood watch groups, getting police assistance, and rallying together to rid the neighborhood of the problem. You cannot do it alone, and the police cannot do it alone. But together, a gang infested neighborhood can be cleaned up. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.

Chances are that you live in a nice, quiet neighborhood without a gang problem. But it could change, wherever you live. A gang or gang member is probably living a lot closer to you than you think. Maybe right next door. And it doesn’t take much for the gang to start hanging out at a particular member’s house.

The first thing you might notice is increased traffic, cars, and people to a particular house. Then you might start seeing graffiti in the area. Usually a gang banger wont tag their own house, but they will tag the area. Walls, fences, even the street or sidewalk. (Although I did see a group of wanna be’s tag their own house. Might as well paint a target on it since it was shot up within 2 days).

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The Pro’s:

What I’m going to discuss here is the “Pro’s and Con’s” of the system.

The Pro’s would normally cover the prosecution or rather the good guys. The Con’s would normally describe the bad guys, the inmates, and the convicts. Unfortunately the roles can sometimes get interwoven and it can be difficult to figure out who’s who.

As stated before, I cannot possibly comment on the criminal justice systems outside of California. In fact, I can really only comment on the systems that are near the area that I work in. But most criminal justice systems consist of the same players. A criminal case going before the court system can almost be compared to a football game.

· The head referee is the “Judge”.

· The other referee’s and officials are the jury.

· The coach of the home team is the district attorney or their representative, the deputy D.A.

· The players on the home team are the victims of the case, witnesses, and the cops.

· The coach of the visiting team is the defense attorney or public defender.

· The players on the visiting team are the defendants in the case.

What occurs in the courtroom is just like what you watch on Sunday Football games.

There are good plays made, bad plays made cheap shots, dirty play, incredible strategies, and every now and then a “Hail-Mary” that can win the game.

Keep in mind how the coach of the team keeps his job. By winning games! The coach of a losing team isn’t going to benefit in the area of job longevity. On a similar note the district attorney is an elected official. The D.A is evaluated by the county government and by the voters, as to the number of “wins” the office scores. The DA is voted into office by YOU the voting public and that in itself gives you more power than you could possibly imagine. That gives YOU the power to decide who is going to coach your team.

Speaking along those lines, you as a defendant also have the power to control who represents you in your case. An attorney with a poor track record of winning cases isn’t going to be your first choice. A public defender with a non-caring or burnt out attitude that was assigned to you because you have no funds, is not going to help your case very much.

I’m not going to address private attorneys or public defenders here because as we all know there is no drastic shortage of them. The person I’m going to address is the one responsible for sending bad people to jail. The coach of your team. The DA.

Before I got into law enforcement I paid little, if any attention to the people who were running for the office of district attorney. I had the mindset that the person in office was probably doing a good job and that they would have the best experience and background for doing the job because they’ve already been doing it. If you share that line of thinking as I did, you will need to change that thought!

The wrong person in the wrong office can make all the difference in the world as to how criminal prosecutions are handled in your county! Good, bad, or indifferent.

There are district attorneys that do an outstanding job. They have a “Zero Tolerance” approach to the job and I respect their outlook towards their objectives. If someone is guilty of a crime they charge for that crime and go after it. One hundred percent! Their passion is going after someone that wronged someone else, and their motivation is to do “what’s right”.

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So first off we rarely if ever post articles or stories as we try to write them all ourselves here on CopTalk. But this one have been recirculating lately and we thought we should clear it up for our readers.

So the email you might get that looks like spam first - then the backup…

D U S T I N G

First, I’m going to tell you a little about me and my family. My name is Jeff. I am a Police Officer for a city which is known nationwide for its crime rate. We have a lot of gangs and drugs. At one point we were #2 in the nation in homicides per capita. I also have a police K-9 named Thor. He was certified in drugs and general duty. He retired at 3 years old because he was shot in the line of duty. He lives with us now and I still train with him because he likes it. I always liked the fact that there was no way to bring drugs into my house. Thor wouldn’t allow it. He would tell on you. The reason I say this is so you understand that I know about drugs.

I have taught in schools about drugs. My wife asks all our kids at least once a week if they used any drugs. Makes them promise they won’t.

I like building computers occasionally and started building a new one in February 2005. I also was working on some of my older computers. They were full of dust so on one of my trips to the computer store I bought a 3 pack of DUST OFF. Dust Off is a can of compressed air used to blow dust off a computer. A few weeks later when I went to use one of them they were all used. I talked to my kids and my two sons both said they had used them on their computer and messing around with them. I yelled at them for wasting the 10 dollars I paid for them.

On February 28 I went back to the computer store. They didn’t have the 3 pack which I had bought on sale so I bought a single jumbo can of Dust Off.  I went home and set it down beside my computer. On March 1st, I left for work at 10 PM. Just before midnight my wife went down and kissed Kyle goodnight. At 5:30 am the next morning Kathy went downstairs to wake Kyle for school, before she left for work. He was propped up in bed with his legs crossed and his head leaning over. She called to him a few times to get up. He didn’t move. He would sometimes tease her like this and pretend he fell back asleep. He was never easy to get up. She went in and shook his arm. He fell over. He was pale white and had the straw from the Dust Off can coming out of his mouth. He had the new can of Dust Off in his hands.  Kyle was dead.

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Let’s talk about something that I deal with on a nightly basis – Drunk Driving. Does drunk driving make you a criminal? Not on the same level as someone who robs a bank, shoots someone, steals a car, vandalizes property and so on. In fact, that’s something I hear frequently from the drunk driver after I arrest them. “Why don’t you go out and arrest a REAL Criminal”.

My exposure to drunk drivers started when I was driving an ambulance. The death and destruction that I saw was over whelming. Aside from the mess on the roadway, I had and still have the misfortune to see what the aftermath does to a family. In a split second your life can change dramatically. Either by being a victim yourself or by becoming a victim when we knock on your door and deliver the news to you that your loved one is either dead, or critically injured at the hospital.

There are 2 perspectives to cover here. One is towards the drunk driver. The other is towards the victims of drunk drivers. We’ll start with the drunk driver.

Who is the drunk driver? I’m not going to categorize in general who the drunk driver is. I’m not going to tell you it’s a car salesman, an insurance broker, the banker, a cop, a fireman, a doctor, the 17-year-old kid down the street, a housewife, or a school teacher. It’s broad, but it’s simple. The drunk driver is ANYONE who is legally intoxicated by the effects of alcohol, who is operating a motor vehicle upon a highway. (Yes, that includes roadways and in most cases parking lots.) In California you are considered legally intoxicated with a B.A.C. of .08%. In some states the level is .10%. In other states it may be less.

What’s this “point oh-eight” stuff. Look at it this way. On a scale from 1 to 25, you are considered legally intoxicated at 8. In other states 10 is the number where you get popped. In California if you are under 21 years of age and you are at a “1”, you AUTOMATICALLY lose your drivers license for 1 YEAR!
(Some teens think whoopee dooh, no license for a year. It gets worse, because you have to pay a hefty reissue fee to get your license back. Worse yet, your insurance rates WILL triple.

Do you need to know the technical aspects of Blood Alcohol Content? Do you need to know the formula of how many drinks you can safely drink per hour to be able to drive? Do you need to know how fast alcohol burns off in your body? No, No, and No!

I have to laugh at some of those charts that came out a few years ago. If your body weight is so and so, and you consume a) 2-12 ounce beers, or b) 3 ounces of 80 proof liquor, or c) 8 ounces of wine, in a 2-hour period, you may be D.U.I. Of course that’s if you weigh 90 to 110 pounds. If you weigh 200 or more pounds, you’re probably safe for a few more. You don’t need a chart. Everybody’s metabolism is different. Alcohol effects everybody differently! I’ve had disgruntled drunk drivers in custody tell me that “drunk driving laws are a joke, because it doesn’t take hardly anything at all to get up to a .08 level.” And you know what? They’re right!

I’ve “heard it all” over the years. “Officer I only had one drink”. “I haven’t had a drink in hours.” “It’s not me, you don’t smell alcohol on me, my friend spilled a beer on me”, “I’m on pain medication”, “I’m not drunk I’m just tired.” When Cops go to calls, they like 2 and 2 to add up to 4. On a car stop it’s the same thing. 2 and 2 should add up to 4. As soon as you start lying to the Cop the warning signals go off because 2 plus 2 is coming up 8. (As in point-oh-eight!)

Let me tell you what we look for:

Weaving! This is the big one because it’s so obvious to us. Whether it’s gradual weaving within the lane with a gradual drift onto or over the painted lines, or jerky erratic swerving. Weaving is weaving. I usually give a person 3 attempts to straighten out. The 3rd time on or over the line is when my red and blue lights come on. You may have a mechanical problem with your car like play in the steering wheel. You may have been changing a tape or CD, lighting a cigarette, dialing a cell phone, whatever the reason - YOU GIVE US PROBABLE CAUSE TO STOP YOU. And may god help you if you’ve been drinking.

Moving Violations we look for:
Running a stop sign or red signal light.
Stopping on or over the limit line or crosswalk at a stop sign or signal light.
Stopping before you get to the limit line.
Abrupt braking for no reason.
Abrupt acceleration or skidding your tires from loss of traction. (Exhibition of speed)
Wide turns.
Striking a curb.
Speeding. Excessive or minimum speeding, either one can get you stopped.
(Doing 25mph in a posted 45 will get you stopped just as if you were going 65!)
Unsafe passing.
Unsafe turns.
Turning without signaling.
Unsafe lane changes.
NOT WEARING YOUR SEATBELT.
Throwing litter or cigarettes out your window.

Alot more info follows - Plus this is a two part post this week - So look for part two next month:
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