Street Gangs in New Mexico 10

If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. o (Y) N en ~ 149230 U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice This document has been reproduced exactly as received from the person or organization originating It. Points of view or opinions stated In this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the National Institute of Justice. Permission to reproduce this copyrighted material has been g~~&bYMexico Dept. of Public Safety to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permission of the copyright owner. I CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 DEFINITIONS 3 SURVEY OF NEW MEXICO'S STREET GANG ACTIVITY 4 GANGS IN NEIGHBORING STATES: Texas, Colorado & Arizona 8 STREET GANGS IN NEW MEXICO 10 ALBUQUERQUE'S PROBLEM City Blighted by Graffiti 14 GANGS IN THE DUKE CITY An Interview with S9t. Ralph Kemp 18 PRISON GANGS - STREET GANGS: What is the Connection 33 WHAT'S UP GROUP 37 NEW MEXICO STREET GANG TASK FORCE 43 WHAT EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO KNOW 46 YOUTH PROGRAMS IN NEW MEXICO 50 MODELS FOR COMMUNITY ACTION 54 THE LAW AND STREET GANGS A District Attorney Comments 65 GLOSSARY 68 REFERENCES 70 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 71 - --------------------------------- INTRODUCTION .....1"'1""'1_ New Mexico Department of Public Safety Special Investigations Division By Major James O. Jennings, Acting Director Special Investigations Division The street gang problem in gangs. Street gang members in Las New Mexico has escalated in the Cruces have sold stolen guns to past few years from a relati vely few gang members in Silver City. The traditional neighborhood gangs, lo Farmington Police have assigned cated primarily in the state's urban officers to the schools, in part to areas, to a network of organized cope with gangs and gang mem criminal gangs statewide. Where bers. once street gang criminal activity In May of 1991, the was generally limited to vandalism, Governor's Organized Crime Pre minor violence in defense of "turf," vention Commission issued a re and petty theft, today it involves port called New Mexico Street major criminal damage to property, Gangs which was intended for use aggravated assault and battery, drug among members of the law enforce trafficking, and murder. ment community. It served as a It is a mistake to believe that bellwether of things to come. In the the state's gang problems are con spring of 1993, the Criminal Infor centrated in Albuquerque, Las mation & Analysis Bureau (CIAB), Cruces, and Santa Fe. No commu Special Investigations Division, nity in New ~1exico is free from the New Mexico Department of Public activities of street gangs. Clovis is Safety, was assigned the task of coping with crack houses operated updating New Mexico Street Gangs by street gang members with ties to and broadening its scope for distri Lubbock, Texas, and Los Angeles, bution to the public at large. California. Alamogordo has expe Inquiries into the gang prob rienced drive-by shootings. Raton lem were made by CIAB personnel police have identified street gang in several ways. Bureau Chief members with ties to Albuquerque Casandra Encinias mailed a survey NMDPS/SID/CIAB STREET GANG REPORT 1993 1 INTRODUCTION to law enforcement agencies state done to avoid promoting any par wide (see page 4). Senior Special ticular group which has evolved Agent Carole Tindell addressed the into a criminal gang. For editorial gang and graffiti problem in Albu purposes in this report, it is be querque and interviewed a broad lieved that street gangs are equally spectrum of law enforcement and negative influences on the commu other personnel involved. Special nity; no one ofthem deserving more Agent Vince Torrez addressed the or less recognition than any other. problem of prison gangs and the Street names (placa) of gang relationship between them and members have also been omitted street gangs. Special Agent Ellen for much the same reason. Ac McCann investigated youth and knowledging placa, and publiciz other programs -- successful and ingit, gives gangs a degree oflegiti unsuccessful -- designed to deal macy which should be avoided. with the street gang problem. Spe Movies, television and popular cial Agent Don Bullis examined music already publicize and legiti the gang problem in communities mize street gangs and gang activity outside of Albuquerque and looked to an extent which is not deserved. at legislation effecting gang en The intention of those who forcement. The New Mexico Street contributed to this report was to Gang Task Force provided one of focus attention on, and generate their handouts forusein this report. interest in, the street gang problem What follows are the prod in New Mexico. Some questions ucts of these efforts. These articles about gangs were answered, while are based primarily on interviews at the same time, some new -- and and a review of current gang litera unanswered -- questions were de ture and do not necessarily reflect veloped. Accurate information the views of the New Mexico De about gangs is sometimes hard to partment of Public Safety or the come by, and every effort has been Special Investigations Division. made to confirm the contents of this There are a few things you report. will not find on these pages. The Comments dealing with this names of street gangs have been report and suggestions about the omitted for the most part. This was gang problem are welcome. 2 NMDPS/SID/CIAB STREET (;;ANG REPORT 1993 -- ---------------- DEFINITIONS A street gang is an on .. going orga nization, association, or group of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, which has a common name and/or common identifying signs or symbols, whose members individu ally and/or collectively engage in any pattern of criminal activity. A street gang member is any per.. son who participates in, or with, a criminal street gang, with knowledge that the gang IS members engage in, or have engaged in, a pattern of crimi nal activity, and willfully promotes, furthers, or assists in any criminal conduct by members of that gang. NMDPS/SID/CIAB STREET GANG REPORT 1993 3 1 A SURVEY OF NEW MEXICQ·S STREET GANG ACTIVITY By Casandra Encinias, Bureau Chief Paula Sanchez, Student Intern Criminal Information & Analysis Bureau In an effort to gather infor statewide. A total of 43 depart mation on street gang activity in ments responded, which amounts New Mexico from as many sources to more than 47 percent of the agen as possible, the Criminal fuforma cies queried. tion & Analysis Bureau (CIAB) of The three part questionnaire the state Department of Public asked for data on responding de Safety mailed questionnaires to partments, evaluations of gang ac police and sheriffs' departments tivities and interactions, and de- NORTHWEST NORTHEAST ALBUQUERQUE AZTEC BELEN BOSQUE FARMS BWOMFIELD CORRALES ANGEL FIRE CIMARRON FARMINGTON GALLUP LAS VEGAS MORIARTY WSLUNAS LAGUNA SANTA FE SPRINGER MILAN RAMAH TAOS TUCUMCARI RIORANCIIO SAN YSIDRO WAGON MOUND ZUNI SOUTHWEST SOUTHEAST ALAMOGORDO ARTESIA CARLSBAD CARRIZOZO CENTRAL DEMING DEXTER HOBBS HATCH LAS CRUCES LOVINGTON MELROSE MOUNTAINAIR SOCORRO PORTALES ROSWELL RUIDOSO DOWNS RUIDOSO TATUM VAUGHN j I 4 NMDPS/SID/CIAB STREET GANG REPORT 1993 I A SURVEY scriptions of gangs, gang members, agreed, and two had no opinion. and criminality. Thirty-one agencies agreed Only two responding depart that street gangs recently have be ments maintain full time gang units. come highly structured and orga Thirty-four other respondents do nized. Eight departments disagreed, not. (Seven departments did not and four had no opinion. respond to the question). Twenty The area of least agreement three of them, however, indicated has to do with the correlation be that officers do gang enforcement tween street gangs and prison gangs. as a part of their regularly assigned Fifteen agencies expressed no opin duties. Gang related duties include ion on the subject; twenty-two tracking street gangs, tracking graf agreed there was a strong correla fiti, enforcing curfew, handling tion between them; and six respon street gang intelligence cards and dents said there was not. data bases, sharing street gang in Asked to describe identify telligence, investigating criminal ing gang characteristics, question cases, and conducting seminars in naire respondents listed the follow the schools. mg: Thirty-three of 43 respon dents agreed that street gangs were Nike or black tennis shoes active in their communities or coun Undershirt ties. Nine said they have no street Black slip-on shoes gangs, and one respondent had no Parachute pants opinion on the subject. Thirty-one Black leather jacket agencies reported an increase in Baseball caps gang activity in their respective Tattoos communities. Nine agencies re Long trench coat ported no increase in gang activity, Khaki trousers and three offered no opinion. T-shirt with name on back In response to a question re Flannel shirts garding gang violence toward soci Sports team clothing ety in general, 37 respondents Bandannas agreed that gangs have become more Unusual hair styles violent in recent times. Four dis- NMDPS/SID/CIAB STREET GANG REPORT 1993 5 A SURVEY The final part of the ques boring run-aways from the Boys' tionnaire had to do with gangs, gang School at Springer. members, and criminality. There is Respondents were also asked no general agreement as to the ages to denote the types of weapons of street gangsters. A few depart being used by New Mexico's street ments reported ages of gang mem gangs. The most popular remain bers at between 12 and 14, or be knives with .22 caliber guns -- auto tween 12 and 16. A larger number matic pistols, revolvers, derringers ofrespondents reported gang mem and rifles -- running a close second. bers ranging from 12 to 20.

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