Presentation Transcript

1. Gang Awareness & Personal SafetyPacific Collegiate School11-15-12 Sgt. Stefan Fish Santa Cruz County Gang Task Force (831)345-4940 stefan.fish@scsheriff.com
2. Gang Awareness: 911 total members reported by law enforcement as of May 11, 2012 in the County of Santa Cruz
3. Why Do Youth Join A Gang? Wanting to belong Neighborhood influences Family history of gang involvement Protection Peer Pressure, Girlfriend/boyfriend influence Economic opportunity (make easy money through crime) Media influence (music, movies, internet)
4. Signs of Youth Gang Involvement They may have new friends, stop hanging out with their old friends. They may not let you meet their new friends. They may start spending a lot of time away from home. They may display a lack of interest in school or school related activities and their grades may drop. They become difficult to deal with, argumentative They may start to dress differently, wearing only one color or specific colors. They may refuse to wear a specific color (usually red or blue). They may start to use nicknames or refer to their friends by nicknames instead of their real names They may have graffiti-like artwork on their school books or folders.
5. Gang Clothing 831 831
6. Drawings
7. Predominant Gangs in Santa Cruz
8. Sureños Sur Trece 13 XIII X3 Southsider The thirteenth letter of the alphabet (“M”) The color blue Three dots tattooed on their hand
9. Santa Cruz Sureños Beach Flats Brown Pride Santa East Side Derogatory terms used against Sureños: Scrap/scrapa Sur-rata Scrapeño Chope
10. Sureño Tattoos
11. Sureño graffiti
12. Norteños Norte Northsider Catorce ENE 14 XIV X4 XIVer The fourteenth letter of the alphabet (“N”) Four dots The color red
13. Santa Cruz Norteños West-side Chicos Northside Derogatory terms used against Norteños: Chapete Estrella Nortonto Buster
14. Norteño Tattoos
15. Norteño Graffiti
16. Other Santa Cruz Gangs MID-TOWN (White Pride) - Gang color “Green” EAST SIDE SANTA CRUZ -ESSC (White Pride) - Gang color “Blue” Mara salvatrucha- ms13 – Salvadorian Descents - Gang Color “Blue”
17. Gang Hand signs
18. Strategies For Parents Be a Responsible role Model For Your Child Pay Attention to Your Child Listen & Communicate Honestly with your Child Pay Attention to Your Child's Friends Meet and Talk With Your Child's Friends’ Parents Look through your child’s belongings Know what your child is doing on the internet
19. Strategies For Parents Pay Attention To School Grades Get Involved with Your Child’s School & Talk To ther Teachers Most Important: Spend Time With Your Child Provide Your Child With After-School Activities, So They Will Not Have Too Much Idle Time To Spend out on the streets. Spend quality time with your child. Make time for your family to play, eat meals together, take trips and have family meetings to talk about plans, feelings, and complaints.
20. Personal Safety: Be aware of your surroundings Be aware of your clothing and whether it may be perceived by others as gang affiliation Have a cell phone and know your location at any given time. If you see suspected gang members, switch sides of the street and avoid eye contact. Gangs often are looking for anyone who they perceive opposes/challenges them. Consider your escape routes at all times. Walk in larger groups. Gang members tend to be cowardly and prey on situations they feel confident they can win unfairly
21. Personal Safety continued If a gang member confronts you, often they will ask questions such as “what do you claim?” or “where you from?” Best response is to nothing, turn and run. Gangs look for any challenge to their confrontation.
22. Local resources: “School & Community Resources” guide available soon through the B.A.S.T.A.(Broad-based Apprehension, Suppression, Treatment and Alternatives) group. Contact B.A.S.T.A. Project Coordinator Denise Pitman-Rosas(C.O.E.) for how to obtain this. 831-466-5736 or dpitman-rosas@santacruz.k12.ca.us
23. Questions?