Police tracking gangs online
Atwater police use MySpace.com to validate six members of gang
By Leslie Albrecht
[email protected]
Last Updated: April 20, 2006, 02:03:15 AM PDT
ATWATER -- Tattoos, hand signs, blue and red caps.
Add the MySpace.com profile page to the trail of evidence that points police in the direction of gang members.
MySpace, a wildly popular online community, hosts millions of users looking to meet new friends, find old buddies, check out bands, or just waste time on the Internet.
It's also a way for criminal street gangs to communicate and recruit new members, say local law enforcement officials, and police are watching.
Atwater police recently used MySpace to identify six members of the gang A-Town.
"For some reason they think that policemen are not going to go on the Internet and look around," said Atwater Police Chief Richard Hawthorne.
While gang members might try to hide their affiliations in public, on the Internet they operate under a false sense of anonymity.
That gives police an extra tool for tracking gang members, who sometimes post photos of themselves posing with new gang tattoos, for example.
"They don't want to flaunt it out in public where we can see it, but they'll show it on there," said Sgt. Chris Soria of the Livingston Police Department.
When gang members commit crimes, those online photos can come back to haunt them in court.
Judges can add years to a prison sentence if a felony is committed by a known gang member, according to Merced County Deputy District Attorney Dave Elgin.
An average citizen caught carrying a gun might be sentenced to four or five years in prison, but if that person is a known gang member, the sentence can be extended to 10 years, said Soria.
"They say a picture is worth a thousand words," said Sgt. Tom Trindad of the Merced Police Department's Gang Intelligence Unit. "It's hard for the individual later on in court to say he's not a gang member when I have him posing in this photo in all his glory."
Gangs also use MySpace and other Internet sites to attract new members.
"It's a tool for recruiting," said Trindad. "People see the cool graphics, the music. It shows some sophistication and organization -- some of the things you don't think of as gangs having."
MySpace has come under fire recently for cases involving young children falling victim to sexual predators online. The company recently hired a security officer to oversee safety.
Company representatives could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The Internet provides a new venue for gangs, but there's another form of technology that Trindad said is more damaging: cell phones.
Trindad said gang members have been known to talk on their phones while shootings are in progress, discussing where to hide evidence.
"The Internet hurts because it spreads that gang culture and that gang mentality," said Trindad. "But to me, cell phones are much more damaging. It's facilitated criminal street gangs by leaps and bounds."
While gangs use the Internet to shine a spotlight on their culture, there are some parts they leave out, said Elgin.
"What they don't show you is all the autopsy photographs of gang members shot to pieces, " said Elgin. "Or pictures of gang members behind bars for life."
Reporter Leslie Albrecht can be reached at 385-2484 or [email protected].
Atwater police use MySpace.com to validate six members of gang
By Leslie Albrecht
[email protected]
Last Updated: April 20, 2006, 02:03:15 AM PDT
ATWATER -- Tattoos, hand signs, blue and red caps.
Add the MySpace.com profile page to the trail of evidence that points police in the direction of gang members.
MySpace, a wildly popular online community, hosts millions of users looking to meet new friends, find old buddies, check out bands, or just waste time on the Internet.
It's also a way for criminal street gangs to communicate and recruit new members, say local law enforcement officials, and police are watching.
Atwater police recently used MySpace to identify six members of the gang A-Town.
"For some reason they think that policemen are not going to go on the Internet and look around," said Atwater Police Chief Richard Hawthorne.
While gang members might try to hide their affiliations in public, on the Internet they operate under a false sense of anonymity.
That gives police an extra tool for tracking gang members, who sometimes post photos of themselves posing with new gang tattoos, for example.
"They don't want to flaunt it out in public where we can see it, but they'll show it on there," said Sgt. Chris Soria of the Livingston Police Department.
When gang members commit crimes, those online photos can come back to haunt them in court.
Judges can add years to a prison sentence if a felony is committed by a known gang member, according to Merced County Deputy District Attorney Dave Elgin.
An average citizen caught carrying a gun might be sentenced to four or five years in prison, but if that person is a known gang member, the sentence can be extended to 10 years, said Soria.
"They say a picture is worth a thousand words," said Sgt. Tom Trindad of the Merced Police Department's Gang Intelligence Unit. "It's hard for the individual later on in court to say he's not a gang member when I have him posing in this photo in all his glory."
Gangs also use MySpace and other Internet sites to attract new members.
"It's a tool for recruiting," said Trindad. "People see the cool graphics, the music. It shows some sophistication and organization -- some of the things you don't think of as gangs having."
MySpace has come under fire recently for cases involving young children falling victim to sexual predators online. The company recently hired a security officer to oversee safety.
Company representatives could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The Internet provides a new venue for gangs, but there's another form of technology that Trindad said is more damaging: cell phones.
Trindad said gang members have been known to talk on their phones while shootings are in progress, discussing where to hide evidence.
"The Internet hurts because it spreads that gang culture and that gang mentality," said Trindad. "But to me, cell phones are much more damaging. It's facilitated criminal street gangs by leaps and bounds."
While gangs use the Internet to shine a spotlight on their culture, there are some parts they leave out, said Elgin.
"What they don't show you is all the autopsy photographs of gang members shot to pieces, " said Elgin. "Or pictures of gang members behind bars for life."
Reporter Leslie Albrecht can be reached at 385-2484 or [email protected].
