Search Result: Graffiti

Gangs can develop from seemingly harmless groups of friends into hardened criminals who may not be obvious as gangbangers.

Graffiti continues to be used as a written form of communication between street ganges. An observant patrol officer, police investigator, probation/parole officer, school teacher and gang member can read graffiti and collect valuable information about past, current and future gang activities.

Today, tagging has become an international issue and taggers can be found worldwide.  From a law enforcement perspective, it is difficult, at best, to monitor and track all of the individual taggers and tag crews.

These Chicago-­based gangs follow strict dress codes and use body language as a nonverbal form of communication. A gang member can simply cross his arms to "announce" his gang affiliation.

Obviously, not all graffiti is gang graf­fiti. But once you are able to decipher their source and secret mes­sages, graffiti becomes a useful source of information.