Police Magazine

Richard Valdemar

Sergeant (Ret.)

Sgt. Richard Valdemar retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after spending most of his 33 years on the job combating gangs. For the last 20 years, he was assigned to Major Crimes Bureau. He was also cross-designated as an FBI agent for 10 years of his career when he served on the Federal Metropolitan Gang Task Force. From 1995 until his retirement in 2004, Valdemar was a member of the California Prison Gang Task Force, helping prosecute members of the Mexican Mafia.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•December 1, 2008

Sexual Secrets of Gang Culture

For females recruited into a gang the male ritual of the “jump in” may be replaced by the ritual “sexed in,” requiring the female to have sex with several or all of the gang members.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•November 20, 2008

How to Make a RICO Case Against Gangs

The genius of the RICO statutes is that they work perfectly against organized criminal gangs. A person can be charged even if that person did not directly commit the crime but only agreed to the commission or conspired with the perpetrators in any way.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•November 7, 2008

Gang Turf in Cyberspace

Gangs have evolved in criminal and technical sophistication from the school dropouts of the 1960s. Today's gang members utilize all the modern electric means of communication including laptop computers, iPods, Blackberrys, video cameras, and multiple function cellular telephones.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•October 17, 2008

Animal Pit Fights

Hip-hop stars, drug dealers, and notorious gang members frequented every cock fighting derby. Because guns and other weapons were openly exposed, disputes often resulted in assaults and homicides.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•October 8, 2008

Gangs at the Airport

Airport security means more than just checking passengers for identification and contraband. It should begin with all the airport and airline employees.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•October 1, 2008

Gangs and Citizen Complaints

Some complaints defy common sense and law enforcement very rarely files criminal "false reporting" charges against a complaining party when the allegations are found to be false.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•September 24, 2008

Gangs and God

Why aren't these clergy using their energy and faith to advocate on behalf of the millions of people injured by gang drug dealing, and gang-related car theft, burglary, robbery, rape and assault?

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•September 23, 2008

Gangs and the Projects

As a gang investigator, I found that when my case involved project gangs or when the crime occurred in or near the projects, the Housing Authority or Housing Police were the best source for information.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•September 19, 2008

Courage Under Fire

When I first joined the LASD I saw many of these same fine traits in most of the sergeants and lieutenants I worked for. My measure of the leadership ability of these supervisors was; "would I follow this person into combat?" And the truth is that most of the time I could answer yes.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•August 29, 2008

Street Gangs Have Their Own Criminal "Culture"

Don't let anyone tell you that gang life is part of any ethnicity's culture. It's not.

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