he was sitting at the long table in my office - and i wondered what he was doing there. it isn't unusual for custody to throw me out and take over the record room, since it's the largest office on the central unit. they use it for hearings, interviewing inmates, etc. but we had a meeting that was about to take place, and there he sat with several folders.
then everybody else came in.
ava: ladies, i have asked the sgt to talk to us today..
staff: wait, that's a white shirt, he's not a sgt.!
to call a white shirt and lowly sgt. is a great insult.
ava, not missing a beat: oh, i do apologize, lieutenant. all i know about you is that you're a MAN!
he turned a lot of colors and didn't comment back.
ava: anyway, a few weeks ago, we were very concerned with all the inmate activity that was occurring on central and around the nurses station. they were like ants - but that has improved somewhat, due to custody cracking down. i have asked this man here today to talk to us about the problem that resulted in all this activity. and now, i'll let him explain.
out came the folders. out came a poster. what we had been seeing was indeed gang activity or recruitment.
"at one point, we had identified four gangs that existed here. now there are five."
groff went on to list them. blood nation, the 5 per centers, the crips, the folks, and now the ms-13's, a hispanic group that is the most dangerous.
he showed us what to look for - tattoos, colors, markings on clothing and shoes. he told us we had 18 validated gang members on campus, and then pulled out the folders and showed them to us. damn, we knew them.
he told us how one inmate had joined a gang, then when he was released tried to unaffiliate himself and had his tattoo burned off, and when he re-entered the prison system, how he had gotten the hell beaten out of him by other members for doing it. he's on h-block now, in protective custody.
he told us about gang wars that had occurred at other prison units. he told us how a riot had been staged at a nearby close custody unit. while the riot was going on and custody was distracted, an inmate at the other end of the unit was disemboweled. that was the whole point of the riot...to engage custody elsewhere while the murder was taking place. there were eleven victims targeted. gang related.
he told us that gang activity in the state - not just the prison - was on the rise. he pointed out local landmarks that were now marked with gang related graffiti.
he promised to do a power point presentation for us, and encouraged us NOT to confront an inmate about his tattoos or other markings, but to make a note of it and notify him in special operations.
after he left, ava turned to me and said - that was quite a revelation, wasn't it?
yeah, we don't know what we're walking around here with...
exactly.
5 comments:
Oh geez.
The MS-13 has shown up in the Maryland/Virginia area this past year or so. They are extremely dangerous and down right scary.
They have officials baffled here & that's not good.
Be careful please.
Niki
journals.aol.com/thinkingoutloud/ThinkingOutLoud/
I recently saw a documentary on TV about gangs inside prisons so I saw just what they did to each other and to some of the guards. I would never have the guts to work at a prison. Therefore, I do appreciate everyone that does work there because if not for all of you, those people would be running around free.
This subject is so scary to me but I sure called the police when someone painted graffiti on the street in front of my house and in front of John's. The city came out to paint black over the ones in front of our house and left the others. Since they were already out here how much more would it cost to paint over all of them. I think is was teens, but they grow to be adult trouble makers. I have a neighbor and John has a nephew who work at prison as a guard but I have never heard either of them talk about their job. Be careful, Paula
those gangs are what is now ruining our country. mostly illegal immigrants, lowly dope dealers, dope pushers and dope runners. they have no respect for the good people. its good to lock them up, and dont be so nice to them..JUST THROW AWAY THE KEY until they all kill each other...i am becoming a cynic...roberta
Aren't you glad you had that mental health day? Be Careful!
Lori
Post a Comment