Gangs use websites to attract members

Violent gangs and hate groups are using the Internet to recruit members beyond the boundaries of their home turf.

Victor Bond, founder of the Texas Gang Investigation Association and a detective in the gang unit of the Harris County Sheriff's Department, said only a handful of gang-related websites existed-a few years ago. Now there are thousands, with about 20 percent to 30 percent run by actual gang members as the earlier sites set up by researchers and educators to trade data.

Lw enforcement needs to increase its emphasis on monitoring the content of the websites, said Bond. Gangs use colors, graphics and messages that appeal to impressionable youths surfing the web.

Recruitment is a key purpose of the websites. Most start out with a link to membership information or even an application form. But state, local and federal law enforcement agencies thus far have been effective in forcing gangs to remove them from the sites.

Still, it's simple enough for computer-savvy young people to find the sites, so a growing number of police departments including Long Beach, Calif., Los Angeles and Miami are monitoring them, paying close attention to chat rooms and information on meetings and events.

Inf.: Victor Bond, 281-999-1518.

Copyright Washington Crime News Service Sep 28, 2001
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