Gangs in Greensboro

Gang Information Guide

The Current Picture
by GPD Capt. John E. Wolfe

Much has been said and written during the past several years about the gang influence in Greensboro. Some has been factual in nature while much has been fictional. Criminal gangs and their associates have the potential to be very dangerous, however, most are not. While many local gang members exist for the social status of membership, others are involved in petty crimes (theft, vandalism, burglary) that are property related, and very few are involved in crimes of violence, such as armed robbery, aggravated assault, and murder. These very few violent offenders are the ones upon which most of our efforts are focused.

There are essentially two types of gang influence in Greensboro at this time:

1. Neighborhood gangs
2. Gangs with national or international ties.

Neighborhood gangs are the ones your children are most likely to become involved with and are the most difficult to monitor. As the name implies, youth are most likely to form these gangs because of a shared neighborhood, street, or block. They likely to go to school together and are likely to have similar “lifestyles” either socially, economically, or both. They are drawn to one another and develop an allegiance or loyalty, often out of a need for power, a need to be cared for and about, a need for personal defense, or simply from a need for social belonging.

Once this bond has occurred, the group or gang may seek to align itself with a nationally recognized gang to provide credibility to its existence. While this does occur, it is infrequent, because the nationally known gangs must recognize and accept new members. Most neighborhood gangs remain small, loosely organized, and are comprised of fewer than 20 members. Should the gang adopt a nationally recognized name such as the Crips or the Bloods, it does not mean that they are a recognized affiliate, only that they have chosen the name as a statement to others.

We have all heard about graffiti, thefts, burglaries, turf squabbles, etc. These are mostly perpetrated by our local neighborhood gangs. Left unchecked, these gangs will escalate their criminal involvement to include crimes of violence.

Although neighborhood gangs are the source of much of the crime we read or hear about in Greensboro, we are also home to some very well organized, violent gangs such as the TRG (Asian), the Latin Kings, the MS13, SUR13, as well as legitimate branches of both the Bloods and the Crips. While these gangs make up a small part of our community’s gang influence, they are organized and exist to make money for the group. This money is generated from the sales of narcotics, guns, and stolen property. Identity theft is also quickly becoming an instrument of profit for the larger, more organized gangs.

It is not completely true that the number of gang members and their related crimes in our city seems to have exploded in recent years. There has been an increase in gang membership and crime, but the explosion has occurred in media coverage and the development of specialized law enforcement units and social service entities, whose sole purpose is to address the gang issue. Awareness and attention have brought to the forefront a problem that has slowly escalated over many years.

Indicators that youth are participating in gangs or are considering joining a gang include poor academic performance, increased disciplinary issues, a change in dress, friends, or personality, tattoos, possession of gang paraphernalia, and even open admittance of gang involvement. Most youth, however, will neither join nor consider joining a gang, but it is important that we as adults act quickly and effectively when these indicators exist.

How do we promote positive direction for our youth? The simple answer is that we must provide an alternative that is more challenging and rewarding than those used by gangs. A child who is challenged, loved, nurtured, supported, and provided with viable options will likely not choose gang involvement. No age is too early to start educating your child on the dangers of criminal gang involvement and no child is too deeply involved to be saved from it.

Here are some interesting facts regarding our current situation:

• Most local gang members are not violent and are poorly organized.
• Most local gang members are between 14-19 years old.
• Gang recruiters target elementary-age kids.
• When our kids become a priority to our community they will no longer need gangs.
• The time you invest in a child is never wasted. It may take years to learn of your influence on a young mind.
• Kids want the same thing from life that we all want; help them to achieve their goals. They deserve our best efforts.

Greensboro has a long-standing reputation as a family friendly community. Given our current situation, it is time to recommit to the family unit and especially our children. We each have a shared responsibility to the youth of our community as they are the future of Greensboro.