EXAMINATION OF THE MORPHOLOGY OF BALTIMORE'S VIOLENCE PRONE DRUG GANGS AND PRESENTATION OF A STRATEGY DESIGNED TO MAKE THE USE OF VIOLENCE A LOSING PROPOSITION

• NCJ Number: 141686
• Author(s): E Burns
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 20 pages
• Grant Number(s): 86-IJ-CX-0079
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; Police Executive Research Forum (PERF); NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report examines the gang phenomenon and introduces an investigative approach to combat violence-prone gangs in Baltimore, Maryland.

Abstract

Gangs have a devastating effect on citizens by creating a climate of fear and violence. Unlike many cities where gangs are easily identified by flaunted colors and continuity in organization, Baltimore gangs have escaped easy detection. Gang evolution in Baltimore, coupled with a dramatic increase in the drug problem, have rendered standard investigative approaches ineffective. The gang's potential and threat are underscored in the investigation directed by Baltimore's Police Drug Enforcement Unit against the King/Ricks/Meredith gang. Surfacing in 1982, the gang initially seized the area of Hoffman and Holbrook Streets and controlled a significant section of East Baltimore for 2 years. When the gang was successfully prosecuted, 47 members were convicted, 5 murders were attributed to the gang, and $1.8 million in assets were seized. The King/Ricks/Meredith probe was one of the last investigations conducted against gangs using conventional methods due to the significant influx of cocaine and the resistance of gangs to encroachment. An alternative approach to counteract gangs is based on understanding that gangs basically represent instruments of a subject's will, a will that requires violence to satisfy grandiose ambitions. The investigative goal is to develop conspiracy cases from evidence obtained by turning gang violence inward toward vulnerable gang members. This method's success is predicated on the belief that most gang members are repelled by senseless violence. The approach attempts to take advantage of the tension created by violence and use it against gang terrorists. Gang members are targeted in one of three ways to create the desired vulnerable posture: controlled arrest situations, interviews with randomly arrested gang members, or use of the grand jury. Investigations to date indicate that only a few gang members succumb to the core group's violent