Street Gang Investigations

Course Description:

This course explores the current trends, identifiers, and dynamics of street gang investigations. Understanding and identifying gang culture both on the street and in correctional facilities requires investigators from both local law enforcement and corrections to work together and share information. The intent of this course is to prepare officers in both large and small agencies to properly identify and interdict gang activity in their respective jurisdictions, collect and manage their gang intelligence, and communicate this information with neighboring jurisdictions and correctional facilities. Many states have their own gang enhancement statue but it is often not utilized to prosecute at the state level. The instructors of this course will demonstrate how to take the evidence and stored gang intelligence in a gang case and apply it in the courtroom. Not all street gangs establish themselves with a nationally recognized gang name.

The instructors will provide reasonable explanations why their local hybrid street gangs are just as violent, and dangerous as nationally recognized gangs are in larger cities. This class will explain the command structure, membership requirements, and adopted signs and symbols, hybrid gangs will create. Additional gang evidence will also be covered such as step-by-step examples of how to testify as a gang expert, drug trafficking expert, armed subject expert, and cellphone records expert in court, to assist student’s state’s attorney’s office in prosecuting your local gang members. This course will also explain why your gang investigation unit plays an important role in community trust and show examples of how to build those relationships between police and community.

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Know why gang investigations are important to an agency
Understand how gang culture influences local gangs
Understand how local gangs adapt signs, symbols, tattoos, and colors
Collect and track local gang and crime stats
Conduct surveillance, search warrants, enforcement action, and community relationships
Perform Patrol Safety Tactics during encounters with gang members
Utilize key components to persuading administrators, attorneys, and city council members to support gang investigations in a jurisdiction
Understand how court room testimony and gang evidence will reduce crime rates
Introduce and explain gang evidence related to drugs, weapons, social media, and cellphones
How to present as a gang expert in court