Presentation before task force reveals deep ties to criminal
networks
The rising influence of criminal gangs throughout the region is
systemic and difficult to contain, let alone eradicate, a state
parole officer told the San Benito County Gang Task Force Advisory
Board last week.
Terry Davis, a state parole officer supervising 66 parolees in
the Hollister area, gave an informal presentation to the panel that
left many chilled. County Marshal Robbie Scattini invited Davis to
speak to the panel.
Presentation before task force reveals deep ties to criminal networks
The rising influence of criminal gangs throughout the region is systemic and difficult to contain, let alone eradicate, a state parole officer told the San Benito County Gang Task Force Advisory Board last week.
Terry Davis, a state parole officer supervising 66 parolees in the Hollister area, gave an informal presentation to the panel that left many chilled. County Marshal Robbie Scattini invited Davis to speak to the panel.
“In Hollister, you have families with three and four generations of gang members,” Davis said. “It becomes a family thing.”
About half of the parolees Davis supervises have gang affiliations, he said. He described a social landscape invisible to many residents, one in which northern and southern Hispanic gangs as well as outlaw motorcycle gangs control much of the illegal activity in the area. While many perceive that the problem is very localized, Davis said it’s widespread.
Gang affiliates can be found “in some of the nicest homes in town,” Davis said.
Davis, a 34-year veteran of law enforcement, began supervising felons in the Hollister area a year ago. He estimated he works some 20 hours per month off the clock, just “trying to learn who’s who in the zoo.”
The task is complicated by a variety of factors, not the least of which are extensive family connections, some involving relatives working in law enforcement and the courts.
Further, red, the color connected with northern Hispanic gangs, is also the color for the local secondary school, Hollister High.
“Not all kids you see wearing red are gang members. Not every tattoo you see belongs to a gang member,” Davis said. But parents and community members need to be aware of the things connected to gang activity.
In addition to the red and blue colors connected to gangs, there are a host of icons employed. Among those claiming northern affiliation, San Francisco 49ers jerseys and jackets are popular. In addition to the red color, “SF” is said to stand for “Scrap Free.” Scrap is a derogatory term for those claiming a southern gang affiliation.
Undersheriff Pat Turturici, a member of the advisory board, said he observed student artwork depicting gang icons during a recent visit to a local elementary school.
That’s why efforts to divert at-risk children from opting into criminal gangs need to start at the lower grades, Davis said.
If gang activity appears to be escalating, that’s because it is. “Gangs are moving into rural areas,” Davis said. “They don’t have the resources and there’s often a live and let live attitude.”
Davis likened criminal gangs to Amway, a multi-level marketing giant that uses a spreading network of employees to move goods.
Criminal gangs are a much bigger threat than grafitti tags and back alley brawls, Davis said. Nuestra Familia, a criminal network spawned in California prisons, is a leading northern Hispanic, or norteño, gang with an active presence in the region. Local gang affiliates have connections to the gang’s leadership in Pelican Bay State Prison, the state’s top security lockdown located in northernmost California.
“Most methamphetamine traffic in the area is controlled by NF,” Davis said, describing abuse of the powerful stimulant as “epidemic.”
While there’s almost no hope of completely eliminating the gang presence, Davis offered some hopeful suggestions.
First, he observed “they move around a lot – to San Jose, Watsonville, Salinas, Los Banos, Fresno and Modesto.” That means that it’s possible to largely displace the activity, forcing it elsewhere.
“Gangs are not static groups,” he said. “They learn. They survive.”
He encouraged use of sentencing enhancements to lock criminal gang members up for longer periods. “DA’s offices are overwhelmed,” he said. “City attorneys might look into abatement programs that have worked elsewhere, using civil suits against gangs and gang activities.
The problem is not the exclusive province of law enforcement, he said.
“The community has to get involved. They have to be willing to stand up to people,” Davis said. “Take back the community. Don’t be intimidated. Once you give up your rights, you become the prisoner and they become the guards.”
He encouraged rapidly removing gang-related graffiti as a way of suppressing
“the broken window syndrome” in which a problem attracts further problems.
The Gang Task Force Advisory Board is planning an open forum with members of the business community, tentatively in April.
