038 - GANGS

GANGS EFFECTIVE DATE: 06/01/97 STANDARD NO. 038 REVISED: 06/22/18 REPLACES: SOP Gangs 07-01.1-5 – Rev. 01/01/03; Rev. 06/01/05 OBJECTIVE: To establish guidelines for Identifying and handling criminal activities committed by gang members and their associates. POLICY: It is the policy of the Homestead Police Department (HPD) to provide procedures for identification and enforcement of gang-related activities and criminal offenses. SCOPE: All employees of this Department shall be governed by the procedures listed below. I. GENERAL: A. The HPD will cooperate with the State Attorney’s Office, other law enforcement agencies and community organizations in the following manner: 1. Involvement: a. Monitor activities symptomatic of criminal street gang influence or participation and provide preventative, investigative, and follow-up activities necessary to reduce the impact of such gangs on the community. 2. Prevention: a. Develop and coordinate intelligence and investigative resources to facilitate coping with conditions and activities having potential for producing criminal street gang criminality. 3. Reports and Briefings: a. Provide periodic reports and briefings on current gang activities to concerned law enforcement agencies. II. DEFINITIONS: A. Criminal Street Gang (FS Chapter874) means a formal or informal ongoing organization, association, or group that has as one of its primary activities the commission of criminal or delinquent acts, and that consists of three or more persons who have a common name or common identifying signs, colors, or symbols, including, but not limited to, terrorist organizations and hate groups. which meets BOTH of the following criteria: 1. Has a common name or common identifying signs, colors, tattoos, graffiti, attire, symbols or other distinguishing characteristics; and Gangs – SOP# 038 2. Has two (2) or more members who individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal street gang activity. B. Criminal Street Gang Member means a person who is a member of a criminal street gang and who meets any TWO (2) of the following criteria: 1. Admits to criminal street gang membership. 2. Who is identified as a criminal street gang member by a parent or guardian. 3. Is identified as a criminal street gang member by a documented reliable informant. 4. Resides in or frequents a particular criminal street gang’s area and adopts their style of dress, their use of hand signs, symbols, or their tattoos, and associates with known criminal street gang members. 5. Is identified as a criminal street gang member by an informant of previously untested reliability and such identification is corroborated by independent information. 6. Has been arrested more than once in the company of identified criminal street gang members for offenses, which are consistent with usual criminal street gang activities. 7. Is identified as a criminal street gang member by physical evidence such as photographs or other documentation. 8. Has been stopped in the company of known criminal street gang members four (4) or more times. C. Criminal Street Gang Associate – A person who meets either of the following criteria: 1. Admits to criminal street gang association, or 2. Meets any single defining criterion for criminal street gang membership described in paragraph B, 1-8 above. D. Criminal Gang-Related Activity means an incident that upon investigation, meets any of the following conditions: 1. An activity committed with the intent to benefit, promote, or further the interests of a criminal gang, or for the purposes of increasing a person’s own standing or position within a criminal gang; 2. The participants are identified as criminal street gang members or criminal street gang associates acting, individually or collectively, to further any criminal purpose of the gang; 3. The activity is identified as a criminal gang activity by a document reliable informant; or Gangs – SOP# 038 4. The activity is identified as a criminal gang activity by an informant of previously untested reliability and such identification is corroborated by independent information. E. Gang Detective – A detective assigned by Investigative Services to monitor, report, and coordinate the exchange of intelligence concerning the identity or criminal street gangs, gang members, gang associates, and gang-related activity impacting the City of Homestead.