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ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE GENERAL ORDER Effective Date: December 6, 2024  Amends - GO 6.4.2 ( December 8, 2022 ) Number: 6.4.2 Distribution: All Personnel Review Month: November Reviewing Authority: CID / Major Case Subject: Gang Enforcement Unit This order consists of the following: 1. Purpose 2. Policy 3. Definitions 4. Procedures 1. Purpose The purpose of this policy is to alleviate the criminal activity and terrorism perpetrated by criminal gangs upon the citizens of our community. 2. Policy It is the agency policy to proactively investigate gang related activity and provide intelligence infor mation to other law enforcement components. 3. Definitions A. Criminal Gang - 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 t hree 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. "Ongoing" means that the organization was in existence during the time period charged in a petition, information, indictment, or action for civil injunctive relief. As used in this definition, "primary activities" means that a criminal gang spends a substantial amount of time engaged in such activity, although such activity need not be the only, or even the most important, activity in which the criminal gang engages. B. Criminal Gang Associate - a person who: 1. Admits to criminal gang association; or 2. Meets any single criteria enumerated in C (1-11). C. Criminal Gang Member - a person who is a member of a criminal street gang as defined above and who meets two or more of the following criteria: 1. Admits to criminal gang membership. 2. Is identified as a criminal gang member by a parent or guardian. 6.4.2, Page 2 3. Is identified as a criminal gang member by a documented reliable informant. 4. Adopts the style of dress of a criminal gang. 5. Adopts the use of a hand sign identified as used by a criminal gang. 6. Has a tattoo identified as used by a criminal gang. 7. Associates with one or more known criminal gang members. 8. Is identified as a criminal gang member by an informant of previously untested reliability and such identification is corroborated by independent information. 9. Is identified as a criminal gang mem ber by physical evidence. 10. Has been observed in the company of one or more known criminal gang members four or more times. Observation in a custodial setting requires a willful association. It is the intent of the Legislature to allow this criterion to be used to identify gang members who recruit and organize in jails, prisons, and other detention settings. 11. Has authored any communication indicating responsibility for the commission of any crime by the criminal gang. D. Gang Enforcement Unit - personnel assigned to identify, monitor, report, and coordinate the exchange of intelligence information concerni ng the identity of criminal street gangs, gang members, gang associates, and gang -related activity. E. Gang Related Activity - means an activity that, upon investigation, meets any of the following conditions: (FS 874.03 ) 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. An activity in which the participants are identified a s criminal gang members or criminal gang associates acting individually or collectively to further any criminal purpose of a criminal gang; 3. An activity that is identified as criminal gang activity by a documented reliable informant; or 4. An activity that is identified as criminal gang activity by an informant of previously untested reliability and such identification is corroborated by independent information. F. Incidents of Gang Violence - means criminal and non-political acts of violence by a perso n or group of persons, who are documented as criminal gang members or criminal gang associates, who regularly engage in criminal activity against 6.4.2, Page 3 innocent people. The term may also refer to physical hostile interactions between two or more gangs. 4. Procedures A. The duties of Gang Enforcement will include the following: 1. To engage in the prevention of criminal activity perpetrated by Criminal Gangs by assigning gang investigators to specific communities where such activity is prevalent. 2. To assist other agencies in the Central Florida area with their criminal street gang r elated criminal activity through awareness programs and the dissemination of information on the identification of criminal gangs and their activities. 3. To educate the community on programs related to Gang Related A ctivities through public awareness program s 4. Gang Enforcement will cooperate with the State Attorney's Office (SAO), other law enforcement agencies, and community organizations in the following manner: a. Monitor activities symptomatic of Criminal Gang influence or participation and provide pre ventive, investigative, and follow -up activities necessary to reduce the impact of such gangs on the community. b. Develop and coordinate intelligence and investigative resources to deter the conditions and activities which have the potential for producing Gang Related A ctivity. c. Provide periodic reports and briefings on current Gang Related Activities to concerned law enforcement agencies and community organizations involved in crime prevention efforts. d. Obtain copies of pertinent documents that identi fy persons as a Criminal