What You Can Do
First, know the signs of gang membership and activity. They include:
- Common dress / colors within a group
- Common tattoos within a group
- Graffiti and graffiti-type artwork in notebooks or on walls
- Refers to friends as "family"
- Use of hand signs
What the Business Community Can Do
- Correct outside lighting problems
- Enforce "No Trespass / Barment" notices
- Ensure that your surveillance system functions properly and is recording if you have one
- Remove graffiti as soon as possible so it is no longer visible
- Report any possible gang activity / graffiti to law enforcement
- Start and/or enforce a "no gang colors" policy in your establishment