Silent language of gangs spelled out

Terry Webster

Thursday, March 29, 2001 | 11:43 a.m.

Student Safety Here are some of the programs or services the Clark County School District uses to combat crime and violence and promote student safety:

Every day in Clark County schools the nonverbal language of gangs is spoken with notebooks, T-shirts, belt buckles and sunglasses.

It shouts through tattoos, graffiti and hand motions.

Sgt. Jaime Sanchez of the Clark County School District Police gang unit explains how it works. He folds a three-ring binder under his arm, allowing gang graffiti to show through.

To the average eye, it looks like hieroglyphics. To other gang members walking down a school hallway, it signals a friend -- or an enemy.

A kid walking with a plain notebook who isn't a gang member gets knocked down.

"Now the kid who isn't a gang member is intimidated," Sanchez said. "Every time he sees him, he's going to be afraid."

Gang violence is rising beyond threats or fistfights. It's riddling some neighborhoods with drive-by shootings.

Eight gang-related slayings have rocked West and North Las Vegas neighborhoods in the past six weeks.

"We have problems," Sanchez said, "And we have problems of epidemic proportions. For those of you who don't know yet, there's a gang war going on. And it's getting more and more serious."

The violence is happening off school grounds. But it's still affecting students' lives.

"A lot of the kids getting killed are kids in our schools. A lot of the shooters are kids in our schools. And it can escalate," Sanchez said.

Believing it will help them fend off bullying or violence, students are drawn into joining gangs or wearing gang paraphernalia as a means of survival. Aside from clothing, tattoos or hand signals are used to identify gangs.

The school district's gang unit has a collection of gang paraphernalia confiscated from students. Among the items are bandannas, belt buckles, decorated notebooks and sunglasses with symbols or pictures etched on the lenses.

Sanchez displayed the collection during a talk with parents and school district staffers during School Board member Shirley Barber's monthly parent advisory meeting.

Barber oversees schools in areas recently afflicted with gang activity. Most of the activity has centered on an area near Martin Luther King Boulevard between Carey Avenue and Lake Mead Boulevard.

Officer Calvin Walker, who also works in the gang unit, explained how the school police are working to keep the violence from spilling onto school grounds.

"We get out, we walk around on the campuses, and we know pretty much if something is going on because kids will group up," Walker said. "Usually when you go on a school campus, there is casual talking and joking. There's no problem. But you can feel the tension when there is a problem. Kids just don't do what they normally do. You can hear kids talking about it, and there are rumors all over the school."

Even when violence in the community ends, the threat of repercussions remains.

"It's hard for a kid to cope," Walker said. "Say his brother was killed last night, and he comes to school the next day. I don't know why, but he comes. My concern is, what if a rival gang member of his brother shows up and says something derogatory to that kid? Then you've got a problem."

The recent feud has escalated from two to five or more gangs. The feuding gangs all are within a few blocks of each other.

"People are saying why is it happening, why is it going on?" Walker said. "Well, before, if there's a fight, you can patch it up. But it's hard to talk to these kids about not retaliating when they've lost a loved one in their family. Everyone has got to start getting in there and talking to these kids and knowing what they are dealing with. If we don't do that, what started a few months ago is going to continue."

School district staffers at the meeting said they would like to have more training on spotting the signs of gang activity, related laws and prevention.

The school district's gang unit, organized in 1989, went full time this month. Walker and Sanchez combined have about 40 years of experience in police work.

Although West and North Las Vegas are getting most of the press, gang activity is happening throughout the Las Vegas Valley, Walker and Sanchez said. Clark County has more than 237 documented gangs.

Police are now bracing for more gang activity.

"April 20th is coming up," Walker said. "It's Hitler's birthday. I understand the white supremacist groups are regrouping just like other gang members. You can't take a back seat and start looking at just one group."

But Sanchez and Walker point out that schools are still one of the safest places to be, where officers, teachers and surveillance cameras are keeping watch.

"The problem with gangs are mom and dad," said Sanchez. "It's denial. I assume all of these gang members just fall from the sky. They don't belong to anybody. That's the problem. We have to wake up and open our eyes.

"When there's a shooting, what does the mom and dad say, whether their kid was the victim or the perpetrator? They say their son or daughter was not in a gang. Hello. All of these incidents involved gangs. We have to wake up and realize that."