Police identify, validate 254 gang members
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on November 24, 2016 12:15 AM
The Goldsboro Police Department's gang officer, Walter Howard, has positively identified and validated 254 gang members during his first six months on the job.
Howard said he expects the number of people involved with gang activity -- from associates to confirmed members -- to top out around 400.
To be validated as a gang member, a person needs to meet three of the 12 criteria considered by law enforcement. These criteria include being a self-proclaimed member, having gang tattoos, being affiliated with other gang members or frequenting gang-dominated areas.
"We go through a color-coordinated system to where everybody in the green starts out showing one criteria of having involvement. You go into the yellow if you have two criteria of involvement," Howard said. "Once you hit three you actually go into our intelligence file system and become validated."
This is the first time the Police Department has put a hard number on how many gang members are actively operating in Goldsboro.
Howard said the validated gang members fall under multiple races and genders -- black, white, Hispanic, and male and female.
Once a person is validated as a gang member, Howard said the person is subject to higher bonds and stronger jail sentences if arrested and convicted of a crime.
Howard said there are two predominant gangs in the city -- the Bloods and the Crips.
He estimates there are 12 sets of Crips and 17 sets of Bloods in the city limits. The Bloods operate on the south side of the city, while the Crips operate in the northern half.
"The main thing is trying to figure out the leaders of their little groups," Howard said. "Some of them have bigger groups than others. We've got to define those sets and figure out who's not getting along with who."
Several crimes this year -- both violent and non-violent -- are confirmed as being gang related, Howard said, but he declined to assign a figure to how many.
"We work together with investigations and try to get as much information as we can to help assist them with the crimes they are having, and we are working active cases right now involving gang members," Howard said. "I can't give you that number (of how many) just based on their investigations and not interrupting what they've got going on."
One such crime authorities are investigating as gang related are motor vehicle breaking and enterings. Howard said vehicle break-ins are a way for gangs to get property to sell for cash and make money for the gang.
"We have an assortment of both violent and non-violent crimes that are gang related," Howard said. "It's not all about guns and drugs -- they've got other criminal enterprises."
Howard declined to comment on whether gang members are actively warring across boundaries.
"I can't really speak on that, but I'm sure the public can see that there's definitely some issues going on," Howard said.
While Goldsboro's gangs are not as organized as the infamous Bloods and Crips of the West Coast, Howard said local gangs are using West Coast literature as their "bible" on how to operate.
"They take items from the West Coast, they take literature, basically work books, on how to operate, and they go by it -- they try to, at least," Howard said. "There's a lot of the younger guys who won't completely follow it. Some of these guys would be in big trouble if they went to the West Coast."
Howard has also found at least 57 gang graffiti tags on houses and road signs around the city.
Among them, he can identify which sets are tagging what areas. The tag "500" or "500 BLK" is primarily in the area of Olivia Lane, Slocumb Street, Wayne Avenue, Isler Street and Wilmington Avenue, and represents a set that all live on the 500 block of a given street, he said.
Another dominant tag on the south side is "B.U.," or "Burn Unit," which Howard said is a set of Bloods.
Moving forward, Howard said he wants to have officers clean up the graffiti themselves in addition to combating gang activity.
"I ride around and look and figure out who's hanging where, the groups they're hanging with -- I watch people, and I watch areas," Howard said. "You put two and two together on what they're doing and they tell you a story if you watch them long enough."