Ian Lind found an interesting source of information about gang related activity in Hawai’i. He noted “the U.S. Army had more gang-related incidents in Hawaii during 2004-2005 than in any other part of the world.”
Here is the full Army report on gang-related activity.
Here’s Ian Lind’s post:
Wednesday…Army reports describe gang-related incidents at Schofield Barracks
March 18th, 2009
You never know what you might find in a collection of government documents. That’s why I love to browse. I used to wander through sections of the university library just to see what was there. Same with bookstores. Now I let my fingers on the keyboard do the walking.
This week, I saw a description of a new web site, GovernmentAttic.org, which compiles documents which have been released in response to Freedom of Information Requests.
Nosing around a bit, I found an interesting report on gang-related crimes involving U.S. Army personnel which described a number of cases in Hawaii.
Taking a closer look, it appears the U.S. Army had more gang-related incidents in Hawaii during 2004-2005 than in any other part of the world, according to a September 2005 report of gang activity compiled by the Army’s Crime Records Center.
Hawaii recorded 8 gang related incidents during the period from January 2004 through August 2005, nearly one-third of the 29 such incidents cited in the report. Bases with the next highest number of incidents were Fort Hood, Texas, which reported four incidents, and Ft. Leanard Wood, Missouri, with three. The Army garrisons at Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels, Germany, also reported a total of three incidents.
The report and assessment of gang activity was ordered by the Army Chief of Staff following two gang-related murders in August 2005, one in Germany and the other in Alaska.
According to the report, incidents were escalated into criminal investigations whenever the initial complaints were found to be credible and the Army had jurisdiction. Two of the resulting 12 investigations by the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division Command were of incidents at Schofield Barracks or involving Schofield soldiers or dependents.
In one Hawaii case, the 20-year old husband of an active duty soldier was arrested on base for driving without a license and a small amount of marijuana was found in his car. “Various gang paraphernalia” were also found, and the man admitted to being a member of the Crips, a gang which originated in Los Angeles in the late 1960s.
In the second incident, a Schofield soldier and a civilian were involved in an off-base verbal confrontation with two civilians, which resulted in the shooting of one of the civilians. An investigation found the soldier was a reported member of the gang known as “La Familia”.
The report provides a summary:
The gang originated in the prisons of Hawaii to protect the members from other gangs. The gang consists of approximately 100 male members aged 18 to 45. Members are predominantly of Pacific Islander race with a few of its members being from other races. The gang tends to recruit anyone who is willing to join. The gang’s main rivals are the United Samoan Organization (USO) gang, which is the largest organized gang in the state of Hawaii (with no known military nexus).
A follow-up report in December 2006 cited two additional drug investigations at Schofield with links to a gang known as “Street Military”.
• The 21-year old husband of a Schofield Solder was stopped for speeding. A search of his car “resulted in the recovery of 17 bags of marihuana (a total of 35 grams), various items of drug parpheralia and a small amount of cocaine. The man claimed to belong to the “Street Military”.
• Another case involved drug dealing by a Schofield solder, who was caught with “illegal drugs and two scales in his barracks room.”
According to the report, the man “had a tattoo of a Kanji symbol that translates to mean family with ‘Bama-Boy’ under it. This is a marking known to be associated with the Street Military street gang.”
The 2006 report includes this description of the “Street Military” gang.
Street Military – Criminal acts attributed to the gang, occurring on and off-post include Illegal Weapons Charges, Possession/Use/Distribution of Controlled Substances, and Desertion. To date there are three incidents involving weapons. This gang is determined to have a moderate propensity to commit violence. Available intelligence suggests that the gang is moderately organized and has a rank structure. The gang was organized on Schofield Barracks, HI.
The gang consists of approximately 20-25 members ages 18-30. The group is comprised of mostly military members that have come from gang related backgrounds (Bloods, Crips, Gangster Disciples, Latin Kings). These members are not known to proclaim gang involvement but due to intelligence gathered they definitely fit the definition of a gang. Due to the versatile background there are no known colors, clothing or signs. Several members are reported to have a Japanese Kanji symbol on their forearm, which translates into “The Family” with their nickname under the symbol. There is additional intelligence that members of Street Military have decided to form a separate gang called “Wolfgang”. These members motivation to sell drugs was to make money to support a music career. This gang was unstable and unorganized which caused it to break down and disseminate.
The 2006 report also cites two investigations by the Honolulu Police Department where gang membership was noted.
One case involved five soldiers who were members of the Street Miltary and were found with illegal drugs.
“The investigation established the individuals had a rifle that was discharged in a parking lot,” the report states.
The last case involved eight juveniles who were sons of active duty soldiers. Two of them claimed to be members of the Crips.
Investigation established the subjects were involved in a disagreement over suspected drug activity. The altercation became physical, at which time one of the suspected gang members produced a screwdriver and stabbed multiple individuals.”
Gang-related incidents accounted for only a very small share of all criminal cases investigated by military authorities and were rated a low-level threat.
But with civilian authorities shying away from public discussion of local gang-related crimes, and news media failing to follow the scent, the Army reports provide a welcome source of information and perspective.
Source: http://ilind.net/2009/03/18/wednesdayarmy-reports-describe-gang-related-incidents-at-schofield-barracks/