As everyone knows, gangbangers have their own language. Regardless of where you patrol, virtually every officer has the potential for having contact with gang members (yes, even in rural areas). If you can’t decipher the words and phrases you’re hearing and if you can’t speak in gang vernacular, you’re at a major disadvantage from an investigatory standpoint and you’re potentially putting yourself at tactical risk.
• Take the time to learn and stay current on gang slang
• Monitor the music gang members may be listening to
• Get a gang slang dictionary (there are several on the market)
• Take note of words, terms, and phrases you’re hearing on the street — if you don’t know what they mean, find someone to ask like another officer or maybe even a gang member you’ve developed a relationship with as an informant.
• Search the Internet for gang slang and hip hop dictionaries — good one to check out is www.rapdict.org (note their anti-law enforcement logo, by the way)
It’s critical to understand what gang members are saying to you and to each other. It’s also important, from the standpoint of clarity and for maintaining respect from and credibility with gang members, to be able to talk to them in their own language. Make the effort to study this “foreign language.”
