I don’t like people talking behind my back. I guess that’s why in April 1995, when staff members at the correctional facility where I work confiscated a document that was in code from a gang member, I decided to try and decipher the symbols.
At the time, I had just been made responsible for Security Risk Groups (SRG), or gangs, in my Department. In January 1995, I’d started studying confiscated gang documents and learning how to identify gang members. I was given one day a month of “Department Time” to accomplish this task.
The document confiscated in April ’95 came from a Latin King member and I had become familiar with some Latin King identifiers in my three “working days” since January.
As you can see, the document starts in English and then merges into code (figure 1). The writer thoughtfully separated the coded symbols into words by using parentheses:
Figure 1: The top of page one |
As I examined the top of page one, I saw that there was a reference to “3rd crown or 3rd acting 2nd”. Then I noticed that further down the page, “3rd” was followed by a group of symbols (figure 1).
Those symbols, I realized, would have to be the word “crown”! This gave me five letters of the alphabet. I was on my way to deciphering my first gang code.
Next I examined the lower portion of page one and I noticed that there was a phrase in English “360º degrees strong + unbreakable” (figure 2). I remembered seeing a very similar phrase at the beginning of the document - on line two of is the phrase “360 degrees strong”. This became important to deciphering this document later on in the process.
Figure 2: The bottom of page one |
Next I examined the top of page two (figure 3). I noticed a three letter grouping “$ + 13” used twice on this page. I knew that the phrase “Amor de Rey” was central to the Latin King philosophy and that it was often abbreviated as “ADR”. I also observed that there was another symbol grouping after the word “3rd” which I knew had to be the word “crown” but this was a different set of symbols! Now I knew that at least for the letters used in the word “crown” there were two sets of symbols!
Figure 3: The top of page two |
Over the years, as I’ve gained experience deciphering gang codes from other gangs, I’ve discovered that having two or even three symbols for the same letter of the alphabet is not uncommon.
As I examined the lower portion of page two, I noticed “360º” which based on earlier phrasing in this document had to be followed by “Degrees” and “Strong” (figure 4).
Figure 4: The bottom of page two |
With the symbols that I had now deciphered, I had about one-third of the alphabet and I was able to determine the rest of the alphabet and symbols (including the two sets of symbols for the word “crown”) as being (figure 5):
Figure 5: This gang code alphabet |
Some important intelligence was gained by deciphering this document:
1. Several monickers or “nick names” of the gang leaders.
2. The present and future rank structure (leadership) of the gang.
3. Confirmation of known gang identifiers.
When searching prisoners and their property, weapons and contraband are the priority, but don’t forget to look for items with intelligence value as well. Long term safety and security can be enhanced with improved gang intelligence.
This story originally appeared in the March-April 2007 edition of American Jails magazine
