Strategic Communications (Debriefing, Interviewing, and Interrogation): I am big on philosophical quotations. I am a great admirer of Miyamoto Musashi, who was the greatest swordsman of feudal Japan. As criminal justice professional whether we like it or not we are communicators. A quote I am fond of is, "Words are the facial expression of your min...

Chicago Street Gangs are not only very violent, but they rely on a belief system that entails symbols. For instance the Vice Lords represent with eight different symbols; all having significant meaning. Chicago Gang Graffiti implements these symbols in positive and negative ways. The enemy will either turn a rival symbol upside down, run a jagged e...

History: In 1853, across the Atlantic, Joseph Arthur de Gobineau, a French count, first identified the "Aryan" race as "great, noble, and fruitful in the works of man on this earth." Half a century later, as the eugenics movement gathered force in the U.S., "experts" began dividing white people into distinct races. In 1899, William Z. Ripley, an ec...

HISTORY: L.A.'s black population is booming, and Central Avenue is its nexus, home to black-owned businesses and a thriving jazz and R&B music scene. The newly named "South Central" is the only district in the city where African Americans can own property. Racially restrictive housing covenants, enforced by the law, police authorities and white...

When I was six years (1953) old my parents took me to Los Angeles, California to visit my maternal grandparents. My grandparents, Henry and Ida Davis lived in the 3600 block of 10th Avenue, which at the time was predominately Japanese-American. My aunt and uncle, Harry and Irma Davis lived next door to the South, and the Kobiyashi family to the Nor...

A s a forty year veteran of Law Enforcement, who actively worked street gangs for the vast majority of his career, I have a unique perspective of "Why Kids are attracted to Gangs?" They are attracted to gangs because of fear, or they seek family or protection, or they see how quickly money is made. That is the Law Enforcement version. But I also ha...

S ometimes I wonder why I became a License Professional Investigator. Once people discovered that I was a Licensed Professional Investigator, I received several inquiries a month from retired police officers who are interested in this line of work. I am intrigued by some of their questions, because they do not understand what they are truly getting...

I have been a private investigator for three years now, and experienced my first client issue recently. I knew it would happen sooner or later, but it was the way it happened, and I blame myself. I had several domestic cases, and they all went smoothly. But I should have reverted to my old law enforcement "gut" on this one. The client was referred ...

W aiting on the call from the client or pending customer can be frustrating and stressful. You make an appointment with your prospective client, or respond to a call from the potential customer, and give your very best resume of yourself and your business, and outline in detail what the costs will be, and they look at you and say, "I have to think ...

W hen I first meet with a potential client the first question they ask is, "How much do you charge?" That initial meeting determines a lot of things. First there is the initial impression. I never discuss fees until I have gotten to know my client. Secondly I explain every detail of what I am going to do for them. Thirdly I demand the truth. And la...

I retired from the Prince George's County Police Department in December, 2009 after a forty year career that began in Illinois in July, 1969. During my career I testified in court, conducted numerous successful investigations, and arrested a lot of people. Several years ago someone asked me how many people I thought I arrested in forty years. I sai...

F or many years as a Law Enforcement officer and trainer, I have alluded to the fact that White street gangs exist. I know; I grew up with and fought them growing up in Chicago, Illinois. At times that has been met by a lot of consternation and at one point while teaching in the South I was characterized as a racist in one evaluation. That percepti...

I n my forty year law enforcement career I have worked in Illinois, California, and Maryland. While growing up in Chicago, Illinois in the late 1950's to the middle 1960's the gangs that existed were neighborhood based gangs. For instance the Deacons controlled Ida B. Wells public housing, and I grew up around the Dell Vikings and 58th Street Gang....

I have been fortunate to conduct gang training throughout the United States on a continuous basis since 1992. This includes a Basic Gangs course and an Advanced Gang Investigations course. But I seem to fool quite a few people when throughout the course of the training, which lasts anywhere from two to five days, I talk about what you can do to hel...

T here has become this mistrust among police officers and prosecutors in the past ten years. The police officers feel the prosecutor is lazy and disinterested, and the prosecutor feels the police officer hasn't put the case together sufficiently for it to be prosecuted. I know this statement is "beating a dead horse," but there must be a connection...

A missing person is a person who has disappeared for usually unknown reasons. In order for a private investigator to find a missing person you will need to provide them with as much information as possible. It would be helpful if you could provide the private investigator with name, date of birth, social security number, age, last address known or ...

S ince 1998 I have taught the Basic Gangs class at the Regional Counterdrug Training Academy (RCTA) in Meridian, Mississippi. The majority of the criminal justice professionals who attend are from the Southern States, but in 2009 I was very surprised when two officers from the Columbus, Ohio Police Department introduced themselves. One of the quest...

A re street gangs really different? Are West Coast Gangs different from Midwest Gangs? Are East Coast Gangs different from Southern Gangs? The answer is they are all the same with a few "twists of lemon." I was very fortunate in my forty year law enforcement career. I worked gangs in Chicago, Illinois; I worked gangs in Los Angeles, California, and...

C hicago has always been a violent city. When I grew up there in the 1950s and 1960s, you had neighborhood gangs like the Deacons and 58th Street. Then when the Blackstone Rangers were formed in 1959, a new episode of gang violence began. I remember Englewood being a violent neighborhood growing up. And I remember taking the "El" train to 63rd and ...