Gangs on the Internet

mikesd81 writes "Apparently street gangs have gotten Web-savvy. Web Bangers are posting potentially incriminating photos and taunts on their websites. Police departments suddenly faced with gangs are looking for help on the gangs' own easy-to-find Web sites. The director of the National Gang Crime Research Center has stated "In order to understand any subculture, be it al-Qaida, witches, devil worshippers or gangs, you have to be able to know their own language.' Knox said it's important for police to learn how to read between the lines on gang Web sites and blogs. Just as time on the streets has given gang investigators the ability to read the hieroglyphics of wall graffiti, time on the Web helps them understand arcane Web clues. Gang identifiers, such as tattoos, graffiti tags, colors and clothing often are embedded in each site."

Comments

Re:They aren't career criminals

[shotgunefx]

It's not because they can't afford to, it's because they can't budget and most are their own best customers.

When I was a teen, hung on kind of a rough corner. More than a few of the kids were dealers. Mostly pot (though most of them graduated later on to actual harmful drugs). Besides smoking most of their stash, they'd do stupid things like blow money on other drugs or buy Don Perignon, etc.

Two of my friends wanted me to go into "business" with them selling weed. It would have been a pretty sweat deal actually as I really wouldn't have to do much of anything except put up a small amount of cash at the beginning and then just manage the money after and have no liability.

I was tempted, but that's not my thing so I declined, but I did the math on it before saying not, it would have been around $3500 profit a week.

By rights, most of them should own houses.

Re:those evil Wiccans

[Rob T Firefly]

I'm sorry, but comparing witches to Al-Quaeda is a bit of an ad absurdum. We all know witches are more powerful, which is why we dealt with these terrorists in the 1600's, and did not not deal with the latter terrorists in the 1980's when we could have.

The witchhunts weren't anything to do with witches, it was all pretty much Christians killing Christians.

It was a sweet deal, if you think about it... want someone's land? Turn them in for "witchcraft" and you and the government get to split their assets after they're roasted. Angry at a woman for rejecting your advances? No worries, she'll probably have a freckle - oops, I mean "devil's mark" - one can blame the world's problems on, and up in smoke she goes. Afraid of your wife because she knows how to read better than you do? Poof, and you get to look for someone younger and stupider next time.

400 years ago it was "witches." 50 years ago it was "communists." These days it's those darn "terr'rists." People will always find a way to persecute other peoople they don't like for whatever reason.