America’s Gangs: Guns, Drugs, Violence, Prison, Death

Gangs have been glamorized in movies such as "West Side Story," "Gangs of New York," "Goodfellas," American Gangster, and "Boyz in the Hood."

But beyond Hollywood, poisonous gang activities are taking place throughout American communities, schools, prisons, shopping malls, and even the military.


FBI Concerns
According to the FBI, there are some 33,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs with about 1.4 million members criminally active in America.

Many of these gangs are highly sophisticated, and organized, using violence for control.

Illegal money-making activities include robbery, gun and drug trafficking, fraud, white-collar crime, extortion, and prostitution.

Gangs also exploit the most advanced technologies and social media for recruitment, communication, targeting enemies, and advancing criminal activities.

The National Gang Intelligence Center on the FBI site states:

•Gangs are responsible for about 48 percent of violent crime in most jurisdictions and up to 90 percent in others.
•Gangs are increasingly becoming engaged in alien smuggling, human trafficking, and prostitution as well as counterfeiting, identity theft, and mortgage fraud.
•Family members assist with gang activities during a gang member’s incarceration.
•Gang infiltration of the U.S. Military involves at least 53 gangs identified on domestic and international installations.
•Gang members often acquire high-powered, military style weapons, posing serious threats to law enforcement and communities.
•Gangs encourage members, associates, and relatives to obtain law enforcement, judiciary, or legal employment in order to gather information on rival gangs and law enforcement operations.

The MS-13 Threat

To clearly understand the gang threat, let us take a look at one of these gangs, MS-13. The FBI assessment of MS-13 states that it operatives in at least 42 states and the District of Columbia. Its membership is about 6,000-10,000 nationwide.
This FBI description captures their brutality:

"they have severed the fingers of their rivals with machetes… brutally murdered suspected informants including a 17-year-old pregnant federal witness… attacked law enforcement officers… committed a string of rapes, assaults, break-ins, auto thefts, extortions, and frauds across the United States… been involved with everything from drug and firearms trafficking to prostitution and money laundering… and are sowing violence and discord not just in the United States but around the world".

Prevention through Awareness

A primary defense in protecting youth from gang influence is to prevent initiation at the earliest stage possible. In order to be effective in this regard, the collaborative partnership between the schools, law enforcement, and families is critical.

A wake-up call should ring within a parent, educator, security, or law enforcement official if a child exhibits any warning signs:
•Admits involvement
•Is obsessed with gang clothing
•Uses gang logos / graffiti
•Deceitful about their activities
•Declining grades / truancy
•Contempt for authority
•Obsessed with gangster lyrics
•Associates with gang members
•Uses gang hand signs
•Has physical injuries from gang initiation
•Produces unexplained cash and jewelry
•Substance abuse
•Has possession of a weapon

Final Reflection
Gangs are an American reality with members often disenfranchised, marginalized, misguided youth who can themselves be products of dysfunctional families or a cycle of violence, and gang involved parents and family members.

Gang members can also be individuals from oppressed countries where violence and a survival of the fittest mentality by any means is a way of life.

The desperate allurement of American youth to the gang culture can be expressive of a need for recognition, protection, and belonging.

America's response must be exercised through not only the criminal justice system where there must be consequences for illegal activity but though a collaboration of law enforcement, private security, family, community, faith-based, and educational partners.

Prevention of gang indoctrination and involvement must begin with awareness at the earliest years of educational formation in the home and school.

America must make positive alternatives attractive to counter the false allurement of the gang culture that ends only in disillusionment, violence, prison, or even death.

Note Well:
Linkedin: Vincent J. Bove Consulting, Speaker Services, Publishing

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As authored for Vincent’s weekly column titled “Reawakening the Nation” for the Epoch Times, 35 countries, 21 languages and growing.




Photos
1. NY FBI SWAT with MS-13 suspects in custody. (Photo Courtesy FBI)
2. FBI arresting alleged gang member in New York. (Photo Courtesy FBI)
3. MS-13 suspect in custody. (Photo Courtesy FBI)
4. MS-13 tattoos. (Photo Courtesy FBI)

Secret Service Scandals: Review, Resolve, Renew

The professionalism of dedicated secret service agents since 1865 is deserving of recognition, respect, and appreciation.

It is important to accentuate their service to America by understanding the vision and mission of the agency:

VISION STATEMENT
The vision of the United States Secret Service is to uphold the tradition of excellence in its investigative and protective mission through a dedicated, highly-trained, diverse, partner-oriented workforce that employs progressive technology and promotes professionalism.

MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the Secret Service is to ensure the security of our President, our Vice President, their families, the White House, the Vice President’s Residence, national and visiting world leaders, former Presidents, and events of national significance. The Secret Service also protects the integrity of our currency and investigates crimes against our national financial system committed by criminals around the world and in cyberspace.

Transparency, Accountability, Commitment
But recently, this once-proud agency has been blistered with numerous scandals.

Transparency, accountability and commitment must be front and center for the agency’s renewal.

America needs the Secret Service and we must appreciate all who proudly honor the calling to its vision and mission.

The dignity of this renowned agency demands transformation and refusal from within its ranks to accept deviance, deficiencies, and dysfunction.

The fact is that agents are human beings and like all of us are capable of meritorious actions or shameful behavior.

But because the Secret Service is responsible for safeguarding lives, property and critical information-as well as preserving the morale of the nation-mediocrity and distractions from duty can be devastating.

The Secret Service mission deserves world-class on-going training, certifications, critically discerning recruitment, performance reviews, and, when necessary counseling, reassignments, suspensions and terminations.

The mission of all law enforcement, especially one as critical as the Secret Service-responsible for protecting the president-cannot be undermined by mediocrity, superficiality, incompetence or apathy.

Honor, leadership, ethics, and character must be the hallmarks of the Secret Service and these virtues deserve unwavering perseverance.

Recent Secret Service Scandals-A Partial List
Renewal of the agency will take place when recent scandals including these published reports are honestly addressed and remedied:

June-Aug. 2011: Agents responsible for protecting the White House are pulled from their posts to protect the home of a friend of agency Director Mark Sullivan.

Nov. 2011: Several bullets hit the White House but an inferior Secret Service investigation fails to realize it until four days later when the marks were noticed by a housekeeper.

April 23, 2012: About a dozen agents are sent home from Columbia after a scandal of their involvement with prostitutes.

May 2013: An agency supervisor tires to re-enter a woman’s room after mistakenly leaving a bullet there.

March 23, 2014: After being found passed out by intoxication in a hotel hallway during a presidential trip, three agents are sent home from the Netherlands.

Sept. 16, 2014: an armed security guard violates the agency protocol by being in the same elevator with the president.

Sept. 19, 2014: a knife-wielding man climbs the White House fence, enters the mansion and has access to the bottom floor before being apprehended.

Oct. 29, 2014: the agency’s investigator of the Columbia prostitution scandal is forced to resign after his arrest regarding prostitution in Florida.

June 13, 2015: Four assistant agency directors were fired, with the option of retiring or reassignment.

March 4, 2015: After drinking at a party, two senior agents run into a White House security barrier, passing through security tape of an active bomb investigation.

Renewal Without Excuses
Dysfunctional alcohol, prostitution, incompetence, or apathy issues deserve swift accountability and cover-ups, excuses, or enabling is unacceptable.

In my many keynotes for the FBI and law enforcement officials, the human deficiencies that can distract us from our mission are honestly addressed. As counterpoint to these weaknesses, character, ethics, leadership, and moral courage are always stressed as the pillars of patriotic and personal responsibility.

The good name of the Secret Service can be restored when leadership is the foundation and this must begin immediately, as it is critical, not only to their vision and mission, but to America.

Note Well:
Linkedin: Vincent J. Bove Consulting, Speaker Services, Publishing

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As authored for Vincent’s weekly column titled “Reawakening the Nation” for the Epoch Times, 35 countries, 21 languages and growing.


Photos
1. Secret Service agent (Courtesy U.S. Secret Service)
2. Secret Service agents providing motorcade protection (Courtesy U.S. Secret Service)
3. Secret Service Canine Explosives Detection Unit screens vehicles and event sites for explosives (Courtesy U.S. Secret Service)

America’s Flag, Patriotism: Resuscitating Our Destiny

The American flag is the symbol of our nation, deserving of reverence, honor, and dignity.

As immortalized by the iconic flag raising by U.S. Marines during the battle of Iwo Jima, our flag is the rallying point for America’s patriotism. Iwo Jima’s flag raising gave America hope, a counterpoint to the heart-wrenching sinking of our ships at Pearl Harbor.

This heroic battle profoundly portrays America’s courage, claiming nearly 7,000 U.S. fatalities and 25,851 casualties.

As documented in Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley, more medals for action on Iwo Jima were awarded than any battle in American history. It is a profound expression of when “Uncommon Valor Was A Common Virtue.”

During all of World War II, which lasted over four years, eighty-four Medals of Honor were awarded to U.S. Marines. This averaged to twenty-two a year, about two a month. But at Iwo Jima, in just one month of fighting, twenty-seven Medals of Honor were awarded to Marines.

Iwo Jima, inseparable from the sacrosanct moment of the flag raising, stands as America’s most heroic battle.

At Iwo Jima, the flag was raised forever proclaiming the greatness, courage and character of America. Our flag, honored at Iwo Jima, must be eternally revered in every community, school, workplace, home, police department, military base, and heart of all privileged to call America home.

University of California Flag Ban Scandal

The recent scandal at the University of California, Irvine by the student government to ban displaying America’s flag from a lobby is dysfunctional, disappointing, and disturbing.

The student council approved a resolution prompting removal of America’s sacred symbol from a lobby wall. The resolution cited 25 reasons for the ban including the possibility of the flag symbolizing America’s “exceptionalism and superiority.”

The resolution stated “freedom of speech, in a space that aims to be as inclusive as possible, can be interpreted as hate speech.”

One could only imagine if any of those responsible for this reprehensible dishonoring of America’s sacred symbol would have had the courage to endure the sacrifices made at Iwo Jima. Or aside from this epic moment, would any of those supporting the ban have ever honored the flag as heroically done countless times throughout America’s history.

One wonders where the lack of wisdom, understanding, fortitude, or patriotic influence was lost on those who supported this flag banning, as it is clearly dysfunctional. Perhaps a deficiency took place somewhere during formational years by the family, community, school, or media.

The shameful contempt for our flag to create “a culturally inclusive space” was delusional. The fact is irrefutable for if one truly understands the American flag; diversity, unity, bravery, freedom, liberty, and human rights are honored, upheld, and protected whenever our flag is honored.

Honoring the American Flag

Throughout my entire life, respect, honor, and dignity for America, symbolized by our flag was instilled and continuously cultivated.

Honoring the flag took place in my earliest years when I proudly raised the flag on the home of my parents and grandparents. This respect continued throughout college and post graduate studies as I always took the initiative to display a large American flag from the room of wherever I lived. Honoring the flag remains with me always, even as I write this column, with the flag proudly displayed prominently at my home. It is a personal reminder of devotion to country and a testimony to my community of the courage, compassion, and character of America.

Final Reflection

Respect for America through our flag is a sacred privilege and responsibility. This respect is solemnly proclaimed in our pledge of allegiance, deserving of luminosity within our souls.

May honor for America’s flag forever live in the hearts of all who love her and are truly dedicated to the reawakening of the nation.

Note Well:
Linkedin: Vincent J. Bove Consulting, Speaker Services, Publishing

Join Vincent’s Linkedin Group: The Sentinel: Reawakening the Nation

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As authored for Vincent’s weekly column titled “Reawakening the Nation” for the Epoch Times, 35 countries, 21 languages and growing.

Photos
1. The Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Va., can be seen prior to the Sunset Parade, June 4, 2013 (Adrian R. Rowan, public domain photograph from defenseimagery.mil)
2. American flags, Rockefeller Center, Nov. 7, 2014. (Vincent J. Bove)
3. American flags at Rockefeller Center, Memorial Day weekend, 2011. (Vincent J. Bove)

Ferguson’s Mission: Cultivate Community Policing

Society can only be harmonious when governmental authority is moral. This is demonstrated when the dignity of every community member is respected.

Legitimate government honors a moral code demonstrated through good-will toward community members.

Society needs behavior that is moral, reasonable and just, otherwise authority becomes shameful, abusive and intrusive.

Positons of trust in every level of American government must have moral principles as the foundation. Respect is the fundamental right of every person and enshrined in our Bill of Rights as:

•freedom of speech, press, religion
•prohibiting unreasonable searches and seizures
•the right to peaceably assembly
•citizenship rights, due process and equal protection of laws

Government must also dedicate itself to the development of the entire community through family, education, health, employment, housing, security and culture.

It is government’s role, understood as both politicians and government employees to serve. Government’s dedication to improving the lives of community members-especially those who are marginalized, vulnerable and oppressed must always be paramount.

A just government dedicates itself to the dignity of the human person. In return; truthfulness, justice and patriotic participation throughout the community is animated.

Ferguson’s Failure of Community

The tragic chaos that unfolded after the lethal shooting in Ferguson was exacerbated due to the failure of government officials to honor principles of reasonable authority, community policing and human dignity deserved by each and every community member.

A community cannot be harmonious when members are oppressed and dignity is denied.

Government representatives must have a code of ethics that respects the principles of society, authority and the common good. When these principles are honored, society flourishes. When they are violated, the results are dysfunction, disparities and disorder.

Effective policing demands moral courage by law enforcement officials that includes the refusal to be pawns of political leaders-who without a moral code, reprehensibly view community members merely as revenue pawns.

Interaction between the community and police officials demands initiatives that cultivate collaboration. This is summarized in this timeless policing principle of Sir Robert Peel:

•Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police.

When this indefatigable principle is honored, community harmony is promoted. If violated by politicians, government employees, law enforcement officials or community members, the outcome-as witnessed in Ferguson-is disorder, contempt and chaos.

Department of Justice: A Scathing Report

On March 4, the Justice Department (DOJ) released findings of two civil rights investigations related to Ferguson.

The DOJ found that Ferguson Municipal Court has a pattern or practice of:

•Focusing on revenue over public safety, leading to court practices that violate the 14th Amendment’s due process and equal protection requirements.
•Court practices exacerbating the harm of Ferguson’s unconstitutional police practices and imposing particular hardship upon Ferguson’s most vulnerable residents, especially upon those living in or near poverty. Minor offenses can generate crippling debts, result in jail time because of an inability to pay and result in the loss of a driver’s license, employment, or housing.

The DOJ found that the Ferguson Police Department (FPD) has a pattern or practice of:

•Conducting stops without reasonable suspicion and arrests without probable cause in violation of the Fourth Amendment
•Interfering with the right to free expression in violation of the First Amendment
•Using unreasonable force in violation of the Fourth Amendment

The DOJ found a pattern or practice of racial bias in both the FPD and municipal court with intentional discrimination by direct evidence of racial bias and stereotyping.

Final Reflection
Ferguson must rise by rebuilding trust, healing hostilities and building community. A transformation is possible when the bill of rights is respected, a moral code honored and community policing principles adhered to.
America, take heed as human rights, morals and ethics must be the order of the day in every level of government, community and heart of each person.

Note Well
Join Vincent’s Linkedin Group: The Sentinel: Reawakening the Nation
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As authored for Vincent’s weekly column titled “Reawakening the Nation” for the Epoch Times, 35 countries, 21 languages and growing.

Photos
1. U.S. Capitol (Courtesy U.S. Capital Visitor Center)
2. Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson speaks to media on West Florissant Ave. in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 19, 2014. (Michael B. Thomas/AFP/Getty Images)

Understanding Islam Is Essential to Community Policing

All who adhere to the great religions of the world understand that faith, hope and charity are sacrosanct.

Every human being experiences these virtues throughout their lifetime as well as pain, trails and anguish.

For those who believe,faith allows individuals, families, society and the international community to blossom-despite life’s challenges.

Faith gives people answers to the meaning of life. It provides a guide to conscience and our actions, demanding that respect, goodness and tolerance are expressed for every member of the human family.

The true hallmark of any person who proclaims a life of faith is manifested through honoring the dignity of every human person.

Moral Code: The Heart of Humanity

In the life of faith, a moral code is exemplified by the golden rule, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

This moral foundation is essential for not only believers but for every human person. It urges respect for humanity and especially compassion for all wounded by the trials of life.

The golden rule requires acts of charity by every person including:
• Feeding the hungry
• Giving drink to the thirsty
• Clothing the naked
• Sheltering the homeless
• Visiting the sick
• Burying the Dead
• Visiting the Imprisoned

A Call for Dialogue

There are destructive tensions throughout the world. Dialogue must remain an antidote to the venom of war, conflict, violence, ignorance and misunderstandings.

For those who represent the great faiths of the world, especially Christians, Muslims and Jews, dialogue is expressed through respect, dignity and charity. Dialogue has the power to build harmony for faith based communities-as well as for non-believers-fostering social justice, moral values, freedom and liberty.

America is a land filled with churches, mosques, synagogues and temples with the responsibility to intensify dialogue through faith-based communities. Our bill of rights proclaims that freedom of religion is sacrosanct. Therefore, we have the moral foundation to cultivate human rights, religious freedom and peaceful coexistence.

Our nation must be the catalyst for resolving misunderstandings between nations and faiths that include intolerance, racism, injustices, ignorance, wars and violence.

Community Policing, Cultivating Dialogue

Law enforcement and communities throughout the United States have recently experienced controversies crystallizing the importance of community policing.

The community policing philosophy is misunderstood if only perceived as a crime prevention mechanism. It also has the capacity and responsibility to build cohesiveness not only with race relations but with all faith-based communities.

During my community policing initiatives over the last 20 years, I have experienced outstanding dynamics between law enforcement and faith based communities. These were witnessed not only through invocations and benedictions at law enforcement events by leaders from every faith but also through ironclad partnerships.

One example that comes to mind is an event coordinated by the North Jersey Regional Crime Prevention Officers Association and hosted by Fairleigh Dickinson University.

It featured Sohail Mohammed, a dedicated Muslim and respected attorney who delivered an insightful presentation to law enforcement and community leaders titled “Understanding Islam and the Muslims.”

Sohail Mohammed demonstrated how the Muslim communities throughout New Jersey forged strong ties to police, the FBI, government officials and religious leaders from other faiths. I attended another event, as a guest of the FBI, that exemplified this collaboration.

Sohail’s presentation including practical demonstrations of Muslim customs-enhanced law enforcement/community bridges by understanding the pillars of Islam. These pillars-faith, prayer, charity, fasting and pilgrimage-complement the teachings of every faith based community. The speaker enlightened attendees with information on the Prophet Muhammad, the Holy Quran, sayings of the prophet and Ramadan.

Final Reflection

Forged partnerships with the entire community based on America’s sacred principle of freedom of religion, is the strength of our country and hope for the future.

The ideals of community policing are critical to reawakening the nation by igniting dialogue, enhancing respect and cultivating partnerships with law enforcement agencies and communities throughout America.

Photos
1. The Kaaba at al-Haram Mosque during the start of Hajj, Dec. 4, 2008. (Al Jazeera)
2. FBI Tampa Field Officer holding forum to promote dialogue with law enforcement and the Arab/Muslim community. (Photo Courtesy FBI)

Join my Linkedin Group: The Sentinel: Reawakening the Nation
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As authored for Vincent’s weekly column titled “Reawakening the Nation” (Friday, March 6, 2015 edition) for the Epoch Times, 35 countries, 21 languages and growing.