Gangs Communication
EXPLOITING GANG
COMMUNICATIONS
by Daniel Olson
Cryptanalyst Forensic Examiner
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Introduction
It is safe to say that all law enforcement officers involved
in street gang investigations are thoroughly aware of the
significance of gang symbols. Countless books, articles
and in-service speakers have stressed the importance of
being familiar with gang tattoos, colors and graffiti. These
symbols are designed to attract attention precisely for
a desired effect. Gang culture stresses the use of these
mediums of communication for the dual purpose of identifying
themselves and intimidating others.
Less known are the hidden
methods of gang communication: the ciphers, codes and concealment
methods used by gangs to send secret messages they don't
want law enforcement to read. This article will introduce
some of the methods gangs use to communicate secretly as
well as investigative techniques used to exploit gang communications.
The Need For Secret
Communications
Gangs, like any other criminal enterprise, or any organization
for that matter, need to communicate internally in order
to maintain control. The daily activities of a street gang
generate a constant stream of information including orders
from gang leaders, warnings, tips, threats, gang propaganda
and street gossip. As gangs grow in size both numerically
and geographically, the need for effective communication
becomes both more important and difficult. Add to this the
complications caused when senior gang members are incarcerated
and the need for secret communication becomes more apparent.
Secret gang communications
can be divided into three categories:
Communications to
and from incarcerated gang members. These are typically
written letters sent via U.S. Mail or hand delivered.
Communication to
and from gang members on the street. These communications
most often involve oral codes used on the telephone or numeric
pager codes. Street communications are especially important
for gangs involved in drug distribution.
General gang information.
This category includes gang propaganda, rules or regulations.
These communications are typically found in school notebooks,
journals or diaries and can be found with well organized
prison gangs and street gangs.
Methods of Secret
Communication
Regardless of the purpose of the communication, there are
three basic methods to make the communications secret: ciphers,
codes, and concealment. All three methods are commonly used
by gangs.
Ciphers
Ciphers involve the replacement of true letters or numbers
with different characters. Ciphers have been common since
ancient times and vary in degree of complexity and sophistication.
An example of a simple cipher would be to shift the alphabet
one position to the right so that a true A would be replaced
with B, B with C and so forth. In this manner the name "FRANK"
would be encrypted as "GSBOL."
More common among gang members
is to use symbols to replace true letters. Crips, Bloods,
Folk Nation, People Nation and many others are known to
use symbols to represent true letters of the alphabet. The
symbols vary widely even within gangs but there is often
a resemblance between the cipher characters and the gang's
individual graffiti style. For example, many Folk Nation
cipher characters contain pitch forks. People Nation ciphers
on the other hand may include upside down pitch forks.
Another method of enciphering
involves the use of ancient alphabets. White supremacy gangs
such as Aryan Brotherhood and Skinheads commonly use ancient
European alphabets such as the Runic alphabet from Scandinavia,
or Ogham from ancient Ireland. The use of Northern European
alphabets is in keeping with white supremacists racist ideals.
Ciphers, whether they consist
of numbers, symbols, letters or ancient alphabet characters
can often be solved by analyzing the frequency, position
and characteristics of each cipher unit.
Codes
Unlike ciphers, codes may represent words, phrases or ideas
instead of individual letters. Codes can be spoken, written
or, in the case of pagers, digital. Gang codes, especially
those that represent the names of individual gang members,
are common in gang graffiti. Code words are often nothing
more than street slang but may also include code words specifically
created with secrecy in mind. Foreign languages are common
sources of gang code words. Hispanic prison gangs on the
west coast are known to use Nahuatl, the Aztec language
to communicate with gang members both in and outside of
prison. Black prison gangs have been observed using African
languages such as Swahili and Nubian. Aside from language-based
systems, interpreting written and oral gang codes typically
requires the cooperation of a gang member.
Pager codes typically involve
the use of numeric sequences to communicate specific messages.
For example, a gang member may send a page that reads "876,"
the gang members identity code, followed by "999,"
the code for "I need more drugs to distribute."
Concealment
Unlike codes and ciphers, concealment involves hiding the
message itself as a form of secrecy. Concealment methods
are commonly used by prison gangs to communicate both within
and outside the prison walls. Most concealment methods involve
hiding a message within the body of a larger text. For example,
a concealed message could be recovered by reading every
seventh word of an innocent looking letter. Or the message
could be recovered by reading the third letter after each
comma. Methods of concealment are limited only by the imagination
of the writer. Some correctional officers have developed
an expertise at identifying and reading concealed messages.
Exploiting Gang Communications
Like modern armies at war, the ability to penetrate and
exploit the enemy's communications can prove decisive. The
same principle can be applied to gang investigations. Gangs
increase their dependence on communications because of geographic
growth and the incarceration of gang leadership. As this
dependence increases, they become more vulnerable to exploitation.
The ability to read secret communications between gang members
may result in the discovery of incriminating statements.
Gang writings also offer the reader a unique view of the
inner workings and mind set of the gang. The following investigative
techniques may assist in the penetration and exploitation
of gang communications:
