They're in P-City Too.....

While coming home from the beach this weekend and passing the old Pocomoke Truck we couldn't help but see this.

Mayor McDermott had posted on his blog a few months ago that some graffiti had been found in a couple of different locations in town. I posted a comment to his blog asking if this was 'gang' related graffiti or just kids spray painting a building. He responded that officers investigated it and had reported it was just juvenile related. I hadn't seen the graffiti that he reported on and didn't make any further comments.

Recently there was a symposium held in Ocean City to educate local law enforcement agencies on how recognize gang activity in their communities and how to handle it. This was reportedly attended by all agencies within the realm. And just this week Joe just did a couple of stories about gang crime in Salisbury and Delmar two of which resulted serious injuries due the violence involved.

Unfortunately, the City of Salisbury's Mayor had made in a public statement recently that there were no gangs or prostitution in Salisbury. Since that time Mr. Albero has found quite a few a exceptions to this proclamation. Including the body of a known prostitute found in a dumpster.

While many folks would be shocked to think that gangs are here in our small town they are in fact here... and have been here for quite sometime. Gang culture relies on the rest of society ignorance of them and their ways of communicating.

Having grown up in Los Angeles, where the nations largest gangs originated my husband was familiar with the Crips and the Bloods. He warned me 20 years ago that he had seen Crips here, as he had recognized their clothing. I really didn't pay much attention to it, but the more I have read about the subject the more I am convinced he was probably right.

After last weeks violence in Salisbury and taking these pictures at the truck stop, I began researching to see what I could find. In today's instant information age I can tell you there is tons of information available online. A Google search brings you a plethora of information that is very informing and educational. You can even go to YouTube and type in a particular gangs names and see the tutorials on how to read the graffiti.

The graffiti at the Truck Stop says the word MAD with $$'s surrounding it and the letters ESC with arrows pointing south. In all of the information that I read it said that communities must be proactive in their fight against graffiti, as if left un re mediated more will pop up.

A community in Portland Oregon has a step by step way to handle the problem in their town.

1 . They document it

2. They match it to others that they have found

3. The repaint the entire side of the building in which it was found. They said that merely just blocking over it never worked.

They also stated that you may end up painting a building a couple of times but eventually they give up as they realize that their work will not be tolerated. It is the communites that take action that are the communities that get rid of it and keep it gone.

Another thing that I read is that every single letter and the way it is written is very important to the meaning of a piece of graffiti. Sometimes they are used as maps, and invitations, others to stake off territory, others to warn rival gangs and the use of $$$'s were always of sign for drug dealing as their means to make money.

So if you know the owners of the Truck Stop inform them of the information that you find on gangs and gang graffitti and ask them to paint the graffittii off of the building. As a community we must be proactive against yet another element to deal with.