MS-13:
America's Most Dangerous Gang
Leslie
K. Penny
Module
6 Research Assignment 4
Chancellor
University
MS-13:
America's Most Dangerous Gang
MS-13, also
known as Mara Salvatrucha, got their roots from Salvador who are composed of
Salvadoran nationals or first generation Salvadoran-Americans, Hondurans,
Guatemalans, Mexicans, and other Central and South American immigrants (The MS-13 Threat A National Assessment, 2013). According to the FBI database, which is a
little dated, MS-13 operates in at least 42 states in the US including the
District of Columbia with members
nationwide ranging from 6,000-10,000 with a threat highest in the Western and
Northeastern parts of the US, where the most Salvadoran immigrants are
populated (The MS-13 Threat A National Assessment, 2013).
The Federal
Bureau of Investigation reports that MS-13 are involved in a ample range of
criminal activity that includes: drug distribution, murder, rape, prostitution,
robbery, home invasions, immigration offenses, kidnapping, carjackings/auto
thefts, and vandalism (The MS-13 Threat A National Assessment, 2013). That is quite the range of criminal activity
for authorities to keep up with.
Innocent victims are caught in the middle of the violence contributing
to the problems and deaths in communities.
However, "violence is not restricted to civilians, rival gang
members, and clique traitors; the gang will go after cops" (Domash).
Because of
Ms-13's growth throughout the states, the FBI formed a National Gang Task Force
in December 2004 to help counteract their continuous presence (MS-13
National Gang Task Force).
This task force uses intelligence combined with expertise, resources,
and jurisdiction of federal agencies that investigates this particular violent
international street gang who "focuses on maximizing the flow of
information and intelligence, coordinating investigations nationally and
internationally, and helping state and local law enforcement improve operations
and prosecutions targeting MS-13" (MS-13 National Gang Task Force).
The task
force has incorporated initiatives to work together in their fight against
MS-13. The Central American Fingerprint
Exploitation (CAFE) initiative works to gather criminal fingerprints from the
Central American region and to combine those fingerprints and associated
criminal records in the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System
database (MS-13 National Gang Task Force). Other initiatives that integrated in the task
force include:
·
The
Central American Law Enforcement Exchange (CALEE) Initiative creates
opportunities for U.S. and Central American law enforcement personnel to
participate in exchange programs to strengthen gang prevention and intervention
techniques and to build law enforcement capacity.
·
The
Central American Intelligence Program (CAIP) Initiative provides training
opportunities to enhance the collection, analysis, and exchange of intelligence
between U.S. and Central American law enforcement agencies in the fight against
transnational criminal organizations.
·
The
Central American Criminal History Information Program (CHIP) Initiative
provides foreign law enforcement agencies with criminal history information
regarding individuals being deported to their home country.
·
In
partnership with the Policia Nacional Civil (PNC) of El Salvador, Honduras, and
Guatemala, the FBI established the Transnational Anti-Gang (TAG) Task Force
Initiative to combat transnational gangs in Central America and the U.S. Each
Tag task force is staffed with PNC and FBI personnel.
My suggestions
to help stop these gangs are ideas that many have already mulled over. Such as hitting harder at their financial
core. MS-13 members strong-arm their way
into businesses of America (DeLuca, 2012) but if businesses feel they have a foot
to stand on with the help of officials then we could stop some of the
corruption there. I know, easier said
than done. Considering their strong hold
is predominantly Hispanic communities, we would have to start there and I am
not sure if the FBI would be a very welcomed sight in their community. There would have to be moles, so to speak, to
integrate in the community for efforts to take hold. I personally think gangs are part of our
society and will never become extinct no matter how hard our efforts are.
Works Cited
DeLuca, M. (2012, 10 17). Will Treasury's
Crackdown on MS-13 Work? Retrieved 06 15, 2013, from The Daily Beast:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/17/will-treasury-s-crackdown-on-ms-13-work.html
Domash, S. F. (n.d.). America's
Most Dangerous Gang. Retrieved June 15, 2013, from American Patriot
Friends Network: http://www.apfn.org/APFN/ms-13.htm
MS-13 National Gang
Task Force. (n.d.). Retrieved 06 15,
2013, from The FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation:
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/vc_majorthefts/gangs/gangs_ms13taskforce
The MS-13 Threat A
National Assessment. (2013, 06 15).
Retrieved 01 14, 2001, from The FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation:
http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2008/january/ms13_011408
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