Investigator Kelvin Griffin, with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department’s Gang Unit, gave a presentation to residents at the South Kilbourne Neighborhood Association meeting Thursday, November 6.
Gangs have been a hot topic in Columbia since the murder of Astrid Hayes in the Melrose Heights Neighborhood. The murder is suspected to be gang related; however, Griffin says there hasn’t been much talk about it among the gang members he knows, which is abnormal.
Along with his experience on the gang unit, Griffin uses social media to solve murders. Gang members will often use social media, like Facebook, to brag about their crimes.
He says if parents aren’t frequently checking their child’s cell phone, backpack, and Facebook/ Instagram webpage they are setting themselves up for trouble when it comes to gangs. Part of the problem is, parents don’t know what to look for.
There are three known gang affiliations in Columbia; Bloods, Crips, and Folk Nation. Bloods can be identified by the color of their clothing; red, pink, or green. Other identifying marks are a five pointed star, the number five, or a five point crown.
Blood gang members have a dress inference to the left, such as rolling up their left shirt sleeve or wearing their hat on the left side of their head.
Crips gang members wear baby blue or dark blue clothing. Their gang members represent the number three or six. Their dress inference is to the right.
Folk Nation members wear black or gray clothing and use a trident pointed upward as their identifying mark.
Residents who find any graffiti are asked to call the Richland County Sheriff ’s Department, instead of trying to remove it themselves. There is a way to tell if the graffiti is gang related or not. Gang graffiti looks rushed, while street art looks like whoever did it took their time.
Among those in attendance at Thursday’s meeting was Columbia City Councilman Moe Baddourah, who praised South Kilbourne Neighborhood Association president Michele Huggins for having such a touchy subject as the main speaking point on the agenda.
One location to look for gang activities are public restrooms, a popular place for gang-related graffiti.
There are certain words that are considered disrespectful to certain gangs: for Bloods it’s slobs, for Crips it’s crabs, and for Folk Nation it’s donuts.
If Griffin does identify someone as a gang member, he puts that person’s name in a database, where it stays for five years.
Along with his work as a member of the gang unit, Griffin also serves as a member of the R.E.A.D.Y. program, Richland County Educating and Deterring Youth, a program offered for youth ages 12-16 who may be displaying behavior problems.
Griffin says, to date, approximately 1,500 boys and girls have gone through the program. The success rate is greater than 80%. Parents interested in signing their child up for the program must pay a $10 fee, $20 for out-of-county parents.
Parents are asked to bring their child to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department headquarters on Friday, the day the program begins, at 4 p.m. and are to be picked up at 5:30 a.m. the next morning.
Griffin says the object of the program is to make the experience so bad, the child never wants to return.
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