Staff Writer

If a parent suspects a child is involved in gang activity, he or she needs to act swiftly and unapologetically, a gang investigator with the Richland County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday.

Vince Goggins was the main speaker during a gang information meeting at Sims Jr. High School attended by around 200 people, including law officers, church leaders and school district personnel.

“That's your house, you get in that room and tear it up,” Goggins said. He listed signs of gang involvement a parent can look for, including symbols, the way clothing is worn, certain tattoos and jewelry, money from an unexplained source and a change in attitude that includes strong disrespect for authority.

The information meeting was sponsored by the Union Public Safety Department, the Union County Sheriff's Office, Corinth Baptist Church and Union County Schools.

Goggins, who is president of the South Carolina Association of School Resource Officers, began his presentation with a video that showed a group of school students talking in front of their school. One teen-ager had on baggy pants and a loose shirt that was not tucked in.

The video cut to an inside scene and showed the boy pulling an assortment of weapons from his pants, including one long arm and several handguns - at least one semi-automatic model. This brought remarks of surprise from several in the audience.

“Statistics have shown if guys or females are bringing weapons to school, they normally keep them in their waistband,” Goggins said.

Goggins said if local law enforcement doesn't have a specialized gang investigation unit, school resource officers are the main source of information about gang activity. He said he relies heavily on Richland County's 54 SROs, who keep up to date on trends.

“Those guys are going to be your eyes and ears,” he said. “They are going to let you know what's going on in your community.”

Goggins traced the history of several of the most nationally known gangs, including the Crips, Bloods, Folk Nation and People Nation. He showed slides of gang identifiers, including the colors and symbols they use, such as the six-sided Star of David and different hand signs.

Jerseys with the last name of former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick on the back were popular with members of the Bloods. The name to them symbolized “Very Important Crip Killer.”

Graffiti is often a gang's “newspaper” for details of what is going on in it and with other gangs. Those who notice such markings should call police so it can be recorded. One of the first indicators of gang activity is graffiti on the back of street signs marking a gang's territory.

Some gang members get Stars of David cut into the back of their head when their hair is cut and sport brands of different symbols.

Ultimately, most gang members end up dead or in prison, Goggins said. Hw showed a slide of one dead gang member under the back tire of an 18-wheeler he tried to hijack. Another picture showed a young gang member in his coffin, his red bandana on top of his body.

He detailed the story of a Columbia girl who had been involved in a gang but separated herself from it as she got ready to start college. She went to a party and saw members of a rival gang. As she and others were leaving in vehicles, 18 shots rang out. Only one struck a car - hers. She died instantly from a bullet through the back of her head. Goggins showed pictures of her funeral.

“She was trying to get her life on track but her history caught up with her,” she said.

What can parents to do stop a child from joining a gang? Goggins said they can talk to teachers and school resource officers about a child's behavior. They should participate in a child's education. They should help their child feel safe, self-confident and respected, establish rules, set limits and be consistent, ask questions and listen.

Once a big city problem, gang activity is filtering into rural communities where new members are being recruited, Goggins said.

“I applaud Union County for inviting me here,” he said. “There are still a lot of communities with their head in the sand.”

Two people on the audience said they were witnesses to gang-related incidents.

The Rev. J.A. Calhoun of Corinth Baptist Church, who came up with the idea for the meeting, said a young man at his church gave a gang sign.

Calhoun said the boy - not a regular church attender - came in one Sunday and Calhoun spoke to him from the pulpit. The boy hailed him with a hand sign, which Calhoun innocently imitated. Calhoun said his wife, Ruby, a career specialist at Byrnes High School recognized the sign and told him never to do that again.

Dr. Alisahah Cole, a new physician in Union, said a boy came to the office where she works twice in November wearing gang colors.

“The second time I confronted him and asked him not do wear those to the office again,” she said. “I asked if this was in Union and he said, ‘We're world-wide.'”

Several ideas were given for what the next step in gang prevention should be.

Calhoun said the regional director for Boys and Girls Clubs of America will conduct a meeting on March 19 at Corinth Baptist. The public is invited.

Union businessman and community volunteer Mickey Gist and Dale Goff with Union County Schools mentioned that the school district at one time had a strong mentoring program, but volunteers have dwindled. Mrs. Goff said mentoring training would be available for anyone who wants it.

Sheriff Howard Wells said Union County is ripe for gang activity to blossom.

“We have to come together to share our resources,” he said.