Civilian Police Academy - Class 3 Part 2

What I'm reading: Someone Like Him by Karen Kendall

Part two of our class was Gangs. Lots of surprises here, but then, when you live in a community that makes its money from tourism, I suppose one can see how it's not going to be making headlines. Also -- calling attention to them is exactly what they want, so law enforcement isn't going to give them that satisfaction.

However, the reality is, there are gangs in central Florida, and the Sheriff's Office does what it can with a meager 7 agent team. I'm sure they're all frustrated that despite their efforts, it's almost impossible to get the courts to file, so these folks are simply released. Also, there are strict federal guidelines about being able to call someone a gang member, associate, or pending. Since gangs don't have jurisdictional boundaries, but law enforcement does, the gang agents here are deputized FBI agents as well, so they have more mobility.

We also got a crash course in gang tattoos and graffiti.

Next time, we have a road trip to the Communication Center. I'm looking forward to it. I'm also looking forward to getting away for a couple of days. I plan to hunker down in my hotel room while my husband is at meetings, etc., and see if I can figure out how to fix chapter 26. I'm ok up to that point, but my research is revealing things that mean I have to make some changes. Too bad I'm so anal about accuracy!