TEEN GANGS FIND VOICE ON WEB

Parents, Officials Worry Social Networking Sites Could Convert Wannabes

Teen gang members and wannabes are finding a platform in cyberspace
to brag, bully and blog about their exploits.

Social networking sites feature Dallas-area youths dressed up
gangster-style and flashing gang signs, holding guns and knives,
getting tattooed or partying with marijuana. Common images include
pit bulls, gang pledges and rivals' colored flags on fire.

Many of the Web postings come from kids who merely want to imitate
the gangster image, which is not illegal, investigators say. But they
add that they have to take the sites seriously because some of the
postings come from serious gang members and many of the "wannabes"
can become real dangers.

Irving's Nimitz High School Resource Officer Ken Richardson says
parents need to take the words and photos posted by their children
seriously, too.

"A lot of times they're shocked," he said of the images he's shown to
parents. "To me if they're already acting out, taking pictures and
throwing gang signs, the parents should be looking at that and
talking with their kids."

Gang-related postings come from teens all over, with screen names
such as "oakcliff-crip" in Dallas and "bloodthuglife213" in Grand
Prairie. The sites include MySpace and MiGente.com as well as a new
site, Bebo.com.

Bebo officials say membership among schools spreads through word of
mouth and note that Irving high school students are "very active,"
with 1,200 to 1,500 users per school. That may be because the school
district provides every high school student with a laptop and
wireless Internet access.

Most of the postings on Bebo are not gang-themed. But a feature on
the home page for each school allows users to design online graffiti
bricks on what's called "The Wall."

In Irving, the bricks include prominent references to the mostly
Hispanic gangs "South Side 13" in blue scrawl or "West Side 12" in
red. Screen names include "lil salvatrucho13," for the infamous
Salvadoran gang MS-13; "2800bloc," referring to a block of Pioneer
Drive where police have noted gang activity; "surcrips;" and "wssidegangster."

These cyber-gangsters conduct online polls asking what color or gang
teens represent. They arrange fights in person and rehash past victories.

One young user, who calls himself Jose, pledges his allegiance to the
Surenos 13 gang: click click bang bang. In a blurry photo he stands
holding what appears to be a rifle in front of a Mexican flag. "I
represent that southside," he writes. "So don't run up and try all
that wack [expletive] cuz I will shoot ... "

"Get strapped quik!!!" another teen writes. "I aint playin!!!"

Several teens responded to a reporter's inquiry about their postings
with profanity and threats. One wrote "duh we in a gang," before
bragging he was in an FBI book of pictures of West Side 12 gang members.

"I do this cus im proud of my family, my friends and mostly the
hood," wrote a 15-year-old who goes by the screen name "wstwix."
"it's a promise that u keep 4 the futer generation how to protect ur
neighbors show every body that were not punks that we are willing to
die 4 la raza u know take a bullet 4 each other."

Monitoring Use

Bebo vice president Jim Scheinman said the site may remove
inappropriate content if a member complains about it. The company
also is adding a chief safety officer.

For its part, the Irving school district already blocks access to
social networking Web sites. But students get around the filters and
are often online during school hours.

Superintendent Jack Singley said such activity is an "inappropriate
use" of the laptops that the district provides. But he also noted
that it's difficult to tell whether students are using their school
computers or home computers to post.

Students who violate the district's policy on acceptable laptop use
may be punished or have their laptops erased and restored, which
costs them $15.

Officials say they may also ban cyber-bullying - threatening or
harassing others online - in their student code of conduct.

"It's a growth and maturity issue, not necessarily a public education
issue," Mr. Singley said.

He and other educators call for more parental supervision.

Maria de la luz Flores, whose children attend Nimitz High, said
Latino parents may be at a disadvantage because of language barriers
or a lack of education.

"There are many parents who know very little about computers," said
Ms. Flores, a Mexican immigrant who teaches a computer class to
adults. "We need more classes so parents will benefit from the information."

Wesley Fryer, who blogs about technology in education from his office
at Texas Tech University, said school districts can't simply block
Web sites out of fear - they must foster discussion on appropriate
use. He compares it to avoiding talking about safe sex because of
worries the information will encourage sex.

"Right now we see most school districts banning these sites but not
addressing how they should be dealt with," he said. "This is a
conversation everybody should be having."

Police Tool

Irving and Dallas police say the sites help them keep tabs on gangs:
which ones are active, details about recent incidents, new trends in
dress and language. Some members even post photos of themselves
creating graffiti.

"Everybody wants to act like a thug or a gangster," said Sgt. Mark
Langford of the Dallas police gang unit, which mostly monitors My
Space.com. "But in the middle of all that, there are nuggets of truth."

Irving gang investigator Brett Burkett said he saves students' online
profiles, just in case. "During an interview they may say, 'No way
I'm in a gang,' and then we show it [their profile] to them," he said.

Precisely what all the Web traffic says about gangs in Irving,
however, is a subject of some debate.

Irving police say they have no specific numbers on gang-related
arrests or assaults and haven't seen other evidence of a growing
threat. "While we have gang activity, it's not reached a level that
our officers are looking at an increase or decrease," Irving Police
Chief Larry Boyd said.

But Omar Jahwar of the gang intervention program Vision Regeneration
said he's met with gang members in Irving. He said that even if the
Web sites are full of wannabes, they often precede the "real deal."

"On a civic level, I don't think they're ready to admit how severe
their gang problem is," he said. "You've got this urban ideal matched
with suburban money. You've got the Las Colinas business community
side of the world saying we are not Dallas and the kids saying we are."