Gangs increasingly leaving mark on Montana prisons

 

DEER LODGE — When the inmate arrived at Montana State Prison in 2002, officials routinely catalogued his tattoos and noted one that simply read "13." What they didn't realize for almost two years was the number was a gang reference to "M," the 13th letter of the alphabet and shorthand for the Mexican Mafia, which is connected to one the most widely recognized gangs in the country.

 

That incident was part of state corrections officials' awakening to a problem that has plagued many other prisons around the country for years. Gangs thriving on the streets have been transplanted behind bars as members are arrested and convicted, catering to inmates looking for protection or a sense of belonging, and often spawning intimidation, violence and other crimes behind bars.

 

"It ran under the radar for a while," said Bill Slaughter, Corrections Department director. "We're trying to stay ahead of the game. It's a matter of knowing what we're dealing with. We have a lot to learn."

 

While Montana corrections officials acknowledge they were slow to recognize the gang problem in their institutions, they now see prison gangs as one of the biggest security problems facing the prison system, constantly teetering on the edge of violence or sparking a major disturbance in the prisons. Members can be brazen, volatile and dangerous even in the confines of a penitentiary.

 

"It's a growing concern to me," said Mike Mahoney, warden of the state prison. "That is the hierarchy of the gang mentality: 'Not only are we here, but we're the bad guys. You don't screw with this group or that group.' Gangs will say, 'We left our mark."'

 

While gangs in Montana's corrections system are universally thought to have been discovered about two years ago, most officials acknowledge they likely operated for some years before that.

 

In 2003, authorities inadvertently sent 13 members of a gang to the privately run Crossroads Correctional Center at Shelby. The inmates were soon linked to a surge of assaults. Warden Jim MacDonald said the same inmates, sporting the same tattoos, were involved in all the attacks.

 

"We found we had an organized group, rather than just a couple of thugs going around," he recalled.

 

Mahoney said the growth of gangs in Montana's prison didn't happen overnight, but occurred over time as criminals and inmates from other states with more gang prevalence — both behind bars and on the streets — made their way to Montana.

 

"We can start seeing different patterns to inmate assaults; they're not as random as you think they are," he said. "We're starting to connect the dots."

 

MacDonald, whose company operates 63 prisons in 19 states and the District of Columbia, considers Montana a latecomer to the prison gang problem because the system is relatively small. "Officials know their inmates and are able to counteract those forces trying to develop a gang," he said.

 

Montana State Prison officials believe one out of 10 inmates is a gang member or associated with a gang member. That's a far cry from the national estimate of one out of four inmates, a figure some experts think is low.

 

George Knox, director of the National Gang Crime Research Center, considers gangs the third greatest problem facing corrections — after overcrowding and inadequate funding. Montana apparently is just beginning to realize that, he said.

 

"The state has not been isolated from it," he said. "The state has the same gangs as other states. There's a natural migration of certain families as they move from violent areas and bring young gang members with them. They end up transplanting the gang problem from one area to another."

 

"Inmates released from other facilities in other states come into this facility and bring their baggage with them," MacDonald said of his 500-inmate Shelby prison.

 

And now, Mahoney sees gang activity the major worry facing corrections in Montana.

 

At Montana State Prison, there are about a half dozen gangs among the 1,400 inmates, officials say.

 

They go by such names as Surenos, Lil' Valley Locos, Gangster Disciples, Skinheads and Peckerwoods.

 

Sureno, Spanish for "southerner," is probably the most active. It is the fastest-growing gang in the country and is tied to the Mexican Mafia, officials say.

 

They trace the gang's birth in Montana corrections facilities to 1997, when a young gang member who moved from Yakima, Wash., to Havre got into trouble and was sent to the Pine Hills reform school in Miles City.

 

Gangs have their individual signs — a star, a pyramid, pitchfork, crown, numbers — that have been found on cell walls, food trays, clothes and cell furnishings.

 

Corrections officials look for gang symbols when processing new inmates, but some inmates get gang tattoos while in prison. In shakedowns of cells, officers find documents spelling out the structure, bylaws and leaders of prison gangs.

 

Gangs are less evident in the smaller regional prison at Glendive where the inmate population makes it more difficult for gang members to go unnoticed.

 

"It comes and goes," Maj. Jeff Walters, administrator, said of gang activity among his 144 inmates. "But it's always an issue in managing the inmate population that has to be considered."

 

Jim Hunter, superintendent at Pine Hills, said the boys there mostly are "a lot of wannabes, kids coming and claiming affiliation with certain street gangs."

 

But, with just 85 boys mostly ages 15-17, the school has one direct-care staff member for every eight juveniles, he said. "We have better control than those prisons with populations over 1,000 or even in the hundreds. The supervision is much higher; we're able to observe and intervene."

 

Lt. Dan Hess, the state prison's resident expert on gangs, said the corrections system creates an environment ripe for gangs because of what they offer inmates.

 

Some inmates are members when they arrive, others become members for protection and some want a sense of camaraderie in their lives, Hess said.

 

But prison gangs are dangerous, using violence or just the threat of it to intimidate or extort from vulnerable inmates, a practice called bulldogging. They try to control inmates' access to drugs, tobacco and other contraband; the recreation yard; gymnasium; or phones.

 

"It's all about power and it's all about control," Hess said.

 

"They just prey off weaker individuals," added MacDonald, "prompting that person to seek protection from another gang or staff."

 

Corrections officials try to prevent gang activity by identifying members as they arrive or when they join afterward, educating staff on spotting signs of gang activity and ensuring inmates know the prison has zero tolerance for gang activity in prison.

 

Being a gang member in prison is not a violation of rules and regulations, but participating in any organized gang actions — including recruitment of new members or flashing of gang hand signs — will land an inmate in administrative segregation. That means locked in a high-security cell for 23 hours a day.

 

As the problem worsens, Mahoney said, the prison will need additional high-security housing to deal with the worst troublemakers and require more staff specially trained to diffuse gang confrontations and recognize symptoms of brewing trouble.