Shane Hansen

Criminal Justice
12/3/14

The Gang Unit and the Tongan Crip Gang

When I think of the police force, I think of the men in uniform out on the streets in their
cop cars driving around and giving tickets to people. This is what I thought at least before I took
this Criminal Justice class. There are many divisions within the police force. They each have
their own goals and responsibilities. One division that I have a big interest in is the Gang Unit.
The Metro Gang Unit began in 1990 to handle all gang activity in the Salt Lake area. It may be a
surprise to some, but there is a large population of gangs here in Salt Lake City.
I grew up with a lot of friends of all races who were or are in gangs. The majority of
them have been of the Polynesian race and are members of the Tongan Crip gangs or for short,
the TCG. A few as well in the Sons of Samoa and the Baby Regulators. From the age of 13 or 14
years old, I saw many gang fights, drug deals, etc. I have seen friends I have played football with
go to jail at a young age and some are still in jail. A few have been involved in murders or have
been killed. I have seen the effects of gangs in the neighborhoods here in Salt Lake and to the
friends of mine and their families. This is what peaks my interest in this division of the police
force. My purpose for writing this paper is to explain the role of the gang unit, discuss the
lifestyle of the Tongan Crip gang, and how the gang unit is trying to reduce the gang violence
here in Salt Lake City.

In the Salt Lake County police force, the gang unit is called the Metro Gang Unit. A
special division in the police force to help make our neighborhoods safe from any type of danger
which is gang related. I did some research on the gang unit in general and specifically in Salt
Lake County. On the Metro Gang Unit webpage, it states their mission. It states,
The mission of the Salt Lake Area Gang Project, also known as Metro Gang Unit, is to identify, reduce,
and prevent criminal gang activity through public education and proactive enforcement in Salt Lake County and the
surrounding areas. When appropriate, provide intelligence information and investigative assistance to outside law
enforcement agencies (Metro Gang Unit).

As I have researched more about the gang unit, I found that intelligence and identification is their
number one priority. They want to always be one step ahead of the gangs moves. They record
every little detail, even at a little traffic stop if it involves a gang member in hopes to solve the
crime before it even happens. They are very pro-active in this and it has shown to be helping to
reduce the gang activity. They also have flyers and websites to inform the public about the
different gangs here in Salt Lake City and how to recognize them. They talk about ways that
citizens can protect their neighborhoods and family. It is a very tough unit to be a part of and
they themselves need to be very knowledagble about the gangs.
In an article written by Whittney Evans, she talks about the gangs here in Salt Lake and
in an interview with Sgt. Lex Bell of the Metro Gang Unit, says that, We live and die by
intelligence. In the Metro Gang Unit, that is the No. 1 thing were known for, is intelligence. We
know whos who in the zoo, and we know how to find it out if we need to (Evans). This is
essential in reducing the gang activity. It is important to understand the reason why these young
kids want to be in a gang and what each specific gangs goals and purpose are. In other cases, it
is much needed to use force to stop these crimes from occurring. Detective Nate Clark of the
Unified Police Department was quoted by Pat Reavy in an article about taking gangs off Salt

Lake streets. Clark very strongly stated, We dont come out here and just respond to gang
problems, thats not what were about. Were out here to actually put the fear of God into the
gang members and stop problems before they actually occur (Reavy). The only problem with
this is that it could potentially cause more violence between the gangs and police instead of
creating peace.
There are many reasons why one would want to join a gang. Unlike larger neighborhoods
such as Los Angeles or Chicago, there is no turf issues. In those big neighborhoods each gang
can run a single block. Here in Salt Lake, there are multiple gangs in one block or neighborhood.
Of course this doesnt mean that they all get along, but owning their own turf is not an issue for
them. For a lot of gangs its about money. Detective Clark expounded on this point.
"It doesn't matter what gang you're with. As long as there's an opportunity to make money, it doesn't matter who
you associate with or who you collaborate with," he said. "The narcotics world out here, or stolen vehicles, identity
theft, check fraud, forgery, aggravated assaults, home invasions it's all kind of tied together and the gang word is
inseparable from it. In fact, the allure of money is one of the ways gangs can entice juveniles into joining. We will
always have a gang problem because we are not going to be able to tell a 19-year-old to go back to high school to
finish his diploma and start working at Wendy's for $8 an hour when they can go out and make $1000 a night
selling drugs, stealing cars, fencing stolen property, identity theft -- it's just never going to happen (Reavy).

`This

is a great reason as to why kids join gangs and drop out of school. Why would they work or

go to school if they can make $1000 a night. For some, it is not always about money. Some join
gangs because they want to fit in and want to belong to something. For others its the status of a
gang member that will give them power, drugs, sex, and attention. It may even be a family trend
to be in a gang. For the Tongan Crip gang, its about showing off Polynesian pride and power.
They want to be the meanest and most bad gang around. They have definitely earned themselves
that representation over the last couple decades.

An interesting fact about the Tongan Crip gang is that the majority of the members are
very religious. Many belong to the LDS faith as their ancestors moved from Tonga to United
States to get closer to the religion. Many settled in California, where gang violence was erupting.
Due to the heavy gang violence, many of them moved to Salt Lake again to get closer to the
church as Salt Lake is the home of the LDS church. Ron Stallworth, a founder of the gang unit
said, "I was investigating a drive-by firebombing and when we got the guy, we found the Book
of Mormon in his hip pocket. He was studying for his mission while he was out there tossing
Molotov cocktails. (Johnson)'' In another case, authorities recovered photos showing a suspected
TCG member on his Mormon mission, flashing gang signs to his fellow gang members back
home. Stallworth also describes how investigators sometimes located TCG suspects by staking
out their churches. It is an interesting thought to think that on the weekends, they are out
committing these crimes, then Sunday comes and they are going to church, reading scriptures.
The TCGs have become one of the most violent gangs in Salt Lake. In May, Siale
Angilau, a member of the Tongan Crip gang was killed by a U.S. Marshall in the federal
courthouse. He was shot while attacking another gang member on the witness stand. He was on
trial along with many other members of the TCG were on trial under federal racketeering charges
or RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act). Again, in the article written by
Evans, Sgt. Bell says that RICO is sometimes the only way to send a message to criminals. RICO
was originally used to bring down the Mafia the entire Mafia. This is the goal the Metro Gang
Unit has. They do not just want to take down a couple, but the entire gang itself. For this reason,
it has been very difficult for the police to reduce the gang activity from the TCG. Bell shares his
frustration about this. We know how hard we work and how much we do care about making the
world a better place, and how frustrating it can be to us to have arrested the same person six

times in two months. (Evans) On the other side of this argument, the Polynesian families and
the gang itself feel that this is not right. They claim that many of the crimes committed are too
minor for RICO and that many people dont deserve that big of punishment. Again, to the police,
they want gangs to be gone, and they will send that message until it happens.

As Detective Clark stated, it is very unlikely that the gang problem will go away
completely. Because of the brave men and woman of the gang unit, it has decreased in some
areas over the past few years. It is a tough mission, but it will be a slow process. As they receive
intelligence and continue to be pro-active in reducing gang violence, we will see progress in our
neighborhoods and we can feel safe. I have a lot of respect for the gang unit, and even though I
have friends who involved in the TCG and other gangs, I hope that the violence and problems
that come with gangs will soon to be done away with. It is important for us as citizens to become
knowledgeable in these things and do our part to help the Metro Gang Unit. We must realize that
even in a state that is known to be very religious, there is a large population of different gangs
and that there is a problem that needs to be solved.

Works Cited
Evans, Whittney. Grappling with Gangs, Salt Lake City Turns to Racketeering Laws. 18 June
2014.
Johnson, Kevin. Crips in Utah: Gang culture invades an unlikely turf. 26 May 2014. 30
November 2014.
Metro Gang Unit. 1 December 2014.
Reavy, Pat. Metro Gang Unit working to take gang members off Salt Lake streets. 6 April 2011.