ANDERSON — As you’d expect, just as there are gang members in Indiana’s prisons, there are gang members in the Madison County Jail.
Vice Lords, Black Gangster Disciples and members of the Aryan Brotherhood can all be found from time to time inside the county’s lockup, according to the jail’s unofficial gang information coordinator.
“We have gangsters, of course,” said Civilian Jail Officer Scott Bronner. “But I think they have to get along because of the way the jail is set up. I think it’s just an unwritten rule. It’s more like, ‘I’m just here to do my time. I don’t want a new charge.’ When they go to prison, it’s a totally different world.
“They know that jail is radically different from prison,” Bronner continued. “There’s not as many privileges. There’s no yard to go to, (and) everything is pretty intimate. They’re in a situation where they have to get along.”
Bronner, who attended a two-day law enforcement conference on gangs in Las Vegas in December, said he sees the signs of gang presence behind the jailhouse walls.
“I see a lot of tattoos, a lot of hand signs that relate to their set,” Bronner said.
Bronner said there’s only one real gang operating in Madison County — the Black Gangster DisciplesSDick 4/13/08 more info on this gang, numbers, etc? What makes it “real” — so there’s not much gang conflict in the jail.
“I don’t see too big of a problem with gangs,” Jail Commander Andy Williams said. “We’re holding inmates from Madison County. We’re not holding a diversity of gangs in the Madison County Jail.”
The Gangster Disciples tattoos are generally some depiction of a heart with a devil’s tail and angel wings, crossed by a pair of pitchforks.
There’s also been members of the Aryan Brotherhood, Vice LordsSDick 4/13/08 a brief description of these gangs ... SUnderwood 4/15/08 A breakout with Jason’s story on prisons gives Aryan Brotherhood details; perhaps we could add details about the Vice Lords and Black Gangster Disciples and members of the various Latin gangs that have been incarcerated in the jail. Williams estimated that, on any given day, about 45 percent of the jail’s population is composed of active gang members. In early April, he said, members of the Black Gangster Disciples and Aryan Brotherhood were being housed.
Williams said the jail’s average daily population was 217 inmates in 2007.
But even with that seemingly large percentage of gang members, Bronner said the average low-level offender, like someone picked up for drunken driven or shoplifting, doesn’t have much of a threat of being harmed by a gang member.
“The only way they’d be in trouble is if you’re a threat to them, or if you’ve caused a problem,” he said. “I don’t think the average guy coming in here on a DUI is in danger unless they cross the gangsters.”
Bronner said once a gang-affiliated inmate starts acting up, he’s generally harder to get under control. He said it’s the main difference between gang members in the jail and a non-affiliated inmate.
“They’re a little harder to contain once they’re in that zone,” Bronner said. “Once they show out, they really show out.
“Really, they only want a little respect,” he continued. “It’s all about respect. If you treat them with respect, they’ll treat you with respect.”
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