Prison gangs reaching through bars

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, May 27, 2003 | by Chris De Benedetti, STAFF WRITER

HAYWARD -- If you think what happens within prison walls doesn't affect a law-abiding community on the outside, think again.

Prison gangs, such as Aryan Brotherhood, Mexican Mafia and Black Guerilla Family, are part of the ugly world that exists behind bars.

They may sound like B-movie characters, but the negative effects gang members can have on a neighborhood once out of prison can be all too real.

And with a high number of parolees from Bay Area prisons resettling in Oakland and surrounding East Bay communities, the violence that permeates a prison gang member's life sometimes becomes local residents' problems.

Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown recently tied Oakland's high murder rate to the number of parolees being sent straight from prison to East Bay cities, complaining that the state is dumping dangerous people on his city.

Officer Richard Butler of the Hayward Police Department will address that same potential problem in a community lecture on prison gangs at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the community room, downstairs at Southland Mall in Hayward.

Butler's presentation will be part of a monthly members meeting of Hayward Neighborhood Alert, a grass-roots group that seeks to unify crime prevention efforts among police and neighborhood leaders.

"Prison gangs are beginning to be implicated in crime outside of prisons," said Bill Quirk, publicity chair for Hayward Neighborhood Alert.

"As measures are taken to control these gangs, some measures -- such as shipping gang leaders out of state -- are controversial."

Encouraging citizen involvement in improving the safety of their own neighborhoods has been the group's mission since it started more than 25 years ago.

Quirk, a longtime Hayward area resident, said that the grass- roots group benefits from the fact that the Hayward Police Department supports and believes in them. Conversely, the involvement of Hayward citizens is crucial in preventing crime, as residents are the eyes and ears of the police department, he said.

Recognizing potential crime trends, such as the negative effects of prison gangs, can only be done by staying involved, said Hayward Neighborhood Alert officials.

"Citizens need to understand these issues and talk to their (community) representatives about taking appropriate action," Quirk said.

For more information on Hayward Neighborhood Alert, call (510) 293- 7122.

Chris De Benedetti covers crime, public safety, senior and San Lorenzo issues. Contact him at (510) 293-2473 or cdebenedetti-

@angnewspapers.com .