What may look like a simple scribble on a garage door or the side of a building can mean a lot more to Sgt. Gene Talsma.
As a veteran gang specialist for the Cicero Police Department, Talsma knows that graffiti spray one day can warn of a turf war the next.
Gang symbols are “kind of hard to read for regular people,” he said. “But for us policemen, it’s a billboard that, There’s heat coming.”
To help schools, neighborhoods and parents understand what these signs might mean, Talsma has put together a manual on gangs in the Chicago area, which Cicero is now distributing to homes, schools and at community meetings.
The manual includes drawings and photographs of the gang signs, along with descriptions of the gangs in the area.
Talsma said if parents are aware of the symbols, they can keep an eye out for them on their children’s notebooks or clothing.
“Just having a knowledge of what this is, if the parents see it, a lot of times they can talk to the kids themselves and do some prevention before the gangs get ahold of them,” he said.
