Recognition and Interpretation
by Sergeant Ken Whitley
Tats, Tacs or Ink, whatever slang term you use to describe
tattoos there’s one thing you can’t get around. Tattoo recognition and
interpretation is a valuable tool when dealing with state prison parolees. A
convict’s ink will tell you three sweet pieces of info about him.Who he is, what
he’s done and where he’s been. Lets first talk about joint tats in general.
Joint ink starts out as one color. Blue. It may turn black or purple according to the sun and the skin pigment but it usually starts out blue. If you see other colors besides blue, or it’s variations, the tat probably is not a true joint tat. There are two ways of giving a tat. Free hand, which most are, or machine. Free hands a no brainer. You get some ink, usually out of a pen, and you dip a needle, usually a straight pen, and you use the Polynesian method. That is a series of dots to form a picture or word. These tats are crude and sloppy and very noticeable. The second method is the machine. A home made tat machine consists of a slot car motor, a hollowed out ball point pin, some guitar string and a 9 volt battery. Oh ya and the ink. The hollowed out pen is wired or taped to the motor facing away from it. The guitar string is wrapped around the arm of the motor and run through the pen so it sticks out about a 16th of an inch out the end. Hook up a flashlight battery and its tat time. When the battery is hooked up, the motor arm vibrates which moves the guitar string back and forth rapidly in and out of the end of the pen and as long as you keep dipping the end in the ink, you can create a tattoo. Machine ink jobs are more detailed because of the method but also because they are usually done with stencils. Getting caught giving a tat or getting one in the joint is a serious crono. You remember, a 115. A write up. It spreads decease inside the institution.
OK, lets talk about the three things the ink tells you. First of
all, who he is. Many times the convict will have his name or street name on him. I have
even heard of having one’s CDC # put on. Also a loved ones name may help you ID him.
What he’s done often relates to his crimes. For example if he carries a gun, a
picture of the weapon maybe on him. If the gun is pictured from the side this means he
carries a gun. If the weapon is pointed outward, this means he is a shooter. Where
he’s been has to do with the joints he has called home. The ink in relation to the
joints he’s been in will be landmarks. Landmarks such as walls, gun towers, cell
doors or windows and bob wire. Remember to take your time and read the ink.
Lets talk a bit about some common ink you may see and what it means.
Tattoos and their Meaning
Clock faces without
hands..............................................................Doing time
Tombstones with numbers on them................................................The years
they were inside
Tombstones with numbers and RIP................................................Mourning
the death of a friend
Spider or cobb webs on elbows or shoulders...................................Doing time
Eight
balls.......................................................................................Behind
the eight ball or bad luck
One laughing face, one crying face..................................................Play
now, pay later or my happy life, my sad life
SWP................................................................................................Supreme
white power
Peckerwood.....................................................................................White
pride ( males )
Featherwood....................................................................................White
pride ( females )
Viking
themes..................................................................................Common
Caucasian tat
Granite block
walls...........................................................................Time in
Old Folsom Prison
100 %
pure........................................................................................Pure
white or anglo
Cell window with sun or bird showing...............................................Waiting
to get out
Face of female
crying........................................................................Has someone
on the outside waiting
SUR...................................................................................................Southerner
Norteano............................................................................................Northerner
Prison block wall with bricks falling outward.....................................Inside
wanting to get out
PRISON GANG TATS
Mexican Mafia:
Eagle with snake in it’s mouth sitting on the letters EME.
A black hand.
“ EME “
A black hand with the letters EME in the palm." Mafia Mexicana "
“ MM “
Nuestra Familia:
“ NF “
“ NS “
A sombrero covering a machete dripping blood
Aryan Brotherhood:
Swastika covered with a three leaf clover. In the leaves of the clover are
“ AB “ and “ 666 “
“ SWP “
100 % pure
“ AB “
“ Peckerwood “
Picture of a bluebird
Black Guerrilla Family:
Dragon attacking a prison gun tower
Two hands chained over a rifle and a sword crossed
“ BGF “
The new trend with prison gang tats is not to get them because it ID’s them as a gang member. Remember to read tats like a book. From left to right and from up to down. Don’t just list a few on the face sheet to keep the nasty Sergeant of your leg, take your time and look at them carefully. There are stories within stories. We are seeing more and more Vietnamese parolees getting inked. They seem to like tats that show their birthplace. Like maps of Vietnam on the back. "Vietnamese Pride" under the neck and four dots or T’s which can mean many different things from wealth money and guns to prison. Oriental convicts are not using joint geography like the other groups we have mentioned. OK, remember what the ink says to you, slow down, read it completely and as always, be careful out there.
For more info on Parolees contact:
Sergeant Ken Whitley,
Garden Grove Police Department.
(714) 518-4986 Voice Mail
or E-mail me at info@convictsandcops.com