It SOUNDED Like A Good Idea!
Investigators and law enforcement people who work in areas where there are gangs know how to "read" them, according to an expert interviewed recently. The expert, who chose to remain unnamed, said that if you want to know if there are gangs around, look for graffiti. "Where there is graffiti, there are gangs," he said.
"And you have to know how to 'read' the graffiti. That way you know whether there is a killing planned or what action is going down."
There are over 900 organized gangs in the city of Los Angeles, distinguishable by their clothing and names. Gangs wear like clothing, and are usually named after their neighborhood or street-i.e. Gray Street Gang, Booker Hill Gang, etc.
Their presence in Los Angeles make servicing ATMs in many neighborhoods a high-risk position.A local ATM servicing company had a bright idea on how to service those machines. They went out and hired gang members in each of the areas where the ATMs were located. Certain gang members became employees, working for a flat rate of $10.50 for each machine they serviced in any 24 hour period. Things were working well. Each time an ATM would go down, the service "team" from that neighborhood would go out and fix it.
But the deal went bad. It seems the gang members who were working for the company started getting their buddies to sabotage the machines so they needed servicing more often! The more machines that needed servicing, the more $10.50 each they collected.
Well, it sounded good, but I guess they'll have to come up with another idea.
Copyright © 1994 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 4, No. 9, 3/94