The TRUTH About Gangs In The Southern Valley (Portland, Eugene: transplants, sale)

[FIV3FOURON3]

There's been a lot of debate over whether or not gangs are a genuine threat to the ever changing and rapidly growing southern Oregon valley. I'm posting this thread to hopefully shed some light on the truth surrounding this issue, as well as squash any rumors that have circulated through city-data.


There are currently several active and known gangs in the southern oregon valley. This area spans from Roseburg, OR in the north to Redding, CA in the south. East to west, it could span as far out as Klamath County and stretch all the way to the coast, although most all of these gangs are active along the I-5 corridor.


The largest and most well known gang is the South Valley Cartel. They are mostly white in racial make up, but include hispanic, black and even some asian members as well. Although not affiliated with the Surenos, the gang will sometimes use the colors blue or grey to identify themselves, as well as NFL gear from the Dallas Cowboys and Oakland Raiders. Most often though, there are no distinguishing colors to identify an SVC member. Dress code varies from individual to individual, and while many favor "cholo style" (eg blue jeans or kahkis, an oversized white tee shirt, long hanging web belt, etc), some members are virtually indistinguishable from other, non-affiliated young people in the way they dress. The gang enjoys a fairly healthy share of the drug trade along central I-5, distributing meth amphetamines, weed, cocaine and even illegal alcohol (pruno-type blends with caffeine added, illegal in oregon and washington). In addition to the drug trade, some gang members also use rapping and music production to funnel money in to the gang. These rappers often collaborate with other musicians from Northern California's central valley and distribute their music in the SF bay area, Stockton, Modesto and Sacramento areas. Rap music is a lucrative business in Northern California, but not so much here in Oregon. As a result, the gang rarely ever promotes it's musical interests here in the Southern Valley. SVC accounts for more than half of all gang related crime here in the Southern Valley, and the gang has ties to Redding CA, Sacramento CA, San Mateo County CA, Stanislaus County CA, Merced County CA, Ventura County CA and Las Vegas, NV.


The nortenos are an off shoot from the prison gang nuestra familia. Their rivals are the surenos and other black and hispanic gangs. The nortenos are not affiliated with bloods, but they do wear red. The also use the number 14 (N) to distinguish themselves. The dress code is casual among nortenos, although they generally rebel against traditional "cholo style." There are only small number of known nortenos in the Southern Valley, and these gang members account for less than 5 percent of all gang related crime.


The surenos are an off shoot from the hispanic gang la eme. Their rivals are the nortenos, and here in the Southern Valley, they share in a mutual respect truce with SVC. The surenos use the color blue and the number 13 (M) to distinguish themselves from other gangs. Dress code is fairly strict and usually adheres to the traditional "cholo style." Surenos account for a fairly large number of the gang members here in Oregon, but they are also relatively unstructured and are considered by law enforcement to be a minimal threat when compared to the SVC. The surrenos currently account for about 10-15 percent of gang related crime in the Southern Valley.


Bloods Gang were originally founded in Los Angeles, CA in the 1980s. Since then, the bloods have grown in number by the thousands and have migrated all across the country. Since Medford PD started documenting gang members in the mid 90s, there's only been one known active Blood gang member who resided in Southern Oregon. Samuel Simmons, or Big Red, migrated to the area from Portland, Oregon in 2001. Following the botched robbery of a convenience store in the rural central portion of the state, Simmons was convicted and sentenced to 10 years. He is currently incarcerated at OSP, Salem. Further north, the cities of Portland and Eugene both have active blood gangs.


Crips Gang were also founded in Los Angeles, CA, but they came a few years earlier in the 1970s. Crips are the largest and most well known street gang in the entire country, with tens of thousands of members from the east to the west coast. That having been said, there are actually very few known Crip members here in the State of Oregon. It is estimated that Crips account for less than 2 percent of the gang related crime in the entire state of Oregon, and less than 1 percent here in the Southern Valley.


West Bay Pinay Boys are loose off shoot from the SF bay area based gang West Bay Pinay or WBP. Their racial make up is asian, mostly filipino, and their dress code is extremely casual (no colors, numbers or clothing styles to distinguish the gang). Although not active in much of the drug trade, the WBP are heavily involved in illegal auto repair schemes and the distribution of stolen electronics. The gang primarily operates in the larger Valley cities, like Medford, but also has ties to much of Northern California and Salem, Oregon.


CPC or Central Point Playaz are a predominantly black street gang with no known ties or affiliations to any other major street gang. They do not use colors, clothing or numbers to distinguish themselves. Although they identify with the small, suburban community of Central Point by name, the gang primarily functions in the high crime communities of North Medford. Marijuana sale and distribution is common among members. They generally do not distribute amphetamines or heroine. CPC are responsible for about 30 percent of all gang related activity in the Southern Valley, although most of these crimes are non-violent drug and property offenses.


Last, but certainly not least, Poly Pride are a small, predominantly Polynesian street gang NOT affiliated with TCG (Tongan Crip Gang). Only recognized as a gang within the last couple of years, this start up set has already made a big name for itself. Valley PD's have seized close to 30 weapons in total from various Pride members, including everything from homemade knives and shanks to fully modified shotguns. Pride uses the color blue to distinguish themselves and favor dark blue levis 501 jeans and blue converse tennis shoes. The gang is also known to be extremely bold, openly taunting law enforcement and robbing civilians, often without even a weapon. The gang is considered extremely dangerous because of the brazen attitude it's members have towards the community and LE alike, and in December of 2012 the local PD served an unpublicized gang injunction to several Pride members during a Polynesian Pride function that took place in one of the regions public parks. Four days later, two Poly Pride members were arrested outside of Big 5 Sporting Goods in South Medford for weapons possession and "stacking" (the act of using hand signals to represent a gang affiliation), a direct violation of the unpublicized injunction.


I speak from experience, as both an ex-SVC gang member and current community organizer. I do gang outreach in the Southern Valley and Northern California, and have worked with youths in Medford, Grants Pass, Klamath Falls, Redding, Red Bluff and Merced County. I'm sure there are plenty of ignorant people who are going to read what I've written and complain about the supposed migration of poor, inner city minorities. But the valley's most prominent and violent gang thus far has been mostly white, mostly middle class and almost entirely home grown. With the exception of CPC and the small, relatively new Poly Pride organization, most of the Southern Valleys gang activity comes from home grown Caucasians.

[Steve Pickering]

I see why you did not use your real name. Good post.

[MamaRed]

Thank you for the post. My family is looking at move to Oregon from Southern California. One of the reasons is I'm so tired of the gang mentality here. Desert Hot Springs (the town next door) is so infested with gangs, it's a problem even in the elementary schools. The majority are sureno and crips affiliates, and there were none there 30 years ago.

Are the local Oregon police taking even the smaller gangs seriously? Out here, the cities were so busy denying there were any gang problems, it got HUGE before they started acting. Do you feel that Oregon is trying to nip this in the bud, or are they taking a wait-and-see approach?

[FIV3FOURON3]

The gangs in southern california are nothing like they are up here. I've lived in Fontana, Banning and Bloomington, so I speak from a little experience. In Southern Oregon, most of the gangs are relatively non-violent, whereas in California, the street gangs thrive on being extremely violent to compete with one and other in the drug trade. Theres less competition up here in Oregon, and two of the areas most prominent gangs affiliations (SVC and the 13 street gangs) actually have a mutual respect truce in place, which divides drug territories evenly and reduces the risk for turf wars. Don't get me wrong, there are still violent instances that occur as a result of the drug trade, and the polynesian gang that started up here a couple of years ago is particually violent and has put the area back on high alert. But if you're used to Southern California, you probably don't have anything to worry about...

[Leisesturm]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

I see why you did not use your real name. Good post.

I do not use my real name on City Data either... just saying...

[Leisesturm]

Originally Posted by FIV3FOURON3

There's been a lot of debate over whether or not gangs are a genuine threat to the ever changing and rapidly growing southern Oregon valley. I'm posting this thread to hopefully shed some light on the truth surrounding this issue, as well as squash any rumors that have circulated through city-data.

I'm hanged if I can figure out how to use these colorful vignettes of some West Coast Gang affiliations to determine what threat level I am exposed to in West Hillsboro.... or Ashland even. What TRUTH have you validated? That there are gangs? Was that in any doubt? I'm just not seeing the public service here. I mean... you went through a lot of trouble cutting and pasting everything together for us... thanks? I don't want to seem like an ingrate so early in the morning but....

H

[FIV3FOURON3]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

I'm hanged if I can figure out how to use these colorful vignettes of some West Coast Gang affiliations to determine what threat level I am exposed to in West Hillsboro.... or Ashland even. What TRUTH have you validated? That there are gangs? Was that in any doubt? I'm just not seeing the public service here. I mean... you went through a lot of trouble cutting and pasting everything together for us... thanks? I don't want to seem like an ingrate so early in the morning but....

H

I felt that it was important to share some details about the gangs specifically, since it seemed everything on city-data thus far has been vague and slightly misinformed. If the information is of no use to you, you're free to skip it and move on to something else. I didn't post this topic solely for the approval of Leisesturm, did I? So while you're free to provide your input, I see little reason for you to actually waste your time and energy doing so... And everything I wrote was original, I did no cutting and pasting of any sort from any other website or information database...

[MamaRed]

I appreciate the info! I've seen some posts about how HORRIBLE the gangs in Oregon are. Coming from California, I thought Oregon would be an improvement. I was telling myself that those who were so appalled by the gangs were probably thinking they were moving where there were none at all. While I don't live in a high gang neighborhood, the culture is so pervasive, I'm just sick of it. I've even had students in my class whose family members had killed each other in gang conflict. To me, it's good to hear that Oregon doesn't have the gangs to that extent. I hope the police and community continue to take the issue seriously. I know its valuable to have people like you who know what's going on and are willing to share accurate information.

[FIV3FOURON3]

Originally Posted by MamaRed

I appreciate the info! I've seen some posts about how HORRIBLE the gangs in Oregon are. Coming from California, I thought Oregon would be an improvement. I was telling myself that those who were so appalled by the gangs were probably thinking they were moving where there were none at all. While I don't live in a high gang neighborhood, the culture is so pervasive, I'm just sick of it. I've even had students in my class whose family members had killed each other in gang conflict. To me, it's good to hear that Oregon doesn't have the gangs to that extent. I hope the police and community continue to take the issue seriously. I know its valuable to have people like you who know what's going on and are willing to share accurate information.

Medford is a lot like the CA central valley, if you're at all familiar with that area. Many of the hispanic norteno and upstate sureno gangs from places like Sacramento, Stockton and Fresno either migrated members to Medford or brought their influence to hispanics in the area. Medford is also sometimes referred to as Methford or Meth City, and is well known for being an amphetamine capital on the west coast. Because of this, the presence of gangs and gang culture is a fairly likely assumption.

The largest gang in Medford, the SVC, is heavily active in the drug trade. The notenos and more often the surenos also share in the amphetamine trade as well...

As long as drug usage and manufacturing continue to thrive in the southern valley, so will street gangs. I'd also recommend checking other parts of the state out as well. Places like Bend and Redmond, filled with California transplants mind you, have considerably less gang activity than Medford or Portland. The weather is better there, too...

[Nurse Bishop]

I hear that here on the Curry County Oregon coast we have a gang as well called the KKK. They wear white at their meetings. They tend to keep other gangs out.