"Tattoos are gang identifiers," says Deputy Elliott Hoskins of the Sheriff's Initiative for Effective Gang Enforcement (SIEGE). "They are part of the gang culture, and you have to get away from that culture to get away from the gang."
Hoskins and his colleagues will not go out and recruit participants, however. That would go against the philosophy of the program called "First Step." "They must come to us and show responsibility," he says. "If you want to get out of the gang, you have to be responsible."
Initially, this must be demonstrated through school or work evaluations. Every former gang member who wants to participate has to prove that he is regularly attending school and maintains at least a C average. Alternatively, he can provide a favorable job performance evaluation. To this end, SIEGE is working with teachers and employees, as well as social workers who follow the youths' behavior and do counseling.
The free removal of the gang tattoo is the final step. Durham dermatologist Dr. Sue Ellen Cox will perform the laser surgery--which normally costs about $3,000--as a pro bono community service. Hoskins acknowledges the difficulties of leaving a gang. However, he thinks that those youths who really care enough to take the first step have a greater chance to stay out of it. "We don't want to remove a tattoo from one gang today and then they go to another gang," he says.
