Graffiti markings that recently appeared at Wildwood Lake town park appear to include tags associated with the 18th Street gang, a violent street gang known to be “aligned with the Mexican mafia,” Southampton Town Police Lt. Susan Ralph told members of the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association at last night’s monthly meeting.
The 18th Street gang, a rival of MS-13, is not prevalent in Southampton, Ralph said. “We know of them because they recruit in the jail.”
The 18th Street gang started as a Mexican street gang in Los Angeles, California but expanded its ranks to become a multi-ethnic gang. Also known as Calle 18, Barrio 18, and Mara 18, it uses the symbols XV3, XVIII, X8, 99 (9+9=18) and 3-dots in graffiti tags and tattoos. In addition to the U.S. it is known to operate in Mexico, Central America and Canada, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Ralph said the police have seen some MS-13 graffiti in Hampton Bays.
“We are condicting a very thorough investigation,” she said.
Police remove graffiti from public property as quickly as possible, the lieutenant said. Gangs use graffiti tags to claim an area. Tags by one gang often prompt retaliatory tagging by rival gangs.
“We get it removed as quick as we can,” she said.
Police can’t remove graffiti from provate property, Ralph told residents who questioned the persistence of graffiti on some local structures, such as a farm stand on Flanders road. Community affairs officers speak to property owners about it to encourage them to remove it.
FRNCA president Vince Taldone asked the police lieutenant about having security cameras installed at the park, a request he said he’s made in the past.
“It’s hard to patrol,” Taldone said. “You can’t have an officer there all the time. There are many, many hours when no one is around. Cameras would address that,” he said.
“We have limited resources” for cameras, Ralph said. The police department has to prioritize when it decides where to use those resources.
“So the parks dept will spend $10,000 to clean it up, but won’t give you $500 to buy cameras,” Taldone said.
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