Brazen gang members are flashing their hand signals and tattoos at police when they are arrested, according to the head of the Gang Targeting Unit.Sergeant Alexander Rollin shared the news during a workshop this week designed to educate the public about how to spot gang behaviour [see sidebar].The officer described the forum as “Gangs 101”, aimed at parents and other members of the community who want to find out more.He explained there are multiple ways the police assess whether someone is in a gang. Some people readily admit to police that they are in one.“Young men and women that we deal with have no problems with coming up to us and saying ‘I’m Parkside or MOB’,” explained Sgt Rollin.“A couple of guys like to flash gang signs when they are having their mugshots taken.”Sgt Rollin said these gang signs include making a P with the fingers for Pembroke-based Parkside, W depicting Westside for the Sandys-based MOB and M for the Pembroke-based Middletown.Other indicators the police look for include jewellery and tattoos. He showed the ten members of the public present at the forum at Hamilton Police Station pictures of typical jewellery and tattoos, without identifying the owners.He explained that men tend to have visible tattoos while women keep them hidden. Police endeavour to take pictures of the body art when people are detained, to help with intelligence gathering.“Ninety-nine percent of the time the guys are quite happy to show us. They are very proud,” noted Sgt Rollin. “It could be used against them, so I don’t know why they do it.”He said typical jewellery is “a lot of bling with names, with guns — all sorts of things describing your gang”.However, he also noted that some members have stopped wearing such obvious symbols on their jewellery.“They’re melting all their gold and wearing it as one big rock around their necks because they don’t want us to see them wearing it,” he explained. “A lot of the jewellery comes from robberies, burglaries and home invasions and it’s melted down.”The police refused to make the pictures used in the presentation depicting gang signs, jewellery and tattoos available to the readers of this newspaper. A spokesman said this was because “the Community Awareness Classes are not intended to be a media event”.Sgt Rollin told the audience at the forum on Tuesday that other indicators of gang membership are if someone frequents a known gang area, posts about gangs on social media or wears clothing associated with gangs.He explained that some years ago, gang members wore colours prominently as a sign of their affiliation.Now, he said: “A lot of the gang members are getting hip to us recognising them on the street.”Therefore, their “uniform of choice” has become “long white T-shirts and baggy blue jeans”, in order to be relatively anonymous, he explained.However, he said, they still wear “hints” of their colours on items such as a belt, hat or laces [see sidebar].Turning to the topic of social media postings, Sgt Rollin explained that the police trawl sites such as Bermynet, Black and Coke and Facebook, as well as examining cell phone images.He said that people can be seen on Facebook “throwing up gang and gun signs for the world to see”, despite the fact that “people know from the courts that we go through the social networking sites”.Turning to the types of behaviour exhibited by gangs, he said this ranges from antisocial acts such as cursing, bike racing and graffiti right up to witness intimidation, acts of violence and murder.And, he said, they are known by certain phrases and slogans. Parkside use the phrases “Darkside” and “Black Presidents” while 42 are variously known as 42nd and Gaza and MOB also use the words “Fern Gully”.Sgt Rollin said the police have focused on guns, gangs, drugs and violence as part of their annual policing plan. Among the steps taken are putting more officers on the streets, using intelligence-led policing, having a full-time armed response team and a dedicated Gang Targeting Unit.He said an inter-agency task force set up in the last two years, which involves agencies such as the Parole Board, Court Services and the police meeting regularly to share information, has yielded results.“This has made a massive difference. A lot of the cases that are being solved are coming out of this partnership,” he said.He added that spreading awareness of gang issues through meetings with teachers, school counsellors, other Government departments and gang mediators is key.He said that he has a “good rapport” with gang members and gets to know them and their families.“We talk, we chat, and it helps us as the police to develop an understanding of why they do it,” he said.Sgt Rollin refuses to lose hope that those committed to the gang lifestyle can be rehabilitated.“We don’t give up — not me personally,” he said.The forum also gave those present the opportunity to ask questions and raise concerns with Sgt Rollin.Similar forums are planned to highlight the work of the Community Action Group on December 4, the Roads Policing Unit on December 11 and the Financial Crime Unit on December 18.All the workshops take place at Hamilton Police Station at 6pm.