Wifey2Bee
04-06-2004, 06:37 PM
Maybe this is why everything is locked down:
------------------------------
Gang fights surging in state prisons
Limon melee among 8 in 6 months
By Kirk Mitchell
Denver Post Staff Writer (http://by10fd.bay10.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?mailto=1&msg=MSG1081264012.18&start=286539&len=75459&src=&type=x&to=kmitchell%40denverpost%2ecom&cc=&bcc=&subject=&body=&curmbox=F000000001&a=8c4ad7bb4a35e45ea3e3ccd4015ce72c)
A melee a week ago involving 24 members of rival gangs in Limon's high-security prison was the latest in a string of well-orchestrated, large-scale brawls in Colorado prisons, officials say. Limon Correctional Facility remained in lockdown a week after a quickly subdued fight Feb. 28 in the prison gym sent one prisoner to the hospital with minor injuries, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Linda Carroll said.
It was the eighth gang fight in a Colorado prison involving at least eight and as many as 30 inmates in six months, said Jay Kirby, who oversees intelligence operations for the department. In years past, such large gang fights rarely happened, he said.
Colorado's experience follows a national trend of increased gang violence, Kirby said.
Gangs in Colorado prisons are becoming more organized and violent in resolving prison disputes between rival groups, said Nolin Renfrow, DOC director of prisons.
Advertisement
http://m3.doubleclick.net/929512/250x250.gif (http://64.4.36.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=2496ed143c93a2cf7b93602de0fa677d&lat=1081294546&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fad%2edoubleclick%2enet%2f click%253Bh%3dv2%7c30e5%7c3%7c0%7c%252a%7ca%253B77 32611%253B0%2d0%253B1%253B7971630%253B237%2d250%7c 250%253B4907666%7c4925562%7c1%253B%253B%253fhttp%2 53A%252F%252Fwww%2epostnewsads%2ecom%2fContest%2fC ontestPages%2fMasterCarpet%2dSteamProSweepstakes40 2%2easp)http://m3.doubleclick.net/929512/250x250.gif (http://64.4.36.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=2496ed143c93a2cf7b93602de0fa677d&lat=1081294546&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fad%2edoubleclick%2enet%2f click%253Bh%3dv2%7c30e5%7c3%7c0%7c%252a%7ca%253B77 32611%253B0%2d0%253B1%253B7971630%253B237%2d250%7c 250%253B4907666%7c4925562%7c1%253B%253B%253fhttp%2 53A%252F%252Fwww%2epostnewsads%2ecom%2fContest%2fC ontestPages%2fMasterCarpet%2dSteamProSweepstakes40 2%2easp)Inmate "shot callers" are the only gang members authorized to order brawls between rival gangs, Renfrow said.
An incident as minor as a gang member staring the wrong way at another prisoner could be enough to provoke a fight, he said.
When a shot caller is convinced the other gang's disrespectful actions have become intolerable, he'll set the time and place for a brawl, Renfrow said, adding that the message travels swiftly up and down gang hierarchy.
So far, prison corrections officers have acted quickly to quell each of the gang-organized melees in Colorado's prison system with few injuries, Renfrow said.
In the latest brawl, one inmate was treated overnight in an area hospital and was returned to the prison the next day, Carroll said. No weapons were used in the fight, and corrections officers subdued prisoners with pepper spray.
"It was over in a blink of an eye," Carroll said.
It appeared that the prisoners fought only because they were ordered to do so by gang leaders, but since they were not highly motivated, they quickly stopped when corrections officers responded, Carroll said. Several other inmates in the gym did not get involved, she added.
Many instigators remain in general prison populations because the state doesn't have enough maximum-security cells for them, Renfrow said, adding that plans for building a second maximum-security prison are on hold.
Without the cells for isolating troublesome prisoners, the state has moved them from prison to prison, Renfrow said.
Of the 24 prisoners involved in Saturday's fight, for example, DOC moved 13 of them to other prisons in the state, Carroll said.
All of them have been kept in 23-hour segregation cells while DOC officials investigate, she said.
Some could face new criminal charges, Renfrow said.
The remaining 950 inmates at Limon have been under lockdown since Feb. 28 and were not allowed to receive visitors for the second weekend in a row, he said.
In recent months, the number of inmates involved in fights has risen from an average of about 10 to more than 20, prison authorities said.
On Feb. 18, up to 30 inmates at Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility fought, and on Jan. 8, 24 prisoners at Fremont Correctional Facility were involved in a brawl, authorities said.
RETURN TO TOP ("]http://www.denverpost.com/images/icon-uparrow.gif[url="http://64.4.36.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=e7c65e04b29cdceead82ec0073a28fbe&lat=1081294546&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2edenverpost%2ecom%2f Stories%2f0%2c1413%2c36%25257E53%25257E1999765%2c0 0html%3fsearch%3dfilter%23top)[/url]
http://media.mnginteractive.com/media/paper36/dpo_footer3.gif All contents Copyright 2004 The Denver Post or other copyright holders. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed for any commercial purpose
------------------------------
Gang fights surging in state prisons
Limon melee among 8 in 6 months
By Kirk Mitchell
Denver Post Staff Writer (http://by10fd.bay10.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?mailto=1&msg=MSG1081264012.18&start=286539&len=75459&src=&type=x&to=kmitchell%40denverpost%2ecom&cc=&bcc=&subject=&body=&curmbox=F000000001&a=8c4ad7bb4a35e45ea3e3ccd4015ce72c)
A melee a week ago involving 24 members of rival gangs in Limon's high-security prison was the latest in a string of well-orchestrated, large-scale brawls in Colorado prisons, officials say. Limon Correctional Facility remained in lockdown a week after a quickly subdued fight Feb. 28 in the prison gym sent one prisoner to the hospital with minor injuries, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Linda Carroll said.
It was the eighth gang fight in a Colorado prison involving at least eight and as many as 30 inmates in six months, said Jay Kirby, who oversees intelligence operations for the department. In years past, such large gang fights rarely happened, he said.
Colorado's experience follows a national trend of increased gang violence, Kirby said.
Gangs in Colorado prisons are becoming more organized and violent in resolving prison disputes between rival groups, said Nolin Renfrow, DOC director of prisons.
Advertisement
http://m3.doubleclick.net/929512/250x250.gif (http://64.4.36.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=2496ed143c93a2cf7b93602de0fa677d&lat=1081294546&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fad%2edoubleclick%2enet%2f click%253Bh%3dv2%7c30e5%7c3%7c0%7c%252a%7ca%253B77 32611%253B0%2d0%253B1%253B7971630%253B237%2d250%7c 250%253B4907666%7c4925562%7c1%253B%253B%253fhttp%2 53A%252F%252Fwww%2epostnewsads%2ecom%2fContest%2fC ontestPages%2fMasterCarpet%2dSteamProSweepstakes40 2%2easp)http://m3.doubleclick.net/929512/250x250.gif (http://64.4.36.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=2496ed143c93a2cf7b93602de0fa677d&lat=1081294546&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fad%2edoubleclick%2enet%2f click%253Bh%3dv2%7c30e5%7c3%7c0%7c%252a%7ca%253B77 32611%253B0%2d0%253B1%253B7971630%253B237%2d250%7c 250%253B4907666%7c4925562%7c1%253B%253B%253fhttp%2 53A%252F%252Fwww%2epostnewsads%2ecom%2fContest%2fC ontestPages%2fMasterCarpet%2dSteamProSweepstakes40 2%2easp)Inmate "shot callers" are the only gang members authorized to order brawls between rival gangs, Renfrow said.
An incident as minor as a gang member staring the wrong way at another prisoner could be enough to provoke a fight, he said.
When a shot caller is convinced the other gang's disrespectful actions have become intolerable, he'll set the time and place for a brawl, Renfrow said, adding that the message travels swiftly up and down gang hierarchy.
So far, prison corrections officers have acted quickly to quell each of the gang-organized melees in Colorado's prison system with few injuries, Renfrow said.
In the latest brawl, one inmate was treated overnight in an area hospital and was returned to the prison the next day, Carroll said. No weapons were used in the fight, and corrections officers subdued prisoners with pepper spray.
"It was over in a blink of an eye," Carroll said.
It appeared that the prisoners fought only because they were ordered to do so by gang leaders, but since they were not highly motivated, they quickly stopped when corrections officers responded, Carroll said. Several other inmates in the gym did not get involved, she added.
Many instigators remain in general prison populations because the state doesn't have enough maximum-security cells for them, Renfrow said, adding that plans for building a second maximum-security prison are on hold.
Without the cells for isolating troublesome prisoners, the state has moved them from prison to prison, Renfrow said.
Of the 24 prisoners involved in Saturday's fight, for example, DOC moved 13 of them to other prisons in the state, Carroll said.
All of them have been kept in 23-hour segregation cells while DOC officials investigate, she said.
Some could face new criminal charges, Renfrow said.
The remaining 950 inmates at Limon have been under lockdown since Feb. 28 and were not allowed to receive visitors for the second weekend in a row, he said.
In recent months, the number of inmates involved in fights has risen from an average of about 10 to more than 20, prison authorities said.
On Feb. 18, up to 30 inmates at Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility fought, and on Jan. 8, 24 prisoners at Fremont Correctional Facility were involved in a brawl, authorities said.
RETURN TO TOP ("]http://www.denverpost.com/images/icon-uparrow.gif[url="http://64.4.36.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=e7c65e04b29cdceead82ec0073a28fbe&lat=1081294546&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2edenverpost%2ecom%2f Stories%2f0%2c1413%2c36%25257E53%25257E1999765%2c0 0html%3fsearch%3dfilter%23top)[/url]
http://media.mnginteractive.com/media/paper36/dpo_footer3.gif All contents Copyright 2004 The Denver Post or other copyright holders. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed for any commercial purpose