
The bar for being labeled a gang member is low. The consequences are serious - vanusa
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/03/opinion/los-angeles-gang-database.html
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Fjolsvith
In the federal prison system, an inmate can get a gang member label added to
their record by staff. Once it is added, it will never be removed from the
person's record.

I thought I'd share an anecdotal experience I had in the federal prison
system.

Whenever inmates are transferred into a new prison, they are taken aside to a
private room individually and interviewed by "SIS", the internal police at
each prison. One of the things they screen for is gang affiliation, so they
can have an idea the kind of trouble that might brew up with the new
transfers.

I transferred to a USP that had recently been recommissioned as a medium
security facility. The staff there were used to the really violent guys of the
high security, and were very stern and commanding with processing the busload
of guys I came in with. As we had all transferred in from another medium, we
were not used to the brusque treatment. When I was taken back for my intake
interview by SIS, I thought I'd have some fun.

The officer asked me to sit next to his desk and then said, "Alright, are you
in a gang?", to which I replied, "Have you ever heard of DND?"

Reaching for his pen and pad, he said, "No. Have they been around long?" I
replied, "About 30 years."

He stopped writing and raised his eyebrows at me. "Really?" His surprise was
probably due to him learning of a long established gang that the federal
government didn't know about.

I asked him, "Do you have any DNDers here?" He said, "No."

I looked him straight in the eyes and deadpanned in a low voice, "Well, you're
gonna."

We held eye contact for about 10 seconds before he said I could go.

It took about a month longer for Property to release my personal property to
me than it did for the guys I came in with. I assume that SIS officer wanted
to read through all my Dungeons and Dragons books.

