Small town Gang Task Force struggles to decipher sidewalk graffiti

Elm Creek, Neb. – Law enforcement officials in the small Nebraska town of Elm Creek announced Monday the creation of the Elm Creek Gang Task Force (ECGTF): an all-volunteer team charged with deciphering the meanings behind what they are calling the “obviously gang-related” sidewalk graffiti that recently began appearing on the sidewalks of this previously quiet, peaceful town.

“Graffiti is notorious for being the first indication that gang activity is present in a community,” said Betsy Griffin, 73, the retired librarian leading the newly formed task force. “And although few if any of us [on the Gang Task Force] have prior experience in combating criminal street gangs, I believe that working together to extrapolate the meaning of these chalk symbols is a key first step toward identifying and eradicating this gang uprising before it becomes an overwhelming influence on our small community.”

Drawn using various colors of ordinary chalk – a substance readily available for legal purchase at any toy store or school supply-selling retailer – the graffiti began appearing on the sidewalks of residential areas of Elm Creek in early April, just as the warming spring weather had melted away the winter snow and children began populating playgrounds and participating more and more in outdoor activities such as skipping rope or playing marbles.

Griffin told reporters that since local residents have yet to report a single positive sighting of gang members lurking about the streets of Elm Creek, deciphering the graffiti will provide important first clues as to what areas of the 16-block city are being controlled by which gangs.

“From what I’ve been reading online about street gangs and how they ‘tag’ places with graffiti, some of these drawings are apparently meant to mark each gang’s ‘turf,’ as they call it,” said Griffin, looking back at her notes to confirm that she’d used the correct slang term for referring to a gang’s territory. “Perhaps these gangs think that just because they are running in a town whose population is less that nine hundred that we won’t be sophisticated or modern enough to know what they’re up to, but I think we’ve already proven that, quote, we know what time it is.”

Added Griffin: “That is one of their sayings, isn’t it?”

During a Monday press conference, Griffin pointed to an enlarged photograph of one of the gang markings that has turned up repeatedly on sidewalks and playgrounds during recent weeks. The crude sketch depicts eight numbered squares drawn in different colors and lined up vertically, ascending in number from bottom to top. Many members of the ECGTF suspect that this marking is intended to signify each gang’s territorial boundaries in Elm Creek.

“That would imply that there are already eight gangs operating in Elm Creek,” said Griffin, speaking to members of the task force from a podium, her pages of notes crinkling in her hands as they tensed into small, trembling fists. “Eight gangs. What in God’s name are we going to do?”

Other tags, Griffin noted after composing herself, are proving more difficult for the team to decipher.

“This graffiti depicts a car driving toward a dragon or Godzilla or some other kind of fire-breathing creature,” said Griffin, pointing to a photo of the marking. “This might indicate that there is going to be a drive-by shooting against one of the gangs named The Dragons or The Godzillas or something like that. Note the blue dots on the giant reptile. These no doubt represent bullet holes.”

Griffin refused to speculate if the drawing of the two-door car indicates that the gang initiating the drive-by shooting is showing respect to the environment by driving a sensible, compact vehicle.