The recent arrest of two admitted members of the MS-13 gang, and the shooting earlier this month that injured two Houston police officers and killed one member of the the 52 Hoovers, also known as five-deuce Hoovas gang, is raising public awareness for an issue that has been present in Houston for many years.

Long considered just an inner-city problem, criminal gangs have spread to suburban and rural areas in many regions, and that includes the Greater Houston area.

Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Sam Cerda, who currently works as part of the department's auto theft task force, has a lot of experience with criminal gangs — or “Clicks” — as they are commonly referred to by law enforcement.  In fact, there are hundreds of gangs in Houston, with membership nearing 20,000.  The gang problem has become an issue that affects the whole of the Houston area, and not just isolated pockets, or a block or two that might be claimed as turf. They might be identified by the clothing they wear, the tattoos they have on their bodies, or how they communicate, such as with hand signs.

In January, the Texas Department of Public Safety released an overview of gang activity in Texas that includes threats from terrorism, Mexican Cartels, Human Trafficking and gang activity.  This report disclosed the following: 

All eight of the major Mexican cartels operate in Texas, and they have enlisted transnational and
statewide gangs to support their drug and human smuggling and human trafficking operations on both
sides of the border.
Gangs continue to pose a significant public safety threat to Texas, and their propensity for violenceand many kinds of criminal activity is persistent. While the greatest concentrations of gang activity tendto be in the larger metropolitan areas, gang members are also present in the surrounding suburbs, and inrural areas. Gang activity is especially prevalent in some of the counties adjacent to Mexico and along key smuggling corridors, since many Texas-based gangs are involved in cross-border trafficking.

 

According to the report, MS-13 is gaining influence and membership, and poses the greatest criminal threat because of their relationship with Mexican Cartels.  However, MS-13 is far from the only gang in town.  In fact, there are more than 350 gangs in Houston and Harris County, with roughly 19,000 members, according to a KPRC report.