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In the mid-1990s, gang activity in Utah reached an apex.
Now, after a decade of decline, gang-related graffiti, robberies, shootings and stabbings are on the rise.
"It's the most active that I've seen it," said Lex Bell, a Salt Lake Area Gang Project detective.
In Salt Lake County, gangs are growing too rapidly for investigators to quantify, with recruitment at an all-time high, Bell said.
Ogden police are seeing a similar trend, said Sgt. Kevin Cottrell. There, the number of gangs grew from 133 in 2003 to 271 last year. In the same two-year period, the number of gang members grew from 1,210 to 1,631 - a 26 percent increase, he said.
Unlike the older generation of gangsters - who don't display gang colors and avoid attracting attention to themselves - the new recruits are unabashedly flashing their bandanas and gang signs, Bell said.
It is commonplace to see members of the Latino gang Sure os with blue hats and clothing and hanging a blue bandana from their mirror, as many gang members did in the 1980s and early '90s.
"We're seeing shootings based on colors again," he said.
And, Bell said, the new recruits are extremely violent. Because many are under 18, they are committing crimes on behalf of their gangs, knowing they won't be prosecuted as severely as adults.
Police report gang membership is growing among all ethnic groups, but say it is most pronounced in Latino gangs. Bell attributes that, in part, to the swelling ranks of Utah's Latino population and to aggressive recruiting at middle schools and high schools.
Cottrell said most first-generation immigrants are hard-working, law-abiding citizens. Many work long hours and are away from their children, who in turn seek love, respect and acceptance outside of their homes, in gangs.
"It's the kids who end up with the problems," said Cottrell, who, along with Bell and Utah County Sheriff Sgt. Darcy Simmons, presented a regional update on Latino gangs Thursday at the 16th Annual Utah Gang Conference in Sandy. The conference continues today.
There are dozens of "subsets" or "cliques" of Sure os - or "Southerners" - the fastest growing Latino gang along the Wasatch Front, Bell said. While these subsets, such as "18th Street," the "Alley Boys Gang" or the "Avenues" may have different names, they tend to align with one another.
Police fear that in coming years, an extremely violent Latino gang - the La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS13 - will establish a strong presence in Utah and assimilate about 2,500 documented Sure os into its organization, making it incredibly powerful, Bell said.
"Right now Sure os cliques are disorganized. They're not working as a team," the detective said.
In the United States, MS13 first organized in Los Angeles, where immigrants fleeing civil war in El Salvador settled. Some had ties to the El Salvadoran gang "La Mara," while others were members of paramilitary groups.
MS13 is now largely considered one of the most dangerous gangs in America.
Although police are concerned about burgeoning Latino gangs, James Yapias, director of the nonprofit organization Poder Para La Familia Hispana and vice principal at Northwest Middle School, said he has not seen an increase in gangs or gang violence at his school.
He acknowledges that gang violence is rising across the board, but he does not believe it's specific to Latino gangs.
"I don't think it's one [ethnic] group," he said. "It's all groups."
Yapias blames the growth in gangs on the lack of state and county deterrent programs that he said were more prevalent between 1995 and 2000. "In general, there is an increase in gang violence because of the lack of prevention."
Bell said parents can play an important role in keeping their children on the right track.
"The big thing is parents watching their children and knowing who they hang out with and knowing what they wear to school. Be on top of what your kids do."