StreetCreds

Street Creds is a look inside the world of street gangs and the cops that work them.  I worked the street for many years before I entered the Gang Task Force, joining it with the idea that I could rise to the level of violence of any banger I encountered - a really stupid idea.  I wanted to “earn back” the respect of the citizens for the police; I grew up in this city, and I worked its streets the best way I knew how, feeling that I had a firsthand understanding of what the citizens were experiencing.  The increasing frustration at gang crimes, drive bys, robberies, never feeling safe with your kids in your own neighborhood - I wanted to do what I could to make that fear go away. 

Once I was inside the task force, though, the reality was a rude awakening for me.  The task force was poorly managed and staffed by detectives mostly out for themselves, and the internal politics made success incredibly difficult and almost impossible - almost, but not quite. 

Street Creds is my story.  Against the odds, outnumbered by gang members, and with very few allies in the department and only the bare minimum of support. Having witnessed bad cops, brutal crimes, and realizing the department had been compromised, the cost was much higher for me personally than I anticipated; however, while on the task force, I achieved a 100% conviction rate of every case on which I made an arrest.