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Mel Meléndez
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 27, 2006 12:00 AM

Dream Center of Los Angeles, CA

& Global Water Outreach Programs

Outreach Program Tattoo Removal for Gangs Members & Kids Under 21

Every year, about 250 people like Clifton participate in Phoenix's low-cost X-TATTOO: Tattoo Removal Program. It targets at-risks youths ages 13 to 25 who want to get rid of visible tattoos, especially prison or gang tattoos, to become productive members of society, city officials said.

Clifton is a prime example. She battled drug abuse in her teens, which clouded her judgment, including running with one of Phoenix's 250-plus gangs. But now five years clean and a mother, Clifton recently graduated from GateWay Community College and wants to erase two large tattoos from her neck and a gang-related emblem on her hand to find work as a respiratory therapist.

"People look at you differently with these tattoos and I don't want to offend anyone," said Clifton, who's two years into her tattoo-removal program. "But my advice to anyone thinking of getting a tattoo is don't do it, because removing them is very painful."

 

X-TATTOO at work

Launched in 1994, X-TATTOO is one of hundreds of tattoo-removal programs nationwide that supporters say provide at-risk youths a new lease on life by erasing the final evidence of their delinquent lifestyle choices.

"For gang members, gang tattoos are like branding themselves and broadcasting who they are," said Lt. A.J. Edmondson of the Phoenix Police Department's Gang Enforcement Unit. "So having them removed shows courage and that they're really committed to making a clean break."

Run by the city's Parks and Recreation Department, the program uses laser technology to remove the onerous body art, including initials, such as "W.S." for West Side gang, or White supremacist symbols, such as swastikas.

Volunteer plastic surgeons use a laser beam to shatter the pigments in tattoos and the body then safely absorbs the ink as tattoos fade. The tattoos must be on the face, neck or hands.

Participants complete at least eight hours of community service per treatment and pay $10 to $70 per session to offset the program's operating costs, which run about $110,000 annually. Federal and state grants mostly fund the program, officials said.

"It used to be totally free, and participation was low," said Stacia Holmes, X-TATTOO's coordinator. "But when we added the charge it created 'buy in' and participation surged."

The number of treatments varies depending on the size of the tattoo, how deeply the ink is etched and the quality and color of the ink.

Most participants require 10 to 12 treatments over an 18-month period for the tattoo to fade.

Savings are substantial for a procedure that normally costs about $700 to remove a postage stamp-size tattoo.

"They typically pay a few hundred dollars for a procedure that would typically cost in the thousands," Holmes said. "But it also improves their self-esteem, and you can't put a price on that."

Phoenix police say tattoo- removal programs are needed to curb retaliatory attacks on former gang members from rival gangs. Innocent bystanders could get caught in those attacks, said Detective Tony Morales, a Phoenix police spokesman.

"We've had incidents of gang tattoos and gang attire sparking violence," he said. "So gang tattoos create a danger for everyone, not just former gang members."

 

256 gangs in city

According to Phoenix police, the city has 256 gangs and 7,338 documented gang members. They include the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, the New Mexican Mafia prison gang and the West Side City Crips, which is affiliated with the Los Angeles-based Crips, one of the largest and most notorious street gangs in the nation.

While some question why taxpayers should help fund tattoo-removal programs, Holmes said that everyonebenefits.

"Taxpayers get back more than what they put into this program, because when these kids become gainfully employed, they pay taxes on their wages, purchases, etc," she said. "So programs like these basically pay for themselves."



Reach the reporter at mel.melendez@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8212.