What is MARGIN?

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Gang Investigators Network (MARGIN) is an organization consisting of federal, state and local law enforcement/criminal justice officers, representing over 75 separate agencies from throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The primary goal of the network is to enhance officer safety by providing relevant gang information to law enforcement officers and for the overall public safety.

MARGIN began in 1992 as an informal group of gang investigators, representing seven law enforcement agencies from throughout the Washington Metropolitan area. The investigators recognized that gangs were proliferating throughout the area, that working street gangs was complex, and that the need to share gang information was mandatory.

The investigators named the group the Washington/Baltimore Metropolitan Area Regional Gang Investigators Network ( MARGIN) and met on a monthly basis to exchange information on current investigations, gang structure, membership, the crime associated with their activities, and new trends and patterns. Monthly meetings were, and are today, hosted by the various participating member agencies.

As new investigators joined the network, representing agencies from Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, it became apparent that gang training was a critical need. Utilizing the varied expertise of MARGIN members, a curriculum was developed and training was offered at no charge to any member agency upon request. A variety of training is offered, from general two hour blocks to a full forty hour gang identification and investigations course.

Information exchange between investigators and agencies is of critical importance. Monthly information exchange meetings facilitate such exchange and contribute greatly to the development of professional liaisons and networking between those investigators and agencies. To better accommodate all of those interested in participating in MARGIN, and to increase participation at the monthly information exchange meetings, separate geographical MARGIN Regions were established. Minutes of each regional monthly information exchange meeting are recorded and disseminated to the entire MARGIN membership in the form of an informal newsletter. Currently MARGIN consists of six geographical regions; Greater Washington, D.C., Greater Baltimore, Maryland, Greater Richmond, Virginia, Western (Western Maryland, Eastern West Virginia, and Northwestern Virginia), Southern Maryland, and Maryland-Eastern Shore. MARGIN was renamed as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Gang Investigators Network to better describe the Network's geographical area of concern.