MONROVIA, Montserrado – The Liberia National Police is raising the alarm over what officials think is a new sign of criminal gangs operating in Monrovia.

In several communities in the metropolitan region, especially in Sinkor, sneakers are seen strung up on power lines. The act is strange in Liberia and residents have also expressed concerns over the situation.

A resident of Sinkor, Pauline Williams, said she and other neighbors are concerned about the implications.

“Some people say it is a sign to locate where narcotic drugs and other illegal substances are being sold,” she said.

Human rights investigator Adama Dempster said the situation, which is prevalent in the United States and other parts of Europe, is associated with gangs.

“There are lots of gangsters in the developed world [who use] that symbol for their members, and it also serves as a threat to other gangsters that are not part of their group,” Dempster said.

In places where it is popular, he said the sign indicates a no-go zone for gangs that are not part of another group’s control area.

“It just sends a signal that sometimes it’s a no-go zone for certain groups of people that are not supposed [to] enter in that particular terrain. So, one group of gangsters that are portraying and perpetuating their own kind of gangsterism are covered within that terrain and does not want the opposite group of gangs that are not in the same fraternity with them to enter that area of their control,” he said.

He said gangsterism is associated with crimes, thus making the sign a threat to communities.

Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman has said the police have linked the sneakers to identifying targeted areas for armed robberies, although he said they are still conducting further investigations.

Coleman said the police have sent out pictures to law enforcement authorities within the U.S. for guidance in properly interpreting the signs.

Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman; Photo: Gbatemah Senah

He said the police is talking with the Liberia Electricity Corporation to take down the sneakers, as it is investigating how they are posted. However, he emphasized the need for community engagement in the process of identifying the source of the sneakers.

“It’s people within the communities that have to keep us informed about how and when these things appear in their communities so we can know how to act about it, but we are investigating that particular issue,” he said.

Currently, he said there has been no suspects or arrests made in connection with the acts.

LEC’s director of communications, Mambu James Kpargoi, said the sneakers are putting tension on power lines in the city.

However, while the LNP and citizens seem sure that the sneakers on the power lines are a sign of gang activities, a 2015 article published by the Chicago-based media group WBEZ, says there are many possible theories, both harmless and gang-related.

The theories about the practice, which have been seen in Chicago since the 1970s, range from the shoes being tossed over the wires because of lost bets, to children simply having fun.

In a more serious vein, some people interviewed for the article said the shoes could signify where to buy drugs in addition to memorializing the victims of gun violence.

Because the Liberia National Police does not make crime statistics available to the public based on the precise locations, it is impossible to independently determine whether the locations of the sneakers on the power lines correspond to specific types of crimes.

Featured photo by Gbatemah Senah