HARTFORD, Conn. — Nearly gone are the gang days of the 1980s and ’90s, when the Bloods wore head-to-toe red, the Crips wore blue and Latin Kings wore black and gold.

Gangs from coast to coast have toned down their use of colors and are even removing or altering tattoos to avoid being easily identified by police and witnesses, law enforcement officials say.

Today, the most you might see is part of a red handkerchief hanging out of a back pocket or a gold and black baseball cap, said Johnmichael O’Hare, a Hartford police sergeant who monitors gangs.

“Many of them don’t wear colors. They tell us they’re not in gangs,” O’Hare said. “They’re trying to avoid detection from law enforcement.”

Gang members also don’t want to stand out because they are committing more white-collar-type crimes, such as credit card and identity thefts, authorities say.