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A The gang has a name (usually after a town or street, Musician, movie, song etc...), a leader,and certain developed signs such as certain clothing and jewelry. They often claim territory over an area with graffiti and fighting. The primary age group for a gang member is 14-20. However there are children as young as 7 years old in gangs. Gangs vary tremendously in composition and activities. Irving Spergel (1989) suggests the following working definition: "juvenile and young adults associating together for serious, especially violent, criminal behavior with special concerns for 'turf'." Turf can signify the control of a physical territory, a criminal enterprise, or both. (Some excerps below taken from NAGIA) Defense of turf can lead to extreme violence. As Captain Raymond Gott of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office says, simply "wearing the wrong color in a certain neighborhood can get you killed" (McKinney). Turf lines are normally drawn in the neighborhoods, but gang rivalries also have a devastating impact on schools. Often, even non-gang members begin bringing weapons to school for "protection" from robberies and gang violence (Cindy Tursman 1989). Asian, black, Hispanic, white and interracial gangs exist, ranging in size from a few members to thousands. Ages range from preteen to adult, but the average age is dropping--from 15 in 1984, to 13 1/2 in 1987 (McKinney). The vast majority of gang members are male (Spergel). Most gang members advertise their membership by distinctive dress and behaviors, including handkerchiefs and shoelaces of specific colors, jewelry, tattoos, jargon, and hand gestures. They mark their territory and challenge other gangs with spray-painted graffiti or gang symbols. The National School Safety Center (NSSC 1988) provides an excellent summary of the characteristics of different types of gangs. In Los Angeles and other urban areas in the United States, the formation of street gangs increased at a steady pace through 1996. The Bloods and the Crips, the most well-known gangs of Los Angeles, are predominately African American and they have steadily increased in number since their beginnings in 1969. In addition, there are over 600 active Hispanic gangs in Los Angeles County with a growing Asian gang population numbering approximately 20,000 members. Hispanic Gangs Most people believe that Los Angeles' Hispanic street gangs can be traced to the early 1900s, but Hispanic street gangs of the early 1900's developed as a result of incidents that occurred more than 50 years earlier. In the early 1900's, Los Angeles experienced the birth of the first Hispanic street gangs. Mexican-Americans who lived in the "pueblo" of Los Angeles still felt displaced, even as naturalized citizens. Many of these new Americans were treated like second-class citizens by white Angelenos, and were told to go back to their home, Mexico. In the minds of Hispanics in Los Angeles, they were already home, but their home was now part of the United States because of the annexation. They now lived in a country that didn't want them, but they could not return to Mexico because they were U.S. citizens. The Mexican immigrants also tended to live in the same areas, with family or other Mexicans who migrated from the same geographical areas of Mexico. These neighborhoods were often some of the poorest areas in rapidly growing Los Angeles. These conditions aided in the development of rivalries between various immigrant groups. A modern class distinction was also developing. Sgt. Joe Guzman, Los Angeles County Sheriff Department, an expert on Hispanic street gangs, correctly points out that Mexican street gangs formed in part due to economic conditions, prejudice and racism. Irish street gangs formed in the 1800s in New York as a result of these social conditions. In the early 1900s, similar social and economic factors were present in Los Angeles, giving rise to Hispanic street gangs. The Maravilla gangs started to form during the mid-to-late 1940s, and continued to grow well into the 1950s. The concept of protecting turf was expanded within the housing projects known as Maravilla, where the Maravilla gangs got their start. Competition for jobs, women and turf became issues for the youth that lived in this area, according to Sgt. Joe Guzman. Eventually, rivalries began to exist between people living in different housing projects. If conflicts arose, however, they were handled within the community, not by outsiders (law enforcement). This mentality developed into an early form of claiming turf. When you claim turf, the next step is protecting it. These concepts were then adopted by the other Mexican street gangs and were rapidly accepted and put into practice. These housing projects evolved into some of the neighborhoods or barrios whose names are still familiar within the street gang culture. The origin of Mexican street gang turf wars can be traced back to those original housing projects. These behaviors also helped to create the current gang customs and practices. Chicano Music: An
Influence on Gang Violence and Culture
The rivalries between black East Coast and West Coast gangster rappers have received a great deal of media attention in recent years, particularly in regard to high-profile violent gang incidents involving individuals, groups, and companies. For years, record companies capitalized on the violent gangster image. However, when Ice-T released Body Count, the resulting backlash against the album's glorification of violence directed toward law enforcement officers resulted in Time Warner severing his contract. Gangster rap music has historically included elements of gang-related violence in lyrics. Even the U.S. Congress has held hearings on the issue of violent gangster rap music, and has called upon the expertise of gang specialists like Sergeant Ron Stallworth, Utah Department of Public Safety, to provide testimony regarding violence in the gangster rap industry. Much of the media focus has been on black rap artists. However, music has played a historical role with Latino gangs, and popular Latino artists have been influenced by the gang culture, as well. Oldies and Rap continue to be popular with the gang members of this decade. The growing violence in the lyrics in these songs also seems to indicate a trend toward willingness on the part of gang members to commit violent acts directed at law enforcement officers. Gabe Morales is a Gang Specialist and the author of Varrio Warfare: Violence in the Latino Community. His website, containing more in-depth information, is located at: http://www.angelfire.com/biz4/stopvarriowar Copyright © 2000 Gabriel Morales. All Rights Reserved. African-American Gangs African-American
Street Gangs in Los Angeles
In Los Angeles and other urban areas in the United States, the formation of street gangs increased at a steady pace through 1996. The Bloods and the Crips, the most well-known gangs of Los Angeles, are predominately African American[1] and they have steadily increased in number since their beginnings in 1969. In addition, there are over 600 active Hispanic gangs in Los Angeles County with a growing Asian gang population numbering approximately 20,000 members. Surprisingly, little has been written about the historical significance of black gangs in Los Angeles (LA). Literature and firsthand interviews with Los Angeles residents seem to point to three significant periods relevant to the development of the contemporary black gangs. The first period, which followed WWII and significant black migrations from the South, is when the first major black clubs formed. After the Watts rebellion of 1965, the second period gave way to the civil rights period of Los Angeles where blacks, including those who where former club members who became politically active for the remainder of the 1960s. By the early 1970s black street gangs began to reemerge. By 1972, the Crips were firmly established and the Bloods were beginning to organize. This period saw the rise of LA’s newest gangs, which continued to grow during the 1970s, and later formed in several other cities throughout the United States by the 1990s. While black gangs do not make up the largest or most active gang population in Los Angeles today, their influence on street gang culture nationally has been profound. Migration patterns within Los Angeles County have, to some degree, influenced the spatial distribution and growth of gang territories within Los Angeles County. In nearly thirty years, gang territories spread to cover over 60 square miles of the county. The number of black gangs in Los Angeles dramatically increased from 18 gangs in 1972 to 60 gangs by 1978. This trend did not cease, and by the 1990s, there were close to 300 black gangs in Los Angeles County. The accompanying expansion of gang territories led to the inevitability that gang conflict would spill into non-gang communities. black gangs along with Latino gangs were no longer confined to the inner city of Los Angeles. By the 1990s, the changing geography of these gangs, which were once confined to the inner-city during the 1970s, became bizarrely juxtaposed with the affluent landscape of Los Angeles suburbia by the late 1980s and early 1990s. As the gang epidemic was unfolding in Los Angeles, other urban and suburban areas in the United States began to see the formation of street gangs. During the 1980s, a number of cities reported street gang activity, with many reporting the presence of active Los Angeles-based Blood and Crip gangs. In 1988 police departments from all over the country, from Shreveport, Louisiana, to Kansas City, Missouri, to Seattle, Washington, were reporting that California gang members were extending their operations (Skolnick et al. 1993). Some of this was due to migration of gang members from Los Angeles, and some gang formation was the result of indigenous youths emulating Los Angeles gang culture, which was partly facilitated through the media and films. By the 1990s, several cities in the Midwest were reporting gang activity while California led the nation in the number of cities reporting gangs. Only four states in the 1992 survey did not report any gang activity (See Klein 1995:193-195). Research by Walter Miller showed that by 1975, Los Angeles was en route to becoming the gang capital of the nation, with an estimated 580 gangs being reported in Los Angeles, the largest number reported in this survey. New York led the nation in gang membership with 24,000, but Los Angeles was second in the country with 13,500 estimated gang members. The dramatic increase in the number of gangs from 1978 to 1982, which was most evident in Los Angeles, Compton, and Inglewood, occurred during the same time when unemployment was rising because of plant closures. A major phase of deindustrialization was occurring in Los Angeles that resulted in 70,000 workers being laid off in South Los Angeles between 1978 and 1982, heavily impacting the black community (Soja et al. 1983: 217). Unemployment at the expense of base closures and plant relocations has been linked, among other factors, to persistent juvenile delinquency that has led to gang development (Klein 1995: 103,194). Spergel found that gangs where more prevalent in areas where limited access to social opportunities and social disorganization, or the lack of integration of key social institutions including youth and youth groups, family, school, and employment in a local community, were found (1995:61). Also the type of community was believed to influence the prevalence of gangs, and neighborhoods with large concentrations of poor families, large number of youths, female-headed households, and lower incomes were key factors (Covey et al. 1997:71). In addition, poverty that is associated with unemployment, racism, and segregation is believed to be a foremost cause of gang proliferation (Klein 1995: 194). These conditions are strongly associated with areas plagued by poverty, rather than the suburban regions identified in this study. By the mid 1990s there were an estimated 650,000 gang members in the United States (U.S. Department of Justice 1997), including 150,000 in Los Angeles County. In addition, in 1996 there were over 600 Hispanic gangs in Los Angeles County along with a growing Asian gang force of about 20,000. With gang membership increasing, gang-related homicides in Los Angeles County reached epidemic proportions for black and Hispanic males that represented 93 percent of all gang-related homicide victims from 1979 to 1994 (Hutson, et al. 1995). From 1985 to 1992, gang-related homicides had increased in each of the eight consecutive years For more information on Los Angeles gangs, visit Mr. Alonso's website at http://www.streetgangs.com/. Alejandro Alonso, M.A. is currently completing his Ph.D. in Geography at the University of Southern California (USC). He is an adjunct professor at Santa Monica College, and has worked as a Research Assistant for the Southern California Studies Center (USC), a Field Researcher for the Social Science Research Institute (USC), and a GIS Analyst for Information Systems for Los Angeles (ISLA/IDA). His papers include: Territories, Alliances and Volatile areas of Los Angeles Gang, which was presented at the California Gang Investigation Association Conference in July 1996. Copyright © 1998 Alejandro Alonso. All rights reserved. Hybrid Gangs Breaking
All The Rules:
As the "gangsta" culture continues to spread throughout North America, the influence of California and Chicago gangs are now being felt in both large metropolitan areas and with increasing frequency in small, rural communities. The lesson has been well-learned that the problem of street gangs is one that touches all ethnic and socio-economic classes. However, as law enforcement agencies have attempted to deal with the gang problem in their respective communities, some very significant differences have been discovered from the historic perception of these gangs, and their behaviors in areas outside of Chicago or Los Angeles. Law enforcement agencies, who prior to the late 80's or early 1990's had not dealt with street gangs and gang-related crime, often found themselves scrambling to obtain training on these issues. Initially, much of the training available focused on the historical background of Crip and Blood factions that formed in Los Angeles in the late 1960's, or on the legacy of Chicago-based gangs such as the Black Gangster Disciples, Latin Kings, Vice Lords, and Latin Counts. As law enforcement became better versed in the origins of these influential gangs, officers frequently attempted to apply information received from historic gang areas to the gangs which were appearing in their local jurisdictions. In some instances, the gangs were structured in a similar fashion to their historical counterparts. However, in most instances, street gangs that exist and continue to form in the Midwest and other parts of the country, sometimes display distinct differences from gangs in other cities that bear the same names. This sometimes causes confusion and frustration to law enforcement officials attempting to identify and counter their own local version of street gangs. As we enter the new millennium, the gang culture continues to flourish. However, as it spreads, it is frequently "tweaked" and modified by groups of youths that are attracted to the gangsta subculture. New gangs frequently spring up throughout the country, and may not follow the traditional rules or methods of operation carried out by their predecessors. In essence, while many communities have gangs bearing the names of old time, original gangs from Los Angeles or Chicago, the actual membership of these gangs is most frequently locally-based with little or no real affiliation to the original gang other than the name. This hybrid gang culture is one of the dominant types of gangs encountered in communities that had no gang culture prior to the 1980's or 1990's. Kansas City, Missouri, is located in almost the geographical center of the continental United States. It has become a textbook example of the migration of the gang culture since the 1980's. There are approximately 5,000 documented gang members and affiliates in the Kansas City metropolitan area, however, no single group has ever surfaced as the dominant gang. There are numerous Chicago-style and California-style gangs in the city. However, the larger gangs are locally-based "hybrids" whose members have adopted the gang culture over the past decade, modified it with their personal interpretations and agendas, and become much more of a criminal and societal problem in the community than any group moving into the area. The gang culture in Kansas City is a perfect example of the type of hybrid gang culture which now exists throughout the continental U.S. and with increasing frequency in small, rural communities and school districts. For any law enforcement agency or community to properly devise a response to deal with problems related to gangs, they must understand that the hybrid gang culture spawns gangs which do not operate by the traditional rules established by the older gang hubs in Los Angeles or Chicago. Hybrid gangs frequently operate in some of these non-traditional ways: They may or may not have an allegiance to a traditional color. In fact, much of the gang graffiti in the United States is a bastardized composite with conflicting symbols. For example, Crip graffiti painted in red paint would be unheard of in California, but it is not uncommon in the hybrid gang culture. Hybrid gangs may adopt symbols from both Chicago and Los Angeles affiliations. For example, a locally-based Blood gang might also use symbols from the People Nation, such as 5-pointed stars and downward-pointing pitchforks. The name of the gang may reflect these dual affiliations, as well. Gang members may change their affiliation from one gang to another. It is not uncommon for a gang member to claim multiple affiliations, sometimes involving rival gangs. For example, in Kansas City, police frequently deal with an admitted Blood gang member who is known to also frequent the St. Louis area, where he proudly claims his affiliation to the Black Gangster Disciples. Existing gangs may change the name of their gang. Existing gangs may suddenly merge and form a new gang. While many gangs continue to be based on ethnicity, many gangs are increasingly diverse in both ethnic and gender compositions. Seemingly strange associations may form in different communities such as Skinhead and Crip gang members being closely affiliated. Many of the hybrid gangs
are locally formed and consider themselves to be their own distinct gangster
entity with no alliance or ties to Blood/Crip or Folk/People national groups.
These types of gangs are frequently the biggest problem for local law enforcement
and the most difficult to classify. Examples abound in every jurisdiction.
As the gang culture continues to spread and modify throughout the country, law enforcement investigators have identified other non-traditional trends, which are occurring with more frequency, involving transient gangs from California or Chicago. Some current trends being reported in the Midwest include: Los Angeles gang members that relocate in the Midwest may align themselves with a local gang with no real ties to the California member's original gang set. Gang members from Chicago or Los Angeles will frequently conduct criminal activity with rival gang members when both are in other parts of the country. Frequently, profit potential outweighs old gang loyalties. Differing factions of Hispanic gangs are becoming increasingly prominent in much of the United States. It is crucial for law enforcement to know the origins and rivalries of Hispanic factions as officers increasingly encounter Surenos, Nortenos, Sinaloan Cowboys, and others. Transient Hispanic gangs may continue animosity with their rivals in other parts of the country, and also have violent encounters with local Hispanic gangs. Asian criminal activity, much of which is by transient gangs, continues to greatly impact much of North America. Problems for law enforcement include cultural misunderstanding, identification issues, language barriers, and the transient nature of Asian gangs who will live in one city but travel out of state to commit crimes. It is imperative that law enforcement agencies, both large and small, understand the continuing changes in the dynamics of gangs as the problem continues to spread. It is vital that agencies maintain updated training of staff and monitor the specific chemistry of the gang culture within their own jurisdiction. There is no all-encompassing response by a law enforcement agency which will work universally. The response to gangs must be based on an accurate assessment of the local problem, updated intelligence, an examination of resources in the community, and a realistic appraisal on how to gauge success. Efforts which may find success in one city may have little effect in another. During the early trial and error process, it is essential that efforts always include every available community agency, which aids in the intervention and prevention effort. However, without the support of community government and police administration, the efforts to combat street gangs by police can be frustrating. David Starbuck is a Sergeant
with the Kansas City (MO) Police Department assigned to the Gang Squad.
Dave is also the Vice-President for the Missouri Chapter of the Midwest
Gang Investigators Association. He has more than 20 years of law
enforcement experience.
Copyright © 2000 Dave Starbuck. All rights reserved. East Coast Gangs Introduction
to East Coast Gangs
With some of the world's most lucrative drug markets, the East Coast is ripe for gangs to flourish. There is plenty of opportunity, potential recruits, and money for savvy gang members to gain fortune and power. Influences from the West Coast and the Midwest ("Super Gangs" such as the Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, and Gangster Disciples) have become prevalent throughout the eastern United States. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, Los Angeles and Chicago-based gangs had become violent and entrenched, and gangs from these cities, including the Bloods, Crips, and Surenos (Los Angeles) and the Latin Kings and Gangster Disciples (Chicago), had formed. These gangs would go on to evolve into "Super Gangs" during the 1980s and 1990s, serving as the models for street gang culture around the United States. Gang culture had spread even to the most rural areas of the U.S. by the end of 1999. SUPER GANGS Super Gangs can be defined as gangs with a large membership, and whose normal operations meet the following criteria: Membership exceeds 1,000 members nationally. The gang can be documented in multiple states. The gang maintains extensive drug networks. The gang exercises aggressive recruiting strategies. The gang has a multiethnic membership. The gang has advocated ambition for power and massive membership. Groups in the Northeast which fit this criteria include: ALMIGHTY LATIN KING AND QUEEN
NATION (AKA LATIN KINGS)
BLOODS/UNITED BLOOD NATION/EAST
COAST BLOOD NATION
The United Blood Nation, simply called the Bloods, formed in 1993 within the New York City jail system on Riker's island. Prior to the formation of the Bloods, the Latin Kings were the most prevalent and organized gang in the NYC jail system. The Latin Kings and the Netas were large Hispanic gangs, who began targeting African American inmates with violence. The African American inmates, organized by some of the more violent and charismatic inmates, formed a protection group which they called the United Blood Nation (UBN). UBN emulated the Bloods street gangs in Los Angeles. Several of the leaders of UBN then formed eight Blood sets to recruit in their neighborhoods across New York City. By the mid 1990s, thousands of members of Bloods street gangs were establishing themselves as a force among gangs and were continuing steady recruitment. At this time, the Bloods were more violent than other gangs, but much less organized. A common ritual among these gangs involved shedding blood, through stabbings or slashings, as an initiation ritual. By the year 2000, the Bloods have become the most violent gang on the East Coast. CRIPS
GANGSTER DISCIPLES
THE FUTURE Oddly enough, while crime rates are down across the United States, gang membership is flourishing. Even more odd is the rapid increase in gang membership in suburban and rural areas. Gangs have reached across geographic, ethnic, and racial boundaries. Gangs are no longer true to their origins, but their traditions and identifiers have been distorted, diluted, and changed as they have relocated across the U.S. Gangs no longer match their media stereotypes, and law enforcement professionals need to take the time to understand their individual community's unique gang problem. The face of the gangster has changed, and we must be prepared to change with it. Sergeant Lou Savelli is the co-founder and Vice President of the East Coast Gang Investigators Association, an 18 year veteran of NYPD, a former member of the Broward County Sheriff’s Department (FL) and Hollywood Police Department (FL) and a published author. Copyright © 2000 Louis Savelli. All rights reserved. Joanie's Note: I could go on and on with all of the different Gangs, their names, their affiliations, their styles etc... BUT They are just to numerous for one lay person to describe in detaiil. I ask that you visit The National Alliance of Gang Investigators' Associations (NAGIA) This is an excellent starting point to learn more about the gangs and how we can aid in dealing with their elimination. Table of Contents The Site Fights Anti-Gang Website What are gangs and how are they formed? Why do kids join gangs? How can I tell if my child is in a gang? |