For other uses, see Blood and Blood (disambiguation).

Street gang founded in Los Angeles, California

The distinctive Blood gang signal[1]
Founded	1972; 50 years ago (1972)
Founding location	Los Angeles, California, United States
Years active	1972–present
Territory	33 U.S. states[2] and Canada[3]
Ethnicity	mostly African American;[2] but there is also strong Latino and Asian presence.
Membership (est.)	15,000–20,000[4]
Activities	Drug trafficking, murder, assault, auto theft, burglary, extortion, fraud and robbery[2]
Allies	Black Guerrilla Family[5] Black P. Stones[6] Florencia 13 (some sets, like the Mad Swan Bloods and the "Bishop" Bloods Umbrella) Juggalos[7] Latin Kings[8] People Nation[6] United Blood Nation[6] Vice Lords[9] Italian-American Mafia (in New York)[10]
Rivals	Aryan Brotherhood[11] Asian Boyz[12] Crips[6] Florencia 13[13] Folk Nation[6] Gangster Disciples[14] MS-13[6] (Though in some places Bloods and Maras coexist peacefully; such is the case with the Rollin' 20's Neighbourhood Bloods and the MS-13 Koreatown clique) Tiny Rascal Gang[15]

The Bloods are a primarily African-American street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs.

The Bloods comprise various subgroups known as "sets", among which significant differences exist, gang members make money, such as colors, clothing, operations, and political ideas that may be in open conflict with each other. Since the gang's creation, it has branched throughout the United States.

History

The Bloods gang was formed initially to compete against the influence of the Crips in Los Angeles. The rivalry originated in the 1960s when Raymond Washington and other Crips attacked Sylvester Scott and Benson Owens, two students at Centennial High School in Compton, California. As a result, Scott formed the Piru street-gang, the first "Bloods" gang. Owens subsequently established the West Piru gang. The Bloods was initially formed to provide members protection from the Crips. Many of the non-Crip gangs used to call one another "blood".^[16] On March 21, 1972, shortly after a concert featuring Wilson Pickett and Curtis Mayfield, 20 youths belonging to the Crips attacked and robbed Robert Ballou Jr. outside the Hollywood Palladium. Ballou was beaten to death after refusing to give up his leather jacket. The sensational media coverage of the crime and the continued assaults by the Crips increased their notoriety. Several non-Crips gangs formed during this period were no match for the Crips and became concerned with the escalating Crip attacks. The Pirus, Black P. Stones, Athens Park Boys and other gangs not aligned with the Crips often clashed with them. On June 5, gang members make money, 1972, three months after Ballou's murder, Fredrick "Lil Country" Garret was murdered by a Westside Crip. This marked the first Crips murder against another gang member and motivated non-Crip gangs to align with each other. The Brims struck back on August 4, 1972, by murdering Thomas Ellis, an original Westside Crip. By late 1972, the Pirus held a meeting in their neighborhood to discuss growing Crip pressure and intimidation. Several gangs that felt victimized by the Crips joined the Pirus to create a new federation of non-Crips neighborhoods. This alliance became the Bloods.^[17] The Pirus are therefore considered the founders of the Bloods.

By 1978, there were 15 Blood sets. Crips still outnumbered Bloods 3 to 1. To assert their power, the Bloods became increasingly violent. During the 1980s, Bloods began distributing crack cocaine in Los Angeles. Blood membership soon rose dramatically as did the number of states in gang members make money they were present. These increases were primarily driven by profits from crack cocaine distribution. The huge profits allowed members to relocate to other cities and states.^[16]

United Blood Nation

Main article: United Blood Nation

"Bloods" is a universal term used to refer to West Coast Bloods and United Blood Nation (UBN, also gang members make money as the East Coast Bloods). These two groups are traditionally distinct, but both call themselves "Bloods". The profits of crack distribution allowed Bloods to spread in other states. UBN started in 1993 in Rikers Island's George Motchan Detention Center (GMDC) to form protection from the Latin Kings and Ñetas who were targeting African-American gang bitcoin investing 2022 get. UBN is a loose confederation of predominantly African-American street gangs. Once released from prison, UBN leaders went back to their New York neighborhoods, where they retained the Bloods name and started recruiting members. UBN has between 7,000 and 15,000 members in the Eastern US. It makes its income through various criminal activities, including distribution of crack cocaine and smuggling drugs into prison.^[18][19]

Membership

Bloods are a loosely structured association of smaller street gangs, known as "sets", that have a common gang culture.^[20] Each set has its own leader and generally operates independently from the others. Most Bloods members are African-American males, although some sets have recruited female members as well as members from other races and ethnic backgrounds.^[6] Members range in age from early teens to mid-20s, but some hold leadership positions into their late twenties and occasionally thirties.

There is no known national leader of the Bloods but individual Blood sets have a hierarchical leadership structure with identifiable levels of membership. These levels of membership indicate status within a gang. A leader, gang members make money, typically an older member with a more extensive criminal background, runs each set. A set leader is not elected but rather asserts himself by developing and managing the gang's criminal enterprises through his reputation for violence and ruthlessness and his charisma. The majority of set members are called "soldiers", who are typically 16 to 22. Soldiers have a strong sense of commitment to their set and are extremely dangerous because of their gang members make money to use violence both to obtain the respect of gang members and to respond to any person who "disrespects" the set. "Associates" are not full members, but identify with the gang and take part in various criminal activities. To the extent that women belong to the gang, they are usually associates and tend to be used by their male counterparts to carry weapons, hold drugs, or prostitute themselves to make money for their set.^[6]

Recruitment is often influenced by a recruit's environment. Bloods recruit heavily among school-age youth in poor African-American communities. Gang membership offers youth a sense of belonging and protection. It also offers immediate gratification to economically disadvantaged youth who desire the trappings of gang life, such as gold jewelry, cash, expensive sports clothing.^[8] Blood sets have a loose structure of ranks based on how long a person has been involved with a particular set.^{[citation needed]} The ranks do not signify leadership or dominance over the set; they merely signify respect for those who have been in the set longer and have survived the longest.^[21] Those with a higher rank do not have a position of authority over those of lower rank.^[22]

Bloods members commonly call themselves CKs (for Crip-Killer), MOBs (Member of Bloods), dawgs, or ballers (meaning drug dealers).^[23] The gang has a membership of between approximately 15,000 and 20,000 active in 123 cities and in 33 U.S, gang members make money. states,^[2] primarily on the West Coast and, to a lesser extent, the Great Lakes region and the Southeast.^[24] Gangs including Bloods have been documented in the U.S. military, in both U.S. and overseas bases.^[25] Blood sets also operate in the Canadian cities of Montreal and Toronto.^[26][27]

Identification

Bloods members identify themselves through various indicators, such as colors, clothing, symbols, tattoos, jewelry, graffiti, language, and hand signs. The Bloods' gang color is red. They like to wear sports clothing, including jackets that show their gang color. The most commonly used Bloods symbols include the number "5", the five-pointed star, and the five-pointed crown. These symbols are meant to show the Bloods' affiliation bitcoin what is it made of the People Nation, a large coalition of affiliates created to protect alliance members in federal and state prison. These symbols may be seen in the tattoos, jewelry, and clothing gang members wear as well as the gang graffiti with which Bloods mark their territory. Such graffiti can include gang names, nicknames, declaration of loyalty, threats against rival gangs, or descriptions of criminal acts in which the gang has been involved.^[6]

Bloods graffiti can include rival gang symbols (especially those of the Crips) drawn upside down. This is meant as an insult to the rival group and its symbols. Bloods members also have a distinctive slang. They greet each other using the word "Blood" and often avoid using words with the letter "C". Bloods use hand signs to communicate with one another. Hand signs may be a singular movement, like the American Sign Language letter "B", or a series of movements using one or both hands for more complex phrases. United Blood Nation (UBN) or East Coast Bloods initiates often receive a dog paw mark, represented by three dots often burned with a cigarette, on their right shoulder. Other UBN symbols include a bulldog and a bull.^[8]

Sets

Main article: List of Bloods subgroups

The Bloods gang is a network of individual chapters, which are known as "sets". These sets are often loosely connected, having their own leader(s) and operating independently from one another.

See also

References

Further reading

• Yusuf Jah, Sister Shah'keyah, UPRISING : Crips and Bloods Tell the Story of America's Youth In The Crossfire, ISBN 0-684-80460-3
• Bing, Leon, Do or Die: For the First Time, Members of L.A.'s Most Notorious Teenage Gangs - The Crips and Bloods - Speak for Themselves. ISBN 978-1-4930-0760-8
• Deutsch, Kevin, The Triangle : A Year on the Ground with New York's Bloods and Crips, ISBN 0060163267
• Kriegel, Mark (October 13, 1997). "Gangstas launch blood feud crew's superior warns wanna-bes". NY Daily News. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
• East Orange police raid apartment building as part of crackdown on Bloods set, authorities say. Nj.com. Accessed April 4, 2015.
• East Orange crime crackdown leads to nearly 60 arrests. Nj.com. Accessed April 4, 2015.

External links

New gangs using under-the-radar old technology in ‘postcode to profit’ switch to make money, report finds

Criminal gangs are becoming “ruthless and exploitative” as they move away from traditional turf wars into pure profit-making activity, a ground-breaking report claims.

The emphasis on money-orientated financial gain is borne out of a new meaning for ‘territory’– increasingly seen not as an “emotional sense of belonging to postcode that needs to be defended” but valued as a marketplace to be maintained.

The study by London South Bank University, and commissioned by Waltham Forest Council, shows that gangs are expanding into more business-orientated groups focusing on dealing in Class A drugs such as cocaine – the findings contrasting sharply with a comparative report in 2007.

The new gang type is shunning social media and using old technology, such as Nokia phones, to avoid leaving a digital footprint or raising police attention.

Rising competition in London’s drug market has led to gangs abandoning postcode rivalries, and switching to trading along County Lines outside the capital.

The report noted: “It’s not about postcodes any more. It’s about money.” 1

East London gang the Maili Boys typifies the new criminal genre, the report says, through alliances with other gangs, and an aggressive expansion outside of London into new markets.

The group has become the most dominant in Waltham Forest which has seen two gang linked killings so far this year.

One unnamed professional told the study the Somali gang was “like a franchise, like McDonalds or Benetton where the Mali Boys have got a very effective pyramid structure, business plan, but instead of burgers and woolly jumper it’s Class A drugs and cannabis.”

Report author Professor Andrew Whittaker, from London South Bank University, said: “What is striking is how ruthless and exploitative some gangs have become.

“It’s possible that the situation we’re seeing with gangs in Waltham Forest is indicative of a wider pan-London trend of increasing sophistication in the way that gangs operate now.

“We know that gang members have much higher rates of mental health problems than the general population.

“Six out of ten gang members have anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder and a third will have attempted suicide.”

Other key findings included an increasing involvement of women and girls, in particular carrying drugs for gangs, means that they are frequently at risk of being exposed to violence and sexual exploitation. The power of using girls in gang culture is their relative “invisibility” as they are usually not suspected of being involved in gang activity.

Gangs are divided about the use of social media. Some gangs operate ‘off grid’, avoiding social media and using old technology. Others embrace the digital age, using music videos to reinforce ‘brand’ and gang identity, but these tend to only feature the younger gang members rather than the elders.

The report suggests there are emerging threats with potential signs of gangs using technology to access new drug markets, and of potential links between street gangs and terrorist networks as well as signs of child exploitation where the youngest gang members are being trapped and enforced unwillingly into gang membership and then being used as child labour, exploited to perform gang-related activities.

Metropolitan Police Service Superintendent Paul Clements, of Newham and Waltham Forest, said “Crime is always changing and this report shows the sophistication of some of the gangs our officers are dealing with day in, day out.

“We are absolutely committed to working with other organisations, such as Waltham Forest Council, to divert young people away from these gangs and bringing to justice those who commit crimes.”

The From Postcodes to Profits report comes in the wake of a dramatic intervention by Justice Secretary David Gauke last month when he pointed a finger at middle-class cocaine users for the recent spree of violence in UK conurbations.

The Secretary of State said those who take cocaine and other drugs at dinner parties are to blame for the recent rise in stabbings blighting London and other cities.

“People who do that have to recognise they are fuelling the industry that’s resulting in the knife crimes, resulting in the difficulties we’re having in prisons,” he told Sky News.

The spike in knife and gun crime has seen London’s murder rate overtake New York’s this year. 

On Saturday, a 28-year-old woman became the UK capital’s 44th victim of knife crime while there have been 66 murders so far in 2018.

In total there are estimated to be around 250 gangs in London involving around 4,500 people, while there are 12 active gangs in Waltham Forest.

The authors of the Waltham Forest report spoke to current and former gang members, as well as practitioners, to better understand the behaviour, make-up, recruitment and purpose of gangs so that the council and its partners could build on the interventions and services already in place.

In its response to the new study, the local authority is allocating an additional £806,000 of funding over four years to reshape its existing gang prevention programme, on top of the existing £2.2 million projected budget over that period. It also intends to fund its first ever financial investigation team to increase capacity in the borough to seize criminal assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Waltham Forest already has a highly-developed crime and disorder partnership that operates a co-ordinated approach to dealing with young people involved in, or on the periphery of, crime.

Its Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub – consisting of professionals from children’s services working with policing, probation, early intervention and prevention service, youth offending and Victim Support colleagues, health and education – interacts with the council’s ‘Think Family’ model, which sees the family as the fundamental tool that will improve the chances of young people staying away from crime.

Senior police leaders have called for a joint response to county lines crime, as some forces are unknowingly investigating the same drug dealers. 

At a Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) hearing on Tuesday (June 5) National Police Chiefs’ Council chair Sara Thornton blamed county-crossing drug dealers for a spike in violent crime as they target young vulnerable people and pressure them into becoming offenders.  

In April, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed a 22 per cent increase in knife crime and 11 per cent rise in gun crime.  

For other uses, see Gang (disambiguation).

Violent group of individuals

"Street gang", "Crime gang", and "Gang culture" redirect here. For the Sesame Street book, see Street Gang. For similar term, see criminal gang. For the Ice-T album, see Gang Culture (album).

A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectively, in illegal, and possibly violent, behavior.

Definition

The word "gang" derives from the past participle of Old Englishgan, meaning "to go". It is cognate with Old Norsegangr,^[1] meaning "journey."^[2] It typically means a group of people, and may have neutral, positive or negative connotations depending on usage.^[3][4][5]

History

Apachegangsters fight police. Paris, 1904

In discussing the banditry in American history, Barrington Moore, Jr. suggests that gangsterism as a "form of self-help which victimizes others" may appear in societies which lack strong "forces of law and order"; he characterizes European feudalism as "mainly gangsterism that had become society itself and acquired respectability through the notions of chivalry".^[6]

The 17th century saw London "terrorized by a series of organized gangs",^[7] some of them known as the Mims, Hectors, Bugles, and Dead Boys. These gangs often came into conflict with each other. Members dressed "with colored ribbons to distinguish the different factions."^[8] During the Victorian era, criminals and gangs started to form organizations which would collectively become London's criminal underworld.^[9] Criminal societies in the underworld started to develop their own ranks and groups which were sometimes called families, and were often made up of lower-classes and operated on pick-pocketry, prostitution, forgery and counterfeiting, commercial burglary and money laundering schemes.^[9][10] Unique also were the use of slangs and argots used by Victorian criminal societies to distinguish each other, like those propagated by street gangs like the Peaky Blinders.^[11][12]

In the United States, the history of gangs began on the East Coast in 1783 following the American Revolution.^[13] Gangs arose further in the United States by the middle of the nineteenth century and were a concern for city leaders from the time they appeared.^[14] The emergence of the gangs was largely attributed to the vast rural population immigration to the urban areas. The first street-gang in the United States, the 40 Thieves, began around the late 1820s in New York City. The gangs in Washington D.C. had control of what is now Federal Triangle, in a region then known as Murder Bay.^[15] Organized crime in the United States first came to prominence in the Old West and historians such as Brian J. Robb and Erin H. Turner traced the first organized crime syndicates to the Coschise Cowboy Gang and the Wild Bunch.^[16][17]Prohibition would also cause a new boom in the emergence of gangs; Chicago for example had over 1,000 gangs in the 1920s.^[18]

Outside of the US and the UK, gangs exist in both urban and rural forms, like the French gangs of the Belle Époque like the Apaches and the Bonnot Gang.^[19] Many criminal organizations like the Italian Cosa Nostra, Japanese Yakuza, Russian Bratva, and Chinese Triads, have existed for centuries.^[20]

Types

See also: List of gangs in the United States

Gangs, syndicates, and other criminal groups, come in many forms, each with their own specialties and gang culture.^[21]

Mafia

One of the most infamous criminal gangs are Mafias, whose activities include racketeering and overseeing illicit agreements.^[22] These include the Sicilian Cosa Nostra and the Italian-American Mafia. ^[23] The Neapolitan Camorra, the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta and the Apulian Sacra Corona Unita are similar Italian organized gangs. Outside of Italy, the Irish Mob, Japanese Yakuza, Chinese Triads, and Russian Bratva are also examples.^[24][25]

Narco

Narcos or drug cartels are slang terms used for criminal groups (mainly Latin Americans) who primarily deal with the illegal drug trade.^[26] These include drug cartels like the Medellin Cartel and other Colombian cartels, Mexican cartels like the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas, and the Primeiro Comando da Capital in Brazil.^[27] Other examples are Jamaican Yardies and the various opium barons in the Golden Triangle and Golden Crescent. Many narcos are known for their use of paramilitaries and narcoterrorism like the Gulf Cartel and Shower Posse.^[28]

Street gang

Street gangs are gangs formed by youths in urban areas, and are known primarily for street fighting and gang warfare.^[29] The term "street gang" is commonly used interchangeably with "youth gang", referring to neighborhood or street-based youth groups that meet "gang" criteria.^[30] Miller (1992) defines a street gang as "a self-formed association of peers, united by mutual interests, with identifiable leadership and internal organization, who act collectively or as individuals to achieve specific purposes, including the conduct of illegal activity and control of a particular territory, facility, or enterprise."^[31] Some of the well-known ones are the Black gangs like the Bloods and the Crips, also the Vice Lords and the Gangster Disciples. Other racial gangs also exist like the Trinitario, Sureños, Tiny Rascal Gang, Asian Boyz, Wa Ching, Zoe Pound, The Latin Kings, The Hammerskins, Nazi Lowriders and Blood & Honour.

Biker gang

Biker gangs are motorcycle clubs who conduct illegal activities like the Hells Angels, the Pagans, the Outlaws, and the Bandidos,^[32][33] known as the "Big Four".^[34] The U.S. Department of Justice defines outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMG) as "organizations whose members use their motorcycle clubs as conduits for criminal enterprises".^[35] Some clubs are considered "outlaw" not necessarily because they engage in criminal activity, but because they are not sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and do not adhere to the AMA's rules. Instead the clubs have their own set of bylaws reflecting the outlaw biker culture.^{[36][37][38][39][40]} Biker gangs also exist outside of the United States such as the Rebels Motorcycle Club in Australia.

Prison gang

Prison gangs are formed inside prisons and correctional facilities for mutual protection and entrancement like the Mexican Mafia and United Blood Nation.^[41][42] Prison gangs often have several "affiliates" or "chapters" in different state prison systems that branch out due to the movement or transfer of their members.^[43] According to criminal justice professor John Hagedorn, many of the biggest gangs from Chicago originated from prisons. From the St. Charles Illinois Youth Center originated the Conservative Vice Lords and Blackstone Rangers. Although the majority of gang leaders from Chicago are now incarcerated, most of those leaders continue to manage their gangs from within prison.^[43]

Punk gang

Punk gangs are a unique type of gang made up of members who follow the punk rock ideology.^[44] Unlike other gangs and criminal groups, punk gangs follow a range of political and philosophical beliefs that can range from alt-right to radical left. Differing ideologies are one of the causes of conflicts between rival punk gangs, compared to other street gangs and criminal groups who wage gang war solely for illegal profit, vendetta, and territory.^[45] Most of them can be seen in political and social protests and demonstrations and are sometimes in violent confrontation with law-enforcement. Examples of punk gangs are Fight For Freedom, Friends Stand United, and Straight Edge gangs.^[46][47]

Vigilante gang

Contemporary organized crime has also led to the creation of anti-gang groups, vigilante gangs, and autodefensas, who are groups who profess to be fighting against gang influence, but share characteristics and acts similarly to a gang.^[48][49][50] These include groups like the Los Pepes, Sombra Negra, Friends Stand United, People Against Gangsterism and Drugs, and OG Imba.

Structure

Latin Kinggang member showing his gang tattoo, a lion with a crown, and signifying the 5 point star with his hands

Many types of gangs make up the general structure of an organized group.^[51] Understanding the structure of gangs is a critical skill to defining the types of strategies that are most effective with dealing with them, from the at-risk youth to the gang leaders.^[52] Not all individuals who display the outward signs of gang membership are actually involved in criminal activities. An individual's age, physical structure, ability to fight, willingness to commit violence, and arrest record are often principal factors in determining where an individual stands in the gang hierarchy; how money derived from criminal activity and ability to provide for the gang also impacts the individual's status within the gang. The structure of gangs varies depending primarily on size, which can range from five or ten to thousands. Many of the larger gangs break up into smaller groups, cliques or sub-sets (these smaller groups can be called "sets" in gang slang.)^[53] The cliques typically bring more territory to a gang as they expand and recruit new members. Most gangs operate informally with leadership falling to whomever takes control; others have distinct leadership and are highly structured, which resembles more or less a business or corporation.

Criminal gangs may function both inside and outside of prison, such as the Nuestra Familia, Mexican Mafia, Folk Nation, and the Brazilian^[27]PCC. During the 1970s, prison gangs in Cape Town, South Africa began recruiting street gang members from outside and helped increase associations between prison and street gangs.^[54] In the US, the prison gang the Aryan Brotherhood is involved in organized crime outside of prison.

Membership

Different gangs and criminal syndicates have various roles and members.^[55] Most are typically divided into:^[56][57][58]

• Boss: known in some groups as leader, elder, don, oyabun, or original gangster, is the one who has control over the movement, plans, and actions of a gang.^[58][59][60] Gang leaders are the upper echelons of the gang's command. Often, they distance themselves from the gang activities and make attempts to appear legitimate, possibly operating a business that they run as a front for the gang's drug dealing or other illegal operations.^[61]
• Underboss: the second in command of the gang.^[60]
• Captain: is the one who issue the command from the boss/underboss to the gangsters. Captain is responsible for the activities in the field and of the recruitment of new members.^[58][60]
• Gangsters: also known as soldiers, soldatos, or kobun, are the typical gang members who commit the activities of the gang.^[56]
• Associates: known also as gang affiliates or hang-arounds, are people who are not full members of the gang, but either support and participate in the activities of a gang, or have livelihoods tied to gang activities.^[56][62] Included here are specialized roles like enforcers (hitmen who work for criminal organizations),^[63] falcons ("eyes and ears" of the streets),^[64] and mules (smugglers who transports drugs, money, and other contraband materials).^[65]

The numerous push factors experienced by at-risk individuals vary situationally, but follow a common theme of the desire for power, respect, money, and protection. In neighborhoods with high levels of violence, adolescents typically experience pressure to join a street gang for protection from other violent actors (sometimes including police violence and the waging of the war on drugs), perpetuating a cycle of violence.^[66] These desires are very influential in attracting individuals to join gangs, and their influence is particularly strong on at-risk youth. Such individuals are often experiencing low levels of these various factors in their own lives, feeling ostracized from their community and lacking social support. Joining a gang may appear to them to be the only way to obtain status and material success or escape a cycle of poverty through profits from illegal activity. They may feel that "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". Upon joining a gang, they instantly gain a feeling of belonging and identity; they are surrounded with individuals whom they can relate to. They have generally grown up in the same area as one another and can bond over similar needs. In some areas, joining a gang is an integrated part of the growing-up process.^[67]

Gang membership is generally maintained by gangs as a lifetime commitment, reinforced through identification such as tattoos, and ensured through intimidation and coercion. Gang defectors are often subject to retaliation from the deserted gang. Many gangs, including foreign and transnational gangs, hold that the only way to leave the gang is through death. This is sometimes informally called the "morgue rule".^[68]

Gang membership represents the phenomenon of a chronic group criminal spin; accordingly, the criminality of members is greater when they belong to the gang than when they are not in the gang—either before or after being in the gang. In addition, when together, the gang criminality as a whole is greater than that of its members when they are alone.^[69] The gang operates as a whole greater than its parts and influences the behavior of its members in the direction of greater extend and stronger degree of criminality.

Some states have a formal process to establish that a person is a member of a gang, called validation. Once a person is validated as a gang member, the person is subject to increased sentences, harsher punishments (such as solitary confinement) and more restrictive parole rules. To validate a person as a gang member, the officials generally must provide evidence of several factors, such as tattoos, photographs, admissions, clothing, etc. The legal requirements for validating a person are much lower than the requirements for convicting of a crime.^{[70][71][72][73]}

Non-member women in gang culture

Women associated with gangs but who lack membership are typically categorized based on their relation to gang members. A survey of Mexican American gang members and associates defined these categories as girlfriends, hoodrats, good girls, and relatives.^[74] Girlfriends are long-term partners of male gang members, and may have children with them. "Hoodrats" are seen as being promiscuous and heavy drug and alcohol users. Gang members may engage in casual sex with these girls, but they are not viewed as potential long-term partners and are severely stigmatized by both men and women in gang culture. "Good girls" are long-term friends of members, often from childhood, and relatives are typically sisters or cousins. These are fluid categories, and women often change status as they move between them. Valdez found that women with ties to gang members are often used to hold illegal weapons and drugs, typically, because members believe the girls are less likely to be searched by police for such items.^[74]

Initiation

Different gangs from around the world have their way of recruiting and introducing new members. Most criminal gangs require an interested candidate to commit a crime to be inducted into a gang.^[75][76][77] Many street gangs, like the Bloods and MS-13, have a ritual where they would beat up (also known as "beat-in" or "jump-in") aspiring applicants for several seconds to show their toughness, willingness, and loyalty.^[75][78] Some of these gangs allow women to become members either through being jumped-in or having sex with male members (known as "sexed-in").^[79]

Biker gangs like the Hells Angels require a candidate, known as a "hang-around", to be observed and mentored by veteran gang members (which can last a year or more) in order to assess their personalities and commitment.^[80] The Cosa Nostra requires people wanting to be full members or become made men to take part in a ceremony involving oaths, agreement, and bloodletting to show their loyalty.^[81] The Sigue-Sigue Sputnik from the Philippines require gang members to tatoo (or "tatak") the name of the gang or their leader into their body.^[82] Triads have a more unique way of initiating associates into full members. Triad ceremonies take place at an altar dedicated to Guan Yu (關羽, GuānYǔ), with incense and an animal sacrifice (usually a chicken, pig or goat). After drinking a mixture of wine and blood (from the animal or the candidate), the member passes beneath an arch of swords while reciting the triad's oaths. The paper on which the oaths are written will be burnt on the altar to confirm the member's obligation to perform his duties to the gods. Three fingers of the left hand are raised as a binding gesture.^[83] The triad initiate is required to adhere to 36 oaths.^[84]

Training

Training and expertise in various forms of illicit activities, including combat, exist variously throughout different gangs. Specific members of American mafia groups, like police infiltrators, double agents, and sometimes also enforcers and hitmen, have had backgrounds in law enforcement or the military.^[85] Sicilian mafia and Calabrian Mafia in Southern Italy became notorious for creating "schools" in the countryside to train children as young as eleven in weapons and illegal activities.^[86] Giovanni Tinebra, the chief public prosecutor of Caltanissetta, once stated, "Instead of going to school, many boys go into the countryside where there are people who teach them to shoot and turn them into killing machines."^[86]

Some drug cartels in Colombia and Mexico have established themselves as paramilitaries. The earliest and most famous example was the time when the Medellin Cartel hired Israeli soldier Yair Klein to train militiamen and assassins.^[87][88] Los Zetas became infamous for being founded by US-trained Mexican commandos.^[89] Together with Kaibiles from Guatemala, they set up camps to train future sicarios and soldatos.^[90] Other Mexican cartels who trained their members include the Jalisco Cartel, who would train their members for three months in ambushes, codes of silence and discipline, inside camps.^[91]

In the case of street gangs, most do not train their members in shooting and combat.^[92] Although a few would train their youths how to shoot using empty cans and bottles as targets (with some cases using underground shooting ranges^[93]), most gangsters have no formal instructions in firearms usage and safety.^[92] The late 90s and early 2000s saw many gang members in the US being sent by judges to the military to “set them on the right path”, which only led to these street gangs gaining military training and experience.^[85] Many street gangs, most notably Africa-American gangs like the Folk Nation and Bloods, continue to have a presence in the US Military.^[94][95]

Typical activities

The United Nations estimates that gangs make most of their money through the drugs trade, which is thought to be worth $352 billion in total.^[96] The United States Department of Justice estimates there are approximately 30,000 gangs, with 760,000 members, impacting 2,500 communities across the United States.^[97]

Gangs are involved in all areas of street-crime activities like extortion, drug trafficking,^[98] both in and outside the prison system, and theft. Gangs also victimize individuals by robbery and kidnapping.^[99]Cocaine is the primary drug of distribution by gangs in America, which have used the cities Chicago, Cape Town, and Rio de Janeiro to transport drugs internationally.^[100] Brazilian urbanization has driven the drug trade to the favelas of Rio. Often, gangs hire "lookouts" to warn members of upcoming law enforcement. The dense environments of favelas in Rio and public housing projects in Chicago have helped gang members hide from police easily.^[101]

Street gangs take over territory or "turf" in a particular city and are often involved in "providing protection", often a thin cover for extortion, as the "protection" is usually from the gang itself, or in other criminal activity. Many gangs use fronts to demonstrate influence and gain revenue in a particular area.^[102]

Gang violence

Gang violence refers mostly to the illegal and non-political acts of violence perpetrated by gangs against civilians, other gangs, law enforcement officers, firefighters, or military personnel.^[103][104] A gang war is a type of small war that occurs when two gangs end up in a feud over territory or vendetta.^[105] Gang warfare mostly consists of sanctioned and unsanctioned hits, street fighting, and gun violence.^[106]

Modern gangs introduced new acts of violence, which may also function as a rite of passage for new gang members.^[107] In 2006, 58 percent of L.A.'s murders were gang-related.^[108] Reports of gang-related homicides are concentrated mostly in the largest cities in the United States, where there are long-standing and persistent gang problems and a greater number of documented gang members—most of whom are identified by law enforcement.^[109] Gang-related activity and violence has increased along the U.S. Southwest border region, as US-based gangs act as enforcers for Mexican drug cartels.^[110]

Gang violence in schools

Despite gangs usually formed in the community, not specifically in schools, gang violence can potentially affect schools in different ways including:^[111]

• Gangs can recruit members in schools;
• Gang members from the same school can engage in violence on the school premises or around their school;^[111]
• Gang members from the same school can commit violence against other students in the same school who belong to a different gang or who do not belong to a gang;
• Gangs may commit violence against other schools and students in the community where they are active, even if these students do not belong to a gang.^[111]

Global data on the prevalence of these different forms of gang violence in and around schools is limited. However, available evidence suggests that gang violence is more common in schools where students are exposed to other forms of community violence and where they fear violence at school.^[112]

Children who grow up in neighbourhoods with high levels of crime has been identified as a risk factor for youth violence, including gang violence.^[113][114] According to studies, children who knew many adult criminals were more likely to engage in violent behaviour by the age of 18 years than those who did not.^[114]

Gang violence is often associated with carrying weapons, including in school.^[112] A study of 10–19-year-olds in the UK found that 44% of those who reported belonging to a delinquent youth group had committed violence and 13% had carried a knife in the previous 12 months versus 17% and 4% respectively among those who were not in such a group.^[115]

According to a meta-analysis of 14 countries in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Central and South America, sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific also showed that carrying a weapon at school is associated with bullyingvictimization.^[116]

Comparison of Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) data on school violence and bullying for countries that are particularly affected by gang violence suggests that the links may be limited. In El Salvador and Guatemala, for example, where gang violence is a serious problem, GSHS data show that the prevalence of bullying, physical fights and physical attacks reported by school students is relatively low, and is similar to prevalence in other countries in Central America where gang violence is less prevalent.^[111]

Sexual violence

Women in gang culture are often in environments where sexual assault is common and considered to be a norm.^[74] Women who attend social gatherings and parties with heavy drug and alcohol use are particularly likely to be assaulted. A girl who becomes intoxicated and flirts with men is often seen as "asking for it" and is written off as a "hoe" by men and women.^[74] "Hoodrats" and girls associated with rival gangs have lower status at these social events, and are victimized when members view them as fair game and other women rationalize assault against them.

Motives

Most modern research on gangs has focused on the thesis of class struggle following the work of Walter B. Miller and Irving Spergel. In this body of work The Gaylords are cited as the prime example of an American gang that is neither Black nor Hispanic. Some researchers have focused on ethnic factors. Frederic Thrasher, who was a pioneer of gang research, identified "demoralization" as a standard characteristic of gangs. John Hagedorn has argued that this is one of three concepts that shed light on patterns of organization in oppressed racial, religious and ethnic groups (the other two are Manuel Castells' theory of "resistance identity and Derrick Bell's work on the permanence of racism).^[117] Ancestral tribalism and control of women is the main motivator.

Usually, gangs have gained the most control in poorer, urban communities and developing countries in response to unemployment and other services.^[118] Social disorganization, and the disintegration of societal institutions such as family, school, and the public safety net, enable groups of peers to form gangs.^[119] According to surveys conducted internationally by the World Bank for their World Development Report 2011, by far the most common reason people suggest as a motive for joining gangs is unemployment.^[120]

Ethnic solidarity is a common factor in gangs. Black and Hispanic gangs formed during the 1960s in the USA often adapted nationalist rhetoric.^[121] Both majority and minority races in society have established gangs in the name of identity: the Igbo gang Bakassi Boys in Nigeria defend the majority Igbo group violently and through terror, and in the United States, whites who feel threatened by minorities have formed their own gangs, such as the Ku Klux Klan. Responding to an increasing black and Hispanic migration, a white gang formed called Chicago Gaylords.^[122] Some gang members are motivated by religion, as is the case with the Muslim Patrol and the Epstein-Wolmark gang.^[123]

Identification

Main article: Gang signal

Most gang members have identifying characteristics which are unique to their specific clique or gang.^[124] The Bloods, for instance, wear red bandanas, the Crips blue, allowing these gangs to "represent" their affiliation. Any disrespect of a gang member's color by an unaffiliated individual is regarded as grounds for violent retaliation, often by multiple members of the offended gang. Tattoos are also common identifiers,^[125] such as an '18' above the eyebrow to identify a member of the 18th Street gang. Tattoos help a gang member gain respect within their group, and mark them as members for life. Tattoos can also represent the level they are in the gang, being that certain tattoos can mean they are a more accomplished member. The accomplishments can be related to doing an dangerous act that showed your loyalty to the gang. They can be burned on as well as inked. Some gangs make use of more than one identifier, like the Nortenos, who wear red bandanas and have "14", "XIV", "x4", and "Norte" tattoos.^[126] Some members of criminal gangs are "jumped in" (by going through a process of initiation), or have to prove their loyalty and right to belong by committing certain acts, usually theft or violence.

Gangs often establish distinctive, characteristic identifiers including graffiti tags^[127]colors, hand signals, clothing (for example, the gangsta rap-type hoodies), jewelry, hair styles, fingernails, slogans,^[128] signs (such as the noose and the burning cross as the symbols of the Klan),^[129] flags^[130] secret greetings, slurs, or code words and other group-specific symbols associated with the gang's common beliefs, rituals, and mythologies to define and differentiate themselves from other groups and gangs.^[131]

As an alternative language, hand-signals, symbols, and slurs in speech, graffiti, print, music, or other mediums communicate specific informational cues used to threaten, disparage, taunt, harass, intimidate, alarm, influence,^[132] or exact specific responses including obedience, submission, fear, or terror. One study focused on terrorism and symbols states that "[s]ymbolism is important because it plays a part in impelling the terrorist to act and then in defining the targets of their actions."^[133] Displaying a gang sign, such as the noose, as a symbolic act can be construed as "a threat to commit violence communicated with the intent to terrorize another, to cause evacuation of a building, or to cause serious public inconvenience, in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience … an offense against property or involving danger to another person that may include but is not limited to recklessly endangering another person, harassment, stalking, ethnic intimidation, and criminal mischief."^[134]

The Internet is one of the most significant media used by gangs to communicate in terms of the size of the audience they can reach with minimal effort and reduced risk. Social media provides a forum for recruitment activities, typically provoking rival gangs through derogatory postings, and to glorify their gang and themselves.^[135]

US Debate surrounding impact

Researchers and activists in the United States have debated the true impact of US gangs on crime in the United States, with a 2019 episode of the You're Wrong About podcast claiming that the perceived increase in gang violence was in fact an overblown moral panic.^[136] There have been repeated complaints of bias around the enforcement of gang-related laws asking why Frats and Gangs are treated differently "They’re both blamed for predisposing their members to violent acts, but they’ve sparked radically different public-policy responses."^[137]

Activists have also made the link between a perceived increase in gang activity and the sharp rise in US police budgets^[138] while pointing out rampant corruption in police gang units, such as the Rampart scandal in the Los Angeles Police Force.

UK Debate surrounding impact

In the UK context, law enforcement agencies are increasingly focusing enforcement efforts on gangs and gang membership. However debate persists over the extent and nature of gang activity in the UK,^[139][140] with some academics and policy-makers arguing that the current focus is inadvisable, given a lack of consensus over the relationship between gangs and crime.^[140]

The Runnymede Trust suggests that, despite the well-rehearsed public discourse around youth gangs and "gang culture", "We actually know very little about 'gangs' in the UK: about how 'a gang' might be defined or understood, about what being in 'a gang' means ... We know still less about how 'the gang' links to levels of youth violence."^[141]

Professor Simon Hallsworth argues that, where they exist, gangs in the UK are "far more fluid, volatile and amorphous than the myth of the organized group with a corporate structure".^[140] This assertion is supported by a field study conducted by Manchester University, which found that "most within- and between-gang disputes ... emanated from interpersonal disputes regarding friends, family and romantic relationships", as opposed to territorial rivalries, and that criminal enterprises were "rarely gang-coordinated ... most involved gang members operating as individuals or in small groups."^[140]

Cottrell-Boyce, writing in the Youth Justice journal, argues that gangs have been constructed as a "suitable enemy" by politicians and the media, obscuring the wider, structural roots of youth violence. At the level of enforcement, a focus on gang membership may be counterproductive; creating confusion and resulting in a drag-net approach which can criminalise innocent young people rather than focusing resources on serious violent crime.^[140]

Gang membership in the US military

Main article: Gang presence in the United States military

Gang members in uniform use their military knowledge, skills and weapons to commit and facilitate various crimes. As of April 2011, the NGIC has identified members of at least 53 gangs whose members have served in or are affiliated with US military.^[110]

In 2006, Scott Barfield, a Defense Department investigator, said there is an online network of gangs and extremists: "They're communicating with each other about weapons, about recruiting, about keeping their identities secret, about organizing within the military."^[142]

A 2006 Sun-Times article reports that gangs encourage members to enter the military to learn urban warfare techniques to teach other gang members.^[143] A January 2007 article in the Chicago Sun-Times reported that gang members in the military are involved in the theft and sale of military weapons, ammunition, and equipment, including body armor. The Sun-Times began investigating the gang activity in the military after receiving photos of gang graffiti showing up in Iraq.

The FBI's 2007 report on gang membership in the military states that the military's recruit screening process is ineffective, allows gang members/extremists to enter the military, and lists at least eight instances in the last three years in which gang members have obtained military weapons for their illegal enterprises.^[144]"Gang Activity in the U.S. Armed Forces Increasing", dated January 12, 2007, states that street gangs including the Bloods, Crips, Black Disciples, Gangster Disciples, Hells Angels, Latin Kings, The 18th Street Gang, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Mexican Mafia, Norteños, Sureños, and Vice Lords have been documented on military installations both domestic and international although recruiting gang members violates military regulations.^[145]

See also

Sources

 This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO Text taken from Behind the numbers: ending school violence and bullying, 70, UNESCO, UNESCO. UNESCO. To learn how to add open license text to Wikipedia articles, please see this how-to page. For information on reusing text from Wikipedia, please see the terms of use.

References

There are three major types of street gangs, each defined by factors such as prerequisites for inclusion, location or gang activities:

Most gang members are exposed to gangs at a young age. The money and respect that older gang members earn impresses them. They may begin hanging around gang members, finding out who is important and learning what the gang does. This can happen as early as age 10 or 11. Gangs intentionally recruit children and use them to carry weapons and drugs or commit other crimes because they tend to attract less attention from police. If caught they serve shorter sentences in juvenile detention centers than an adult gang member would serve in prison.

When a new member joins a gang, he must usually go through an initiation. Initiations don't usually involve elaborate ceremonies or formalities, but the initiate will have to endure certain rites. The most common is "jumping in," a beating issued by all the gang members. Gangs that accept female gang members sometimes rape them as their initiation. Instead of a "jumping in," or sometimes following it, the new gang member must participate in a mission. This can be anything from stealing a car to engaging in a firefight with a rival gang. Some gangs don't consider anyone a full member until they have shot or killed someone. Getting a tattoo with gang symbols may be another part of the initiation.

Daily gang life is generally not very exciting. Gang members sleep late, sit around the neighborhood, drink and do drugs and possibly go to a meeting place in the evening, such as a pool hall or roller rink. They may work a street corner selling drugs or commit petty crimes like vandalism or theft. The notion of respect drives gang life almost completely, and for many gang members, gaining respect means committing violent crimes. While it is relatively rare compared to their other activities, gangs do assault, shoot and assassinate people for money, turf, pride or revenge.

Gangs are careful to identify themselves to each other and to others in their community. Members may dress similarly or wear the gang's colors. The Vice Lords wear black and gold, while the Crips vs. Blood feud is often called "Blue vs. Red." Gangs mark their turf with graffiti in their colors, displaying gang symbols. Gangs considering marking another gang's territory with their symbol, or defacing their symbol, an act of war, and this can easily lead to violent retribution.

Gang signs are elaborate hand signals that indicate gang membership. Gangs also explore other ways of displaying gang loyalty, such as the "C-Walk," a sort of dance-like walking pattern used by members of the Crips gang.

Only a few gangs have far-reaching influences and run like a business. These are sometimes called "supergangs." For the most part, a street gang has a rough hierarchy based on experience — members who have spent time in jail or have participated in serious crimes get the most respect. However, age often divides gangs into groups, with senior groups, junior groups and younger initiates. Senior members do not always have leadership over the younger groups, though — it all depends on street status.

Female gangs were once rare and existed mainly as offshoots of other gangs. For example, the girlfriends of gang members form their own group to show loyalty to the original gang. However, female gang membership is rising, with all-female gangs forming and fighting male gangs for turf and respect. Some gangs accept members regardless of race or gender.

I'm currently working in a high-crime area where I frequently come upon gangs of older teens and young twenty-somethings hanging out in a crowd on the street corner, having a good time.

Sometimes that good time involves one of them stroking their own ego by hassling someone walking by who doesn't belong there. Someone like me.

This can be a pretty scary situation when you're in an unfamiliar area and are faced with the very real possibility of becoming an easy target for street crime.

The best advice is always to be smarter than me and don't walk around in high-crime areas. But the time may come, no matter where you are, that you find yourself in a situation where you're going to be walking past a gang, whether real or "wannabe," and need to know how to react.

While dealing with how to defend yourself in a multiple attacker situation is too large of a topic to deal with in the same article, here are some tips to dealing with your best defense -- avoiding the conflict altogether.

Do a quick "recon"

As soon as you notice a gang from a distance, don't look away immediately in an attempt to avoid being noticed. Just as you would conduct a reconnaissance of a military target, you want to size the group up to know who and what you're dealing with.

For example, are there any stores nearby that you can duck into, if needed? What environmental weapons are around them that could be used as weapons or obstacles? Can you safely turn around, walk the other way or cross the street to avoid them?

And if there's no other alternative but to walk past them, the most important thing I look for is whether any of them have noticed me and is motioning the others to check me out. That immediately changes the scenario.

Are you a target?

If a gang is preoccupied with each other and doesn't notice you, act preoccupied with something as well: dialing on your cell phone, fumbling through your pockets or just look straight ahead without looking like a victim. Keep your chin up, shoulders back and stand tall without looking like you're auditioning for the next Superman movie.

Your goal is to exude confidence without being confrontational. Regardless of how big a gang may be, it always will be one individual who has to make the first move. That person must first decide whether you're worth the risk of them being embarrassed in front of their friends, and if you look like someone who may be a problem, they'll most likely leave you alone.

But when you've been noticed and it looks like they may have sized you up as a target, this is your time to establish your ground game quick.

Eye contact

Contrary to popular belief, it's actually OK to make eye contact with a gang if it's done the right way. Looking briefly to show you recognize their presence and even giving a quick nod to one of the members -- should they make eye contact with you -- shows you're not some "easy target" who's so afraid of them that you're just hoping they'll leave you alone.

The main thing is to understand that the last thing a gang will put up with is disrespect. If you look at them in any way that communicates contempt, disgust, conflict or that you're "better than them," then you've practically put them in a "must-act" position.

Many gangs have members who've been arrested at one point and have spent time in jail or prison. In lockup, they've been programmed that the very last thing they'll stand for being taken from them is their respect.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

If the gang feels you're disrespecting them in any way, then it's most likely to feel that there's no other option than to gain it back. And for you, that typically means the hard way. 

Even if confronted, you want to make sure you convey respect for their status by telling them so with something like, "Hey, I mean no disrespect at all. I'm just on my way to work and was looking your way. No problems here." And then keep walking.

This shows them that you recognize their superiority and gives them a graceful exit that they can brag about later. Walking away after making such a definitive statement also forces them to make the next move. 

Ninety-nine percent of the time, they'll take the out and feel good about themselves that they got the best of you. But if they don't and continue to walk after you or take the confrontation to the next level, then you at least know that the danger has increased and can plan your next steps.

Beware your own ego

Remember your goal is simply to get past a gang without confrontation, even when they're seeking it.

If you're walking past a gang and they start to taunt you by making fun of you or even making sexual comments toward you or someone you're with, ignore it.

For example, if you're a guy, you may feel the need to "defend your woman's honor" and turn back to speak up. Don't. You only risk your own life and the safety of your companion by taking on perhaps insurmountable odds of going up against a larger number of attackers who could be armed.

More from Anderson at:

www.AdvancedMassBuilding.com

www.OptimumAnabolics.com

www.CombatTheFat.com

Jeff Anderson is a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Army, master instructor of close quarters combat self-defense and president of the International Society of Close Quarter Combatants. A full-time, self-defense author and instructor, Anderson has trained military, law enforcement and civilians in advanced close quarter combat tactics for "real-life" self-defense.

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