GANG ACTIVITY FLOURISHES BECAUSE OF DENIAL BY Community Leaders, Law Enforcement, School Districts, PARENTS UNTIL A TRAGEDY Occurs!
Sound familiar? Isn’t denial and acceptance one of the biggest hurdles to cross before successful treatment from alcohol or other drug addiction can be accomplished?
Let’s pull our head out of the sand and look at the real problems associated with juvenile alcohol/drug use, juvenile violence and juvenile street gangs.
Every day, children aged 19 and under, are killed, wounded and assaulted by street gangs who are drug users, distributors and traffickers. Drugs and guns are the leading cause of death for black males 15 to 35. Drugs and guns kill more people between the ages of 15 and 24 than all natural causes combined.
Information released by the National Gang Crime Research Center tells us that gangs have become a major social problem in communities nationwide. Gang violence, particularly assaults, drive-by shootings, homicides and brutal home invasion robberies account for one of the largest, single, personal threats to public safety. Gang members do crimes against people who are unable to defend them self, they work in the darkness, from speeding cars or sneaking up on someone. The fear and personal tragedy inflicted by street gangs has touched millions of Americans whose children have been seduced by the glamour and availability of dangerous drugs and substances.
When most of us think about gangs, we think of the “Crips,” “Bloods,” “Latin Kings” or the “Black Gangster Disciples” and we usually think of cities like Los Angeles, New York or Chicago. But today’s gangs are highly mobile, and not just a big city problem. They travel from state to state, the roots of the growing gang phenomenon can be found in modern society’s urbanization as well as in the breakdown of the family. Housing projects, ghettos, overcrowding, unemployment, poverty, welfare, substance abuse, crime, child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, ethnic and cultural differences, have all had an impact on juvenile street gangs and violence. In some neighborhoods and families, gang membership is multi-generational, even expected.
A gang by definition:
Funk & Wagnalls: A group of persons organized or associated together for an illegal purpose.
Webster: A group of persons working together. A group of persons working to unlawful or anti-social ends, a band of anti-social adolescents. To attack in a gang.
Law Enforcement: A gang is a group of two or more individuals seeking to establish
or perpetuate its own identity through common dress and manner-
isms such as signs, speech, and graffiti and exists for the purpose
of committing disruption and/or criminal acts including extortion, fighting, assaults, drive-by shootings, intimidation and possession, sale or use of weapons and narcotic drugs.
These definitions are restrictive. Not all gangs have names, identifying signs, or symbols and gang members may include associates affiliated with the gang for purposes of criminal activity. Hard-core gang members devote their lives to the gang, but criminal associates do not. The gangs that comprise the majority of the violent gangs across the United States include Hispanic gangs, African American gangs, Asian gangs and white gangs.
Hispanic gangs are involved in a variety of criminal activities, and their arsenals are expanding to large-caliber hand guns and automatic weapons.
African American gangs are involved in robberies, burglaries, assaults, drive-by shootings, murders and narcotics trafficking throughout the United States.
Asian gangs, especially Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian gangs are becoming one of the fastest growing gang-related crime problems in metropolitan areas. Their members terrorize their own community and most of their home-invasion robberies include threats or bodily harm to the victims. Some of the robberies have resulted in the torture and death of the victims.
White gangs, particularly the Skinheads, are involved in hate crimes. Murders and assaults attributed to skinheads are on the increase, and most of their crimes are racially motivated. The connections between the Skinheads and other established white-supremacist groups, like the Ku Klux Klan and the White Aryan Resistance are increasing.
Street Gang History:
The previously described descriptions of gangs did not exit in America until the early 1800s. Since the early colonies were known as the melting pot for racial and ethnic backgrounds, there were “gang-like” activities, especially among the poorer classes. Gang members tended to be from the poorer classes, and of the same race or ethnic background. They usually banded together for protection, socializing or financial gain.
American street gangs are reported to have gotten their start after the Revolutionary War in 1783. They were known as Smith’s Vly gang, the Bowery Boys, the Broadway Boys, the Long Bridge Boys and the Fly Boys. The first three were white and the last two were
African-American. These gang members were in their early teens and twenties, they were not all from the poorer classes, nor were they necessarily criminals.
19th Century Gangs:
During the early 19th century because of a poor economy, growing population and competition for jobs, gangs began to specialize in crime. Irish immigrants formed the first American criminal gang in New York City. Before forming the gang some of the members were criminals, but most were brawlers and most associated in an area of New York called Five Points. The gang had dress codes and called each other by code names. Many of the gang rituals of today can be traced back to this period in time. The Irish gang calling themselves Forty Thieves, was organized by Edward Coleman in 1826. Gangs were also formed in the Bowery. The two sets of gangs would fight on a regular basis over gang territory and ethnic differences. At times their brawls would be so intense and last so long that the army would have to be call in to stop them
During the decade before the Civil War, street gang membership grew at a rapid pace in New York, due primarily to corruption in city government. Gangs routinely burned election ballot boxes, plundered stores and robbed homes without much fear or interference from police.
In 1865, after the Civil War, New York records indicate a presence of Irish, Jewish, Italian and African-American gangs. As more immigrants arrived in New York, gang membership grew. New York became the headquarters of many well known criminals. Chinese gangs appeared in California in the mid 1800s. Philadelphia reported gang activity in the early 1840s and by 1870 became home to over 100 different street gangs. During this time murder became the test of courage and toughness and drugs; morphine, cocaine and laudanum became a part of the gang scene. Violence escalated, to join some gangs murder was a membership requirement. By the end of the 19th century gangs started wearing distinctive jackets and clothing.
20th Century Gangs:
During the early 1900s the US economy worsened, the population was growing at a rapid pace and the gap between the rich and the poor widening. Across the nation gangs appeared where poor, hopeless and unemployed people lived.
By the mid 1920’s there were 1313 gangs in Chicago, with more than 25,000 members. Gang warfare in Chicago was widespread. Many of the gangs had no noticeable cultural or ethnic ties and consisted mostly of white gang members. During Prohibition days, when it was illegal to buy and sell liquor, criminal gangs made the term “street gang” popular as they became highly organized and ruthless, thriving on bootlegging, prostitution, extortion and illegal gambling. These gangs were called “mobs,” and they fought gang wars to control the money made from their illegal operations. One famous mob leader was Al Capone, more popularly known as “Scarface.”
The 1920s and 1930s also saw a rise in Hispanic or Chicano (Mexican-American) gangs in Los Angeles. By the 1940s Chicano gangs had established their place in Los Angeles, their zoot suits, a style of dress incorporating tapered pants, long wide-shoulder coats and broad-brimmed hats, had become a familiar sight. Fighting back against harassment from white residents and soldiers during the so-called zoot suit riots in 1943 strengthened their cause and gang membership grew.
Post World War II
After World War II several things happened, gang membership became younger. The nationality of membership became largely non-white, although Italian, Irish and other white ethnic gangs were still active, most gang membership was made up of non-whites. Drug use, distribution and trafficking became a publicized concern. Gang seemed to become more organized, activities centered around well organized street fighting, often involving the use of hand guns.
Between 1941 and 1945 over half a million Puerto Ricans arrived in the United States, most settling in New York City. During the 1920s the African American populations migrated from the South to the northern cites. Due, in part, to this influx of African-Americans and Puerto Ricans to northern cities, the Post W.W.II period produced widespread youth gang activity. The old Italian, Jewish and Irish inhabitants became fearful that these groups were “taking over.”
During the 1950s gang fighting rose to an all time high in cities like New York, Chicago, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Philadelphia. Gang members were usually in their teens, their terms for fighting were rumbling and bopping. Most of their violence was directed toward other gangs at rumbles. New York gangs fought along racial lines; African-American, white, Puerto Rican. Few if any guns or knives were used. The gangs of the 1950s, were mostly involved in small-time crime, their most common drugs of choice were marijuana, beer and heroin. Those who wore long hair matted down with grease were called “greasers”, many wore black leather jackets or fancy colored satin jackets with their names printed on the back. Usually they fought over girls or turf. Turf could be anything from a few blocks to an entire neighborhood. Gang members believed it was essential to protect the honor of their girlfriends, and in the late 1950s, girl gangs, with strong ties to boy gangs, began to form. Revenge was the code of gang loyalty. It was from such incidents that gangs drew their sense of price, of “being somebody.” In the fifties, gang fights were often centered on manhood and having “heart”. To show that he had heart, a boy would prove himself by fighting another boy. People were often hurt in rumbles, some seriously, but few were killed.
Hispanic Street Gangs
Background Through the 1980s
Hispanic gangs date back to the early 1920s. They started as loose knit groups banding together for unity and socializing in the barrios or neighborhoods where the same culture, customs, and language prevailed. Gang members were young boys ranging in age from 14 to 20 years-old. Property crimes like burglary, strong-arm robbery, and vandalism were their crimes of choice.
These gangs had no formal structure or leadership. They were extremely defensive of their barrio, and they would protect it with a vengeance. Gang fights occurred between rival gangs as a result of disputes, turf differences, or transgressions, sometimes real and sometimes imaginary. Often, their weapons included knives, zip guns, chains, clubs, rocks, and bottles.
Committing crime became a way of gaining status within the gang. Imprisonment in a youth detention center or correction facility earned a gang member great stature with other gang members.
By the 1980s, these gangs began targeting their communities and surrounding neighborhoods for drive-by shootings, assaults, murders, and other felonious crimes. Violence became a way of life.
These gangs developed some organization and structure, and leaders emerged from the ranks of older gang members who had been stabbed or shot in gang fights or released from the youth authority or prison. Known as "veterans," these gang leaders began to recruit new members and train them in gang-related criminal activities. Their gang fights continued to be turf oriented, and many times progressed to gang wars.
The age span for gang members widened, encompassing male youths ranging from 12 to 25 years-old who were willing to fight and die for the gang. Most of the gangs required new members to commit a crime, such as stealing a car or committing a burglary or robbery, before becoming a gang member.
Female associates had little claim to the gang. They assumed the role of traditional girlfriends but, at times, would challenge other females in rival gangs to fight. Because they were less likely to be arrested for gang activities, they were sometimes used by male gang members to carry weapons and narcotics.
Hispanic gang members established unique trademarks such tattoos, hand signs, monikers, and graffiti. Elaborate tattoos depicting the initials or name of a gang symbolized loyalty to a particular gang. Hand signs formed the letters of the gang's initials. Monikers were names assumed by, or given to gang members, and they were usually retained for life. Complex graffiti-clearly marked the gang's territorial boundaries and served as a warning to rival gangs. Gang members used these distinguishing characteristics to demonstrate gang allegiance, strengthen gang participation, and challenge rival gangs.
1990's Trends and Patterns
Hispanic gangs vary in size from a few members to several hundred. The gang members range in age from 12- to 40-years-old, and many are second or third generation gang members.
Adult Hispanic gang members recruit and use juvenile gang members to commit crimes or carry weapons because juveniles are subject to less severe sentences compared to adult penalties. Juvenile gang members are often arrested numerous times before actually serving time in jail or youth authority.
Recruitment of new gang members often requires the prospective member to commit a drive-by shooting or some other form of felonious assault. Loyalty to their gang usually extends to their death.
Tattoos, hand signs, and graffiti continue to dominate the gangs' characteristics. These symbols are frequently used to threaten rival gangs as well as endorsing allegiance to their own gang.
Their criminal activities currently range from robberies, burglaries, grand thefts, vehicle thefts, receiving stolen property to assaults, batteries, drive-by shootings, and murders. They are involved in selling drugs, particularly PCP, Mexican black-tar heroin, Methamphetamine, and marijuana.
The Hispanic gangs' arsenals have expanded to large-caliber handguns, shotguns, and automatic weapons; and their crimes are becoming more violent.
Gang members still attack rival gangs in defense of their turf, and law enforcement is an increasing target of gang violence. Hispanic gangs in the Los Angeles area, such as the Harbor City and the "Crazy," have attacked both on and off-duty officers.
A few of the gangs are beginning to recruit non-Hispanic gang members, and some Hispanic gang members are joining different ethnic gangs. Various Hispanic gangs are aligning with other ethnic gangs, usually from the same neighborhood. This affiliation allows them more neighborhood protection from rival gangs.
Hispanic female gangs are starting to evolve exclusive of the traditionally male-dominated Hispanic gangs. Some of the female gang members, such as the Fresno Bulldog Babes, are participating in drive-by shootings, auto thefts, and assaults.
African American Street Gangs on the West Coast
Background through the 1980s
African American gangs began forming in California during the 1920s. They were not territorial; rather, they were loose associations, unorganized, and rarely violent. They did not identify with graffiti, monikers, or other gang characteristics.
These early gangs consisted primarily of family members and neighborhood friends who were involved in limited criminal activities designed to perpetrate a "tough guy" image and to provide an easy means of obtaining money.
Between 1955 and 1965, membership in African American gangs grew as they operated in south central Los Angeles and Compton. This was partly due to African American youths bonding together for protection from rival gangs.
It was not until the late 1960s when the Crips and Bloods--the two most violent and criminally active African American gangs--originated. The Crips originated in southeast Los Angeles where they terrorized local neighborhoods and schools with assaults and strong-arm robberies. They quickly developed a reputation for being the most brutal and feared gang in the Los Angeles area.
At about this same time, other African American gangs were formed to protect themselves from the Crips. One such gang was the Bloods, which originated in and around the Piru Street area in Compton, California; some Bloods gangs are referred to as Piru gangs. The Bloods, which were outnumbered at the time by the Crips three to one, became the second, most vicious African American gang in the Los Angeles area.
During the 1970s, both the Crips and Bloods divided into numerous, smaller gangs or "sets". They kept the Crips' and Bloods' (Piru) name, as they spread throughout Los Angeles County, and began to claim certain neighborhoods as their territory. Their gang rivalry became vicious and bloody.
By 1980, there were approximately 15,000 Crips and Bloods gang members in and around the Los Angeles area. The gangs--or sets--ranged in size from a few gang members to several hundred and had little, if any, organized leadership. The typical age of a gang member varied from 14- to 24-years-old.
Initiation into a gang required the prospective member to be "jumped in" which meant he had to fight some of the members already in the gang. Another initiation rite required them to commit a crime within the neighborhood or an assault against rival gang members.
Both the Crips and Bloods remained territorial and motivated to protect their neighborhoods from rival gang members. They each established unique and basic trademarks such as colors, monikers, graffiti, and hand signs. The color blue was adopted by the Crips as a symbol of gang recognition; red became the color of the Bloods. Monikers--such as "Killer Dog," "12-Gauge," and "Cop Killer"--often reflected their criminal abilities or their claim to fame as gang members. Graffiti identified the gang and hand signs displayed symbols--usually letters--unique to the name of their gang. It was not unusual for members to "flash" hand signs at rival gang members as a challenge to fight. Gang members took great pride in displaying their colors and defending them against rival gangs. They were willing to die for the gang, especially in defense of their colors and neighborhood. It was not until the early 1980s that drive-by shootings began.
Gangs were involved in a variety of neighborhood crimes such as burglary; robbery; assault; and the selling of marijuana, LSD, and PCP. Street gangs in California were not involvement in narcotics trafficking prior to the 1980s. However, by 1983, African American Los Angeles gangs recognized the income that could be made through the distribution of narcotics, particularly crack. Crack had supplemented cocaine as the most popular illicit drug of choice. The main reasons for the widespread use of crack were the rapid onset of its effect on the user by smoking it, and its comparatively inexpensive price.
Money derived from narcotic sales, particularly crack cocaine, soon became the symbol which signified power and status. During the 1980s African American Los Angeles gang members started migrating to other United States cities, like a vast gang-inspired conspiracy, which resulted in the spread of crack sales and a wave of crime and violence. The spread of crack sales can easily be traced back to the gang members' family ties in these California cities and to the lure of quick profits. Crack, money and power were the motivations for gang members to move to other parts of the United States.
Considerable diversity is displayed by Crips and Bloods gangs and their members in narcotics trafficking, which allows for different levels of involvement from narcotic selling by adolescents to the more important roles of directing narcotics trafficking activities. In the past, an individual's age, physical structure, and arrest record were often principal factors in determining gang hierarchy; the money made from narcotic sales represented power.
Both the Crips and Bloods have established criminal networks throughout the country and have capitalized on the enormous profits earned from the trafficking and selling of crack cocaine. In 1987, nine members of the Nine-Deuce Hoovers--a Crips gang--migrated from Los Angeles to Seattle, Washington where they ran three crack houses, with crack transported from California each week. One gang member was subsequently arrested and pleaded guilty in 1988 to selling crack near a school and using a gun to further his narcotic enterprise. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and is currently incarcerated in Leavenworth Federal Prison, Kansas.
1990's Trends and Patterns
The Department of Justice estimates there could be as many as 65,000 African American gang members in California today. The majority of them are still Crips and Bloods gang members. The majority range in age from 12 to 35, with some as old as 40. The gangs vary in size from 30 members to as many as 1,000. They continue to fight each other for narcotic-related profits and in defense of territory, and many remain unstructured and informal. A few of them are becoming organized with some definitive gang structure.
Some of the older gang members, known as "Original Gangsters", who have been in the gang for a long time are often the recruiters and trainers of new gang members. Many are second- and third-generation gang members and have been incarcerated in the California Youth Authority or the California Department of Corrections. Due to their tendency for violence, prison and jail officials have found it necessary to house hard-core members in high-security cell blocks or separate facilities.
Some of the more experienced gang members are beginning to abandon established characteristics, such as wearing the colors blue and red, and are now trying to disguise their gang affiliation by wearing nondescript black and white clothing. Other members continue to rely on the gang trademarks, and neighborhoods abound with graffiti signifying the presence of Crips and/or Bloods gangs.
Some of the gangs have formed alliances with other ethnic gangs, and some Crips and Bloods gangs include Hispanic or Asian gang members. Female gang members are rare, but those who do participate play a minor role in gang activity and are used to rent crack houses or traffic in narcotics.
The Crips and Bloods continue to control the distribution of crack cocaine in several California cities and other states. Federal and state law enforcement authorities report Crips and Bloods gang members in 33 states and 123 cities. Once they arrive in a city, they determine the demand for narcotics, the identity of major narcotic dealers, and the existence of established narcotic operations. Then they recruit new gang members and take over the selling of crack cocaine. Sometimes, the takeover is without violence if there is little or no resistance from rival gangs. Other times, there will be a great deal of violence if existing gangs have already established narcotic operations, which compete for the narcotics trade.
With gang involvement in the crack cocaine market comes a tremendous increase of street-level violence as they battle over the profitable narcotics trade. Violence is a routine part of doing business, and is used to terrorize citizens and other gangs resisting their intrusion. They make no effort to distinguish between intended rival gang victims or innocent bystanders.
Besides crack cocaine, African American gang members also sell marijuana, heroin and PCP; and many gangs purchase chemicals and produce PCP.
Their use of weapons has evolved to high-powered, large-caliber handguns and automatic and semi-automatic weapons including AK-47 assault rifles and Mac-10s with multiple-round magazines; and they sometimes wear police-type body armor. Gang attacks on police officers have escalated. Gangs--such as the '89 Gangster Crips, Project Crips, Neighborhood Crips, Southside Compton Crips, and the Pueblo Bishop Bloods--have shot at officers during vehicle pursuits, narcotic investigations, robberies, and responses to family disturbances.
Their other crimes range from robberies, burglaries, grand thefts, receiving stolen property, and witness intimidation to assaults with a deadly weapon, drive-by shootings, and murders.
Some specific targets of criminal activities include jewelry stores. A series of armed robberies, connected to Crips' gang members from the Los Angeles area, have occurred in several Central Valley and San Francisco Bay Area cities. These armed robberies target jewelry stores and are committed by the "One-Minute Gang"--based on their ability to complete the robberies in one minute. Many of these robberies have occurred in California; and similar robberies are being reported in Nevada, Oregon, and Georgia. Some of the robberies have resulted in the theft of $150,000 to $250,000 worth of jewelry. An estimated combined loss of $4.7 million has been reported as of 1996.
Another area of criminal activities for the Crips and Bloods is the theft of personal computers from stores and warehouses.
During the April 29 to May 1, 1992, riot in Los Angeles, some of the violence was attributed to the Crips and Bloods. The riot was the worst civil disorder in modern American history. Sixty persons died; some 2,500 were injured; 750 fires were set; 14,000 people were arrested; and upwards of $700 million in damage was done.
Gang members were involved in assaults, attempted murders, murders, arson, and looting. During the riot, two members of the 8-Trey Gangster Crips and two other individuals were seen on national television beating and robbing a truck driver. Twenty-two members of another Crips gang were arrested for looting approximately $80,000 worth of merchandise from electronic stores.
Other Crips and Bloods gang members were responsible for looting many of the 4,500 weapons from gun dealers, sporting goods stores, and pawn shops during the riot. Gang members have indicated they will use the weapons to kill police officers and parole and probation officers in drive-by shootings and ambushes. Gang members have graffiti walls with "187 L.A.P.D." (187 is the California Penal Code Section for homicide); and other gang members have circulated flyers stating, "Open Season on L.A.P.D."
A temporary truce between some of the gang members of the Crips and Bloods occurred in the Los Angeles area following the riot. Many of these gang members are wearing articles of red and blue clothing interleaved to show their unity. These gangs claim the truce will unite their forces to target law enforcement officers.
Some of the gangs have also indicated they will seek "protection" money from business owners to safeguard them from further crimes. This form of extortion is another effort by the gangs to continue controlling and intimidating their neighborhoods.
Asian Street Gangs
Background through the 1980s
Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian gangs represent the bulk of the Asian criminal street gang. It was not until the late 1970s that Vietnamese gangs began to emerge, followed by Laotian and Cambodian gangs in the early 1980s.
These gangs ranged in size from 5 to 200 gang members; and their crimes included residential and business robberies, auto thefts, and burglaries. Rarely were they involved in drive-by shootings. The gang members varied in age from 15- to 25-years-old, and the older gang members were usually the leaders.
Early formation of Asian gangs was loose-knit, and the gang members did not associate with each other on a continuous basis. They had little, if any, loyalty to a particular gang. Unlike Hispanic and African American gangs, Asian gangs began with no unique characteristics such as tattoos, hand signs, or graffiti. They had no names for their gangs, nor were they organized or turf oriented. There were no female Asian gangs.
By 1985, the Vietnamese gangs were committing organized auto thefts, extortion’s, firearms violations, home-invasion robberies, witness intimidation, assaults, and murders. They frequently used some type of weapon during the commission of their crimes. Vietnamese gang members began targeting their own communities with ruthless and vicious crimes and would often travel to various Vietnamese communities throughout the country to commit these crimes.
The Laotian and Cambodian gangs remained predatory. They became turf oriented, and their crimes were random property crimes--usually involving some form of robbery or burglary.
1990's Trends and Patterns
There is a growing presence of Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian gangs in metropolitan areas across the United States; and their gang members vary in age from 13- to 35-years-old. They continue to terrorize and prey upon their communities with violent crimes, occasionally resulting in murders. They have increased their traveling patterns from coast to coast committing these crimes. Their growing level of mobility and violence has made them a national crime problem.
Street Gangs in Chicago
During the 1960’s a street gang emerged characterized by a high degree of management, organization and influence. Its’ name Almighty Black-P-Stone Nation. The Black-P-Stone was formed from a coalition of approximately fifty Woodlawn District street gangs and grew in power and membership to become a power on the south side of Chicago in 1968. The ruling body of the Almighty Black-P-Stone Nation evolved from the leaders of twenty-one (21) street gangs, thereby calling themselves The Main 21. The Main 21 projected the gang as a social image designed to help members uplift themselves and their community. The Almighty Black-P-Stone sought and obtained federal private funds to support their activities. This funding gave the group the appearance of political and social respectability. The misuse of these funds was later unraveled by a federal grand jury, resulting in a federal prison term for the man who was behind the establishment and growth of the Almighty Black P-Stone Nation, Jeff Fort.
Other gangs across the nation took a page from Jeff Fort’s book, either in competition with the Almighty Black-P-Stone Nation or due to the prevalent philosophy of gang support. Of those that surfaced, some dropped back to a level of disorganization while others sophisticated their operations along the same lines as organized crime. Individual felonies were replaced by major criminal activity involving drugs, prostitution, extortion, burglaries and robberies. Fist fights were replaced by violent acts involving weapons.
Gangs and their activities are not a new phenomenon. In fact, only the players have changed. The purpose, objectives and even the techniques of the organizations are the same. Money and Power. Money gives power and power enables them to make money through criminal activities. It should also be noted that when a gang member enters prison, he does not leave the gang structure, per se, he joins the gang striker in the prison. When he is released, he rejoins the street gang, in most cases with more prestige.
Before we go any further into the evolution of the gangs of today, we need make it clear that not all gangs have sophisticated to the level of organized crime.
As previously stated, the growth of street gangs started in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s Traditional street gangs belong to one of two alliances. Folks or People. Both alliances were established in the 70’s within the penitentiary system by incarcerated gang members.
In the late 60’s and early 70’s in Illinois Department of Corrections no one gang held superiority, the largest memberships were the Black Gangster Disciples, Black Disciples, Vice Lords and Latin Kings. As members of smaller gangs were coming into the prison system, Ambrose, Simon City Royals, Harrison Gents, etc., they found themselves incarcerated with street rivals. This led to open intimidation and retribution that started on the streets.
It was this scenario that led to the establishment of the Folks and Peoples alliance. The conditions of the alliance with the Disciples were that they agree to “follow and obey all laws the king sets” i.e. “Folks” was established.
As a result of the new term “Folks” showing allegiance to the Disciples, the Vice Lords, Latin Kings and other gangs that opposed the Disciples started referring to them selves as “People” The alliance are not aligned along racial boundaries; both contain Black, White and Hispanic street gangs.
Today the terms Folks and People are known throughout the United States.
Each gang has its own distinct physical appearance and terms to show allegiance to allied gangs and separation or opposition to rival gangs, clothing, colors, tattoos, and language, hand signals and signs, street names and graffiti. For example; Disciples Nation and Affiliates of the Folks Nation present to the right side, and display the six point star. Vice Lord Nation and Affiliates of the Peoples Nation present to the left side and display the five pointed star. Hats tilted to right - Folks alliance, disrespecting People, hat tilted to the left - People alliance, disrespecting Folks. Same with pant legs rolled up on the right side, or rolled up on the left side.
The term “gang” has been fearfully and romantically used to describe groups of people who band together because of common emotional and social needs, most of the time their behavior is anti-social and criminal. Gangs in the 1800’s like the Dalton and James gangs were romanticized in newspapers and books, a fascination which continues to live on in today’s cinema.
Violence and today’s gangs
An important difference is that today’s gang member is much more likely to have a gun, and being a gang member today is much more dangerous.
Today’s gang killings have nothing to do with manhood or heart, and everything to do with dope, money and power. The principal source of income for today’s gangs are drug sales, and this activity often requires gang members to rob or act as strong-arm men to protect drug dealers from take over. Large sums of money can be involved. Gangs often include boys as young as 8 or 10 who are recruited and controlled by men usually in their twenties or thirties. These drug dealers work for a worldwide business that is controlled by businessmen and criminals, many times from other countries.
Most Americans are fearful of soaring crime, random violence, daily murders and the presence of youth gangs, not only in the inner cities, but in calm rural and suburban areas. The reason for this fear is that the violent crimes committed by gangs are unpredictable, victims are often randomly selected, and usually people who are unable to defend themselves and the assailants are increasingly younger. Innocent by-standers are routinely killed or injured in drive-by shootings from speeding cars. The fear and personal tragedy inflicted by gangs has touched millions of Americans whose children have been seduced by the glamour of having something to belong to, and something to rebel to. As earlier discussed, the emergence of the delinquent street gangs as a trend didn’t begin until the late 1980s and early 1990s. Isolated cases of delinquent gangs have always been present, but delinquent street gangs as a trend is a recent development, and the criminal activity of these gangs runs the gamut. . . .assault, theft, burglary and drug trafficking.
Today making the choice to join a street gang will more than likely result in death, or a life of incarceration.
During 1995, every 17 seconds on average, a violent crime was committed somewhere in America that includes; a forcible rape every 5 minutes, a murder every 23 minutes, an aggravated assault every 28 seconds, a robbery every 51 seconds. In addition, a larceny or theft occurs every 4 seconds, a burglary every 12 seconds and a motor vehicle theft every 20 seconds.
Street gangs have become a major social problem in communities nationwide. Growing gang involvement and gang violence can be found in almost every ethnic group. More than 250,000 young people are gang members, this figure does not include as many as 750,000 marginal or aspiring gang members who drift in and out of a gang, depending on their needs, because they have no one to guide them toward socially acceptable choices. Breakdown in the family systems, housing projects, ghettos, unemployment, poverty, welfare, substance abuse and dependency, crime, child abuse and neglect; domestic violence, ethnic and cultural differences, are just a few of the social problems that have had a dramatic impact on teens and the choices they make.
Most gang members, by their own choice, are dropouts from conventional society, many feel different, outcasts and alone, so they create their own social group as a basis of power. As a gang-banger, they have a name, an identity and the feeling that they belong. Each gang has its own distinctive physical appearance, clothing, colors, tattoos and language - hand signals and signs, street names and graffiti.
Membership based on loyalty
Membership is usually based on absolute loyalty from the member to the group and from the group to the member, it may include initiation rituals that require illegal acts, even killings. Male members are usually “jumped in” or “beat in”, girls are usually “sexed in” or “beat in” as an initiation rite.
Peer pressure and peer affiliation
The influence of peer pressure and peer affiliation is very strong among gang members. Some join gangs for status, if they are unemployed or performing poorly at school, they join groups where they feel they can excel. Their bonds with each other become stronger than their ties with family. They spend most of their time together, kicking back at the park, on street corners, partying, drinking, using and selling drugs; cursing and provoking other gangs into violence. They often develop a false sense of being invincible, and find danger to be exciting. Once they are a caught up in the gang culture they are, in many cases, lost forever.
Structure provided by gang
Let’s talk about the structure that gangs provide. Beneath the surface, most gang members feel angry, empty and bored. Most feel that nobody understands them, they isolate from the rest of the world, and play by their own rules, and their rules supersede all other law. The greater the pressures from the outside, the more suspicious and more guarded they become.
To Avoid Gangs
To avoid gangs adolescents have to see through the lies about friendship, power, riches and excitement that gangs use to attract new members. They also have to take a good look at who they are and what they want. This can be painful. Some of their needs might temporarily make them feel vulnerable and frightened. But once they are able admit them, they can go about satisfying them in realistic ways. Adolescents need to be encouraged to look at the people they know who are gang members. Are they in jail? Crippled? Dead? How are they doing in school? Are they in school? Are they happy? What are their plans for the future?
If your home life is violent or insecure or if your parent or parents are using alcohol or other drugs, and absent a great deal of the time, you need to do something about it. You can ask for help from the social service system, your school or local police department. You can form friendships with teachers, coaches, counselors or members of the clergy. Police departments in many communities around the country have special gang units with officers who go into the community and deal with gang members on a one-to-one basis. They combine police work with fathering, community activism and helping kids exposed to gangs. Look for the right person, he or she will make a better “big brother” or “big sister” than a gang leader. He or she won’t demand absolute obedience and they won’t let you down when you are in trouble. If confronted, it will take a lot of strength and courage to stand alone and resist the temptations to join a gang, but think of yourself and seek out your own friends and your own group. Love and respect from others may not be available to you at home or in school. Your neighborhood may not be a place where love is often expressed, but love does exist in the world, and you are definitely worthy of it. You will get love from people who have respect for themselves and respect for others. You will not get love from those who intimidate you and are obsessed with showing the world they have power.
Attend police community relations and neighborhood meeting.
Discuss gangs with your children. Many parents are unaware that their children are involved in gang activity. It is your role to help them understand the realities of a criminal record. They need to know the finality of death, which so often is the result of gang violence. Parents should encourage children to identify and report other youth who are pressuring them to use or deal drugs or participate in gang activities. Intimidation and fear can preoccupy and destroy a child’s ability to concentrate on schooling and a meaningful life.
Look for warning signs of adolescent gang activity
Changes in child’s behavior
Truancy, declining grades
Changes in friends
Late hours
Isolation from family activities
Use of a new nickname
Graffiti or tattoos
Sagging pants, oversized or other new clothing
Positive steps that parents can take to prevent gang involvement by their children
Don’t ignore warning signs
Demand accountability for time spent, money and clothes
Meet and great friends and parents of friends
Be observant of dress patterns and jewelry
Require positive activities for your children
Talk to you child about gangs