GANGS
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GANGS
BASIC GANG FACTS
What is a Gang?
Gangs are usually formed according to ethnic, racial or economic reasons. Traditional youth gangs structured along ethnic lines include Black, Hispanic, Asian (e.g., Laotian, Mein), Pacific Islander (e.g., Tongan, Filipino), and White (e.g., Skinheads, White Pride) gangs.
Criminal street gangs are three or more people who form an allegiance for a common purpose and engage in violent, unlawful, or criminal activity. A gang may or may not claim control over a certain territory in the community. Factors Contributing to Gang Affiliation
Some contributing factors include:
Ineffective parental skills.
History of family gang involvement.
Evidence of parental abuse or neglect.
Poor academic achievement and early anti-social behavior.
Displays low self-esteem or experimenting with drugs or alcohol.
Isolates themselves with others experiencing similar social and personal problems.
Signs of Gang Involvement
This list is a guide. Some singular items may not be signs of involvement.
Look for change in behavior and lifestyle.
Drug or alcohol use.
Decline in grades at school.
Truancy.
Change of friends.
Keeping late hours.
Having large sums of money or expensive items, which they cannot explain.
Gang graffiti in their bedroom.
Wearing gang clothing or colors (e.g., Blue or Red).
Using hand signals to communicate with other gang members.
Having photographs showing gang names, gang slogans, gang insignia, or gang activities.
Gang tattoos or gang insignias.
Disclosure of gang membership.
How Gangs Function
Gangs thrive on intimidation and notoriety. They often find violence glamorous and a necessity to maintain individual and gang status.
Like most groups, street gangs depend upon both individual and group participation.
Unlike legitimate groups or organizations, street gangs generally do not have an identified leader.
The person who is the toughest, has the weapons, or has the most money may rise as the leader. This status is generally short-lived.
Steps to Discourage Your Child from Gangs
Discourage or stop your child from hanging around with other gang or suspected gang members.
Know your child's friends.
Occupy or supervise your child's free time.
Develop good communication with your child.
Spend time with your child.
Do not buy or allow your child to dress in gang style clothing or colors.
Set limits for your child.
Do not allow your child to write or practice writing gang names.
Teach your child respect for others' property.
Learn about gang and drug activity in your community.
BE AN INFORMED PARENT.
Juvenile Gangs and Crime
Juvenile Gangs and Crime may be the biggest current concern in criminal law enforcement.
Law enforcement agencies and courts in most any city of any size these days spend increasing amounts of their resources addressing problems related to organized criminal youth "gangs" and gang "wannabees." Seemingly random or senseless shootings, drug trafficking, witness intimidation, and group loyalty and identity are what is seen in all its variety of forms.
In a study focusing on community and criminal justice responses to this threat entitled, Prosecuting Gangs: A National Assessment, researchers have "examined prosecutors' perceptions of gang-related crime, local definitions of gangs, criminal statutes used against street gangs, Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Acts, and problems dealing with gang cases."
The study asserts that "the presence of gangs is becoming more widespread, and gang-related violence and gang drug trafficking are increasing." Interestingly, however, the study found that although 80 percent of prosecutors had a problem with gangs in their jurisdiction, and were "vigorously pursuing prosecution of gang crimes," law enforcement itself would not be the solution:
Ultimately, however, prosecutors believed that early intervention with children and youths and more effective services designed to strengthen families were necessary to prevent gang violence and crime.
HISTORY
THE 19TH CENTURY GANGS
It was not until the 19th century that "criminal" gangs first formed. As the result of a
worsening economy and growing population that increased competition for jobs, gangs
began to specialize in crime and became a part of America's cities.
Irish Gangs
Irish immigrants formed the first American criminal gangs in New York City. Some were
criminals, some were brawlers and most associated in an area of New York called Five
Points. They had dress codes and called their members by code nicknames. (Many of the
gang rituals of today have their roots in this period.) The first Irish gang to have a
recognized leader was the Forty Thieves, organized by Edward Coleman in 1826. Gangs
also arose in the Bowery. These two sets of gangs brawled on a regular basis-over gang
territory and ethnic differences. Sometimes the battles were so long and intense that the
army had to be called in to stop them.
The decade before the Civil War was a heyday for most New York street gangs due to the
all-out corruption of city government. Gang membership swelled. Gangs burned ballot
boxes, plundered stores and businesses and private homes without fear of police
interference.
THE 20TH CENTURY GANGS
In the early 1900s the U.S. economy worsened, the population grew at a rapid pace, and
the gap between the rich and poor widened. All across the nation gangs appeared where
poor, hopeless people lived. The dawning of the 20th century also brought with it a
widespread use of firearms.
1920s
By mid 1920s there were 1313 gangs in Chicago and more than 25,000 members. Gang
warfare in Chicago was widespread and fighting took place along ethnic, cultural and
racial lines. Some gangs had no noticeable cultural, ethnic or national ties and consisted
mostly of whites.
Chicano Gangs
The 1920s and 1930s saw the rise of Chicano (Mexican-American) gangs in Los Angeles.
By the 1940s Chicano gangs 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 of white residents
and visiting soldiers during the so-called zoot suit riots in 1943 strengthened their
cause.
Post World War II
After World War II gang membership:
became younger,
the nationality of the membership became largely non-white (though Italians, Irish
and other white ethnic groups still made up a percentage),
drugs became a more publicized concern,
gang activity centered around large-scale, well-organized street fighting,
fire-arms were used more often,
the structure of organization became more rigid,
and society at large became concerned with gangs as a social problem and worked
toward rehabilitation.
The 1950s
During the 1950s gang fighting rose to an all time high in cities like New York,
Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and Cleveland. Gang members were
usually in their teens. Codes of dress (black leather jackets were popular) and
mannerisms were an important means of identification. Body language said a lot about
the nature of the gang. When a gang decided to become a fighting, or "bopping" gang, its
members immediately took on a different way of walking. A rhythmic gait, characterized
by the forward movement of the head with each step. Terms for fighting were: bopping,
rumbling, jitterbugging. Gang members used guns, knives, and homemade weapons.
Most common drugs-alcohol, marijuana, heroin. New York gangs fought along racial
lines-African-American, white, Puerto Rican. 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 1950, girl gangs,
with strong ties to boy gangs, began to form. Revenge was required by an inflexible code
of gang loyalty. It was from such incidents that gangs drew their sense of pride, of "being
somebody." In order to combat the rise of violence, organizations like the New York City
Youth Board sent social workers into the slums to form relationships with the gangs. In
some cases it worked; in many it did not.
The 1960s
The 1960s saw a decline in gang violence, in part because drug use escalated. Where
there was more drug use there was less gang violence. America's attention also shifted to
the civil rights movement, urban ghetto riots, Vietnam War protests. A new racial
consciousness had its effect on local street gang, creating organizations that were more
involved in communities. The Black Panthers arose in Oakland in 1968, the Black
Muslims gained national prominence in the '60s and a Puerto Rican gang, the Young
Lords, formed in the early '70s.
The 1970s
By early 1972 gangs were making headlines again. Drug use seemed to be decreasing and
violence increasing. Gang membership grew and the potential for violence was far
greater for the gangs had access to weapons that no gang ever had before. They did not
make their headquarters in public places, but in private places. Gangs also acquired
greater legal and political sophistication. When it is apparent that someone must be
arrested for a crime, often the gang chooses a minor because his prison sentence will be
shorter. Serving a term in jail helps boost his reputation.
GANGS TODAY
Since the 1980s, as the ghettos become more and more overcrowded, a gang's territory
has become no more than a single corner or a block. Guns decide arguments quickly and
gang wars today are usually fought like guerrilla warfare with sniping from rooftops and
quick shots from speeding cars replacing face to face confrontations.
Gangs have been reported in all 50 states and come from many backgrounds. Some gangs
still form in immigrant communities populated, for example, by recent arrivals from
Vietnam, El Salvador and Haiti. Others cultivate members in neighborhoods consisting
of families who have lived in the United States for generations. Members are still usually
male, between the ages 13 and 24.
LINKS
SURENOS.NET
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