Gangs in the United States

Street gangs in the United States are usually portrayed by the media as gun-toting youths engaged in disputes over territory and disrespect. [ Muncie, J. (2000) "Youth & Crime" 2nd Edition, Sage, ISBN=] The most publicized street gangs in the U.S. are African-American; black gangs were not recognized as a social problem until after the great migration of the 1910s.Adamson, Christopher(2000), "Defensive localisms in white and black: a comparative history of European-American and African American youth gangs", Ethnic and Racial Studies 23 (2): 272-298.] An exception was noted in 1853 Philadelphia. [ Davis, Susan, G. (1982), "Making night hideous":Christmas revelry and public order in nineteenth-century Philadelphia', American Quarterly, 34 (2): 185-199] . Some have argued that increasing gang activity is directly related to decreases in adult mentors, school failures, decreases in after-school programs and similar failures by the adults in the lives of children. While children from more affluent neighborhoods may turn to other less dangerous alternatives, children from poorer neighborhoods often turn to gangs both as protection and a place to find love and understanding.

The history of European-American youth gangs extends as far back as the 1780s. Although lacking a definition, the gangs then were characterized by young people hanging out on street corners. [ Meranze, M. (1996), Laboratories of Virtue: Punishment, Revolution, and Authority in Philadelphia, 1760-1835, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, ISBN 978-0807822777] It is thought these early groups formed to protect their localities from other similar groups of youths. Fact|date=December 2007

Herbert Asbury [ Asbury, H. (1928) "The Gangs of New York : An Informal History of the Underworld". Reprinted in original format 1989 Dorset Press; ISBN 0-88029-429-9. Republished in 2001 with a foreword by Jorge Luis Borges] depicted some of these groups in his history of Irish and American gangs in Manhattan. He described how gangs would fight for territory, control of criminal enterprises, and simply for the love of fighting. The title of Asbury's book (though little of its content) was later used by Martin Scorsese for the motion picture Gangs of New York.

Gangs in the 19th Century were often multi-ethnic as neighborhoods did not display the social polarization that has segregated different ethnic groups in the postmodern city (see Edward Soja). A host of European nationalities including English, Scottish, Irish and German could be found in the same neighborhoods. This made territoriality for gangs much more important than ethnic homogeneity. [ Klein, M.W., Kerner, H.J., Maxson, C.L. & Weitekamp, G.M. (2001)(eds) "The Eurogang Paradox":Street Gangs and Youth Groups in the U.S. and Europe', Kluwer Academic Publications, ISBN=0792368444]

There were at least 30,000 gangs and 800,000 gang members active across the USA in 2007, [ [http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=1593 COPS Office: Gangs] ] [ [http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/la-gangs-nine-miles-and-spreading/17861/?page=2 L.A. Gangs: Nine Miles and Spreading] ] up from 731,500 in 2002 and 750,000 in 2004. [ [http://www.iir.com/nygc/nygsa/measuring_the_extent_of_gang_problems.htm Measuring the Extent of Gang Problems—National Youth Gang Survey Analysis] ] By 1999, Hispanics accounted for 47% of all gang members, Blacks 31%, Whites 13%, and Asians 6%. [ [http://www.faculty.missouristate.edu/m/MichaelCarlie/what_I_learned_about/gangs/racial_composition.htm Into the Abyss: The Racial and Ethnic Composition of Gangs] ]

According to a "Texas Monthly" article by Skip Hollandsworth, many street gangs in Texas have no organized command structures. Individual "cliques" of gangs, defined by streets, parts of streets, apartment complexes, or parts of apartment complexes, act as individual groups. Texas "Cliques" tend to be headed by leaders called "OG"s (short for "original gangster"s) and each "clique" performs a specific activity or set of activities, such as controlling trafficking of recreational drugs and managing prostitution in a given area. [" [http://www.texasmonthly.com/2006-12-01/feature4-4.php Southwest Houston After Dark] ," "Texas Monthly", December 2006]

Organized gangs

Hallsworth and Young (2005) [cite web|url=http://www.jdi.ucl.ac.uk/downloads/publications/research_reports/gangs_and_guns_2005.pdf|title=Rationalisation of current research on guns, gangs and other weapons:Phase 1|author=Ben Marshall, Barry Webb, Nick Tilley|work=Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, University College London|accessdate=2007-06-05|actualdate=2005-11] describe an organized gang as a group of individuals for whom involvement in crime is for personal gain (mostly financial, though could be otherwise, sexual gratification as with child pedophile rings). For most, crime is their 'occupation'. These groups operate almost exclusively in the grey and illegal marketplace where market transactions are unregulated by the law.

Transnational organized crime groups may be involved in crimes ranging from drug trafficking, human trafficking, piracy, money laundering, extortion, and gambling, to acts of terrorism, to political assassination. The complexity and seriousness of the crimes committed by global crime groups pose a threat not only to law enforcement but to democracy and legitimate economic development as well. [cite journal|url=http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5000275997&er=deny questia|title=Journal Article Excerpt|first=Louise|last=Shelley|accessdate=2007-06-05|laydate=1995|volume=48|journal=Journal of International Affairs]

Criminal organizations exercise disproportionate control over the illegal means and forces of crime production. Members are likely to have mutated out of gang-members who are often used to service their needs. Motives that impel membership of these groups are similar to those that motivate business people in the legitimate economy.Who|date=July 2007

Organized crime groups are not homogeneous. Some will be amateur affairs operated and managed by incompetent people. Others, however, will demonstrate more market acumen and more ruthlessness. These individuals may be difficult to trace because they will be more competent at hiding their activities. They may also have the financial muscle to acquire considerable legal protection through well paid lawyers and accountants.Who|date=July 2007

There are numerous organized crime groups and they can be found in the majority of small to medium sized cities at varying degrees of size and organization. All large cities will house some kind of organized crime group. A further distinction could be made with what are often termed organized crime syndicates.Fact|date=February 2008

There are a number of widely known crime organizations as such whose operations span the world. Perhaps the most famous are the American Mafia (often portrayed in New York mob movies), the Irish Mob, the Chinese Triad Society, the Japanese Yakuza, the Mexican Mafia, and the Russian Mafia. Other large cities also play host to unique types of organized criminals. For example, London's East End is home to a number of traditional crime families, and was the home of the infamous Kray Twins, and Boston's Irish Mob was portrayed in the Martin Scorsese film "The Departed". Recently, Chicago's Folk Nation has broken out from a corporate gang into international business and is thought by many to be the newest entity of the organized crime world.

Prison gangs

A prison gang is a gang that is started in a prison. Some prison gangs are transplanted from the street, and in some occasions, prison gangs "outgrow" the penitentiary and engage in criminal activities on the outside. Many prison gangs are racially oriented. Gang umbrella organizations like the Folk Nation and People Nation have originated in prisons. [Street Gangs — Chicago Based or Influenced, People Nation and Folk Nation, http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/gangs/chicago.html]

One prominent example of a prison gang is the Aryan Brotherhood, an organization known for its violence and calls for white supremacy. On July 28, 2006, after a six year federal investigation, four leaders of the gang were convicted of racketeering, murder, and conspiracy charges. Founded in the mid 1960's, the gang, known as the 'Brand' or the 'Rock' in the federal and state prison systems, is famous for being affiliated with the white supremacist paramilitary hate group the Aryan Nations, with the Nazi Low Riders prison gang acting as the Aryan Brotherhood's foot soldiers. Besides fostering pseudo-theological hate, racism, sexism, violence, and intimidation, the Aryan Brotherhood is involved in drug trafficking, extortion, gambling, protection rackets, and murder inside and outside of prisons. [cite web|url=http://www.adl.org/special_reports/racist_groups_in_prisons/prisons_brotherhood.asp|title=Brotherhood of Hate|work=Anti-Defamation League|accessdate=2007-06-05]

In the mid-1980s, the Aryan League, an alliance between the Aryan Brotherhood and Public Enemy No.1, formed. The sub-gangs (in collaboration with their wives and girlfriends who take jobs at banks, mortgage companies, and motor vehicle departments) work together in identity theft schemes.cite web|url=http://www.courttv.com/news/2007/0305/public_enemy_ap.html|work=courtTVnews|title=White supremacist gang gaining clout after forging alliance with Aryan Brotherhood|accessdate=2007-06-05|actualdate=2007-03-05] Money from the identity theft operations is used to fund the gangs' methamphetamine business. A gang hit list discovered in the Buena Park investigation has police worried that the gangs are using stolen credit information to learn the addresses of police and their families. Once out of prison, gang members tend to regroup on the outside and often cross gang lines to further their criminal careers.Fact|date=April 2007 One example of this is David Lind, an Aryan Brotherhood member, who joined the Wonderland Gang with several non-AB fellow prison inmates in 1981. Post prison gang activities can be brutal, as evidenced by the ruthless quadruple murder of the Wonderland gang (see "Wonderland Murders") which Lind narrowly escaped.Fact|date=April 2007

There has been a long running racial tension between African American and Mexican American prison gangs and significant race riots in California prisons where Mexican inmates and African Americans have targeted each other particularly, based on racial reasons. [ [http://newsmine.org/archive/security/incarceration/racial-segregation-continues-in-california-prisons.txt Racial segregation continues in California prisons] ] According to gang experts and law enforcement agents, a longstanding race war between the Mexican Mafia and the Black Guerilla family, a rival African American prison gang, has generated such intense racial hatred among Mexican Mafia leaders, or shot callers, that they have issued a "green light" on all blacks. A sort of gang-life fatwa, this amounts to a standing authorization for Latino gang members to prove their mettle by terrorizing or even murdering any blacks sighted in a neighborhood claimed by a gang loyal to the Mexican Mafia. [ [http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/bawnews/stateof/hutchinson105 There's a Zone in L.A. Where Blacks Risk Death if They Enter] ]

In the armed forces

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. [cite web|url=http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=42443&archive=true|work=Stars and Stripes|author=Leo Shane III|title=Army defends recruit screening process|accessdate=2007-06-05|actualdate=2007-02-11] "Gang Activity in the U.S. Armed Forces Increasing", dated January 12, 2007, states that street gangs including the Gangster Disciples, Bloods, Crips, Black Disciples, Hells Angels , Tiny Rascal Gang , Asian Boyz , Latin Kings, The 18th Street Gang, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Mexican Mafia, Maravilla, Norteños, Sureños, Vice Lords, and Black P. Stones, criminal organizations including the American Mafia, the Chinese Triads, the Irish Mob, the Israeli mafia, and the Russian Mafia, and various white supremacist groups including the Ku Klux Klan have been documented on military installations both domestic and international although recruiting gang members violates military regulations. [cite web|url=http://stripes.com/07/feb07/gangs/ncis_gangs.pdf|title=Intelligence Assessment - Gang-Related Activity in the US Armed Forces Increasing|actualdate=2007-01-12|accessdate=2007-06-05]

The FBI believes that gang members may enlist in the military to escape their current environment or gang lifestyle. Some gang members may also enlist to receive weapons, combat, and convoy support training; to obtain access to weapons and explosives; or as an alternative to incarceration. Upon discharge, they may employ their military training against law enforcement officials and rival gang members. Such military training could ultimately result in more organized, sophisticated, and deadly gangs, as well as an increase in deadly assaults on law enforcement officers. [cite web|url=http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawlegislation/a/gangs.htm|work=About.com|author= [http://usmilitary.about.com/mbiopage.htm Rod Powers] |title=Gang Activity in the U.S. Military|accessdate=2007-06-05] A January 2007 article in the Chicago Sun-Times reports that gang members in the military are involved in the theft and sale of military weapons, ammunition, and equipment, including body armor. According to a conversation recorded by an undercover FBI agent, one U.S. soldier may have stolen military body armor with intentions to supply Chicago gangs with the stolen equipment.cite news |first=Frank |last=Main |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=FBI details threat from gangs in military: Says members of Illinois |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20070120/ai_n17146710 |work= |publisher=Chicago Sun-Times |date=2007-01-20 |accessdate=2007-07-30 ] The Sun-Times began investigating the gang activity in the military after receiving photos of gang graffiti showing up in Iraq. A 2006 Sun-Times article reports that gangs encourage members to enter the military to learn urban warfare techniques to teach other gang members. [cite web|url=http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_121103636.html|work=CBS2Chicago|title=Chicago Gang Graffiti Showing Up In Iraq|actualdate=2007-05-01|accessdate=2007-06-05]

In 2006, Scott Barfield, a Defense Department investigator, said there is an online network of gangs and extremists, and that: "They're communicating with each other about weapons, about recruiting, about keeping their identities secret, about organizing within the military." [cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/07/washington/07recruit.html?ex=1309924800&en=1be0e7d4e2aac8d3&ei=5090&partner=rssuserlan |work=New York Times|title=Hate Groups Are Infiltrating the Military, Group Asserts|author=John Kifner|actualdate=2006-07-07|accessdate=2007-06-05]

Illegal immigration

One of the concerns of increased illegal immigration is gang related activity - as proved by programs such as Operation Community Shield, which has detained over fourteen hundred illegal immigrant gang members. [Cite web|url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/11/20051128-3.html Whitehouse.gov|title=Fact Sheet: Securing America Through Immigration Reform|actualdate=2005-11|accessdate=2007-06-05] MS13 publicly declared that it targets the Minutemen, civilians who take it upon themselves to control the border, to "teach them a lesson", [cite web|url=http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050328-125306-7868r.htm|work=Washington Times|title=Gang will target Minuteman vigil on Mexico border|author=Jerry Seper|actualdate=2005|accessdate=2007-06-05] possibly due to their smuggling of various Central/South Americans (mostly other gang members), drugs, and weapons across the border. [cite web|url=http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040928-123346-3928r.htm Washington Times|title=Al Qaeda seeks tie to local gangs|author=Jerry Seper|work=Washington Times] A confidential California Department of Justice study reported in 1995 that 60 percent of the twenty thousand member 18th Street Gang in California is illegal.cite web|url=http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/mac_donald04-13-05.htm Manhattan Institute For Policy Research|title=Testimony|author=Heather Mac Donald|actualdate=2005-04-13|accessdate=2007-06-05] Barbara and David P. Mikkelson, authors of "Snopes", state that 18th Street likely has the highest membership rate of the Latino gangs in California the gang is mostly made up of illegal immigrants. [" [http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/taxes.asp Where Your Taxes Go] ." "Snopes".]

References

ee also

* Subculture
* Gangster
* Gangs in Canada
* Gangs in England
* Gangs in New Zealand
* List of California street gangs
* Crime in the United States