ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE CULTURAL DIVERSITY

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ADMINISTRATIONOFJUSTICE
STREET GANGS
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I. INTRODUCTION A. The increase in gang
violence and its deep - rooted social
problems pose a massive challenge to law
enforcement.
1. In the combined jurisdictions of Los
Angeles County there exists over 1300 street
gangs with an estimated membership of 140,000
to 150,000.
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2. Studies have shown that in Los Angeles
County, a criminal incident involving a gang
member will occur approximately every 35
minutes.
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a. These incidents range from petty theft and
public drunkenness to armed robbery, felonious
assault and murder.
(1) In 2002 there were 592 gang related
murders in Los Angeles County
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II. DEFINITION A. A street gang is a
group of youths from the same neighborhood
and generally from the same race, banded
together for anti-social and criminal
activities. Gang members vary in their
affiliation with the gang.
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1. The most widely accepted definition of the
term "gang" is -- a group of similar individuals
sharing a number of common interests.
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a. Expanded further, it usually characterizes
youth gang activities as, at the least, not in
the good interest of the community and, at the
most, outright criminal.
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b. Tales of ancient gangs have existed for ages
in places like China (i.e., the Tongs), and
throughout medieval Europe.
c. Gangs, even today, terrorize areas of
Great Britain in unorganized, but army -
like groups.
d. Ku Klux Klan, Skinheads and other similar
groups are gangs bent on terrorism and activist
violence today.
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2. Society has had to contend with various
forms of gangs throughout history.
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B. The classifications of gangs which appear
most relevant are
1. Hard - core members
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a. The totally involved and unchanging.
b. Generally the leaders, the most violent
and the most legal and street wise.
c. Those who need and thrive on any and all
activity by the gang.
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2. Affiliate or associate members
a. Those who socialize with the
gang for status, recognition and
protection.
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3. Peripheral members a. Those who
"back up" the neighborhood but join and
leave as their need for the gang arises.
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1. Gang members share a common motivation that
leads to their joining a neighborhood gang.
III. THE GANG MEMBER A. Acceptance into the
gang
a. A need to be accepted by someone -- anyone.

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(1) self - esteem -- results from a lack of
encouragement from friends and family.
b. Primary reason street gangs exist is they
offer young individuals one very important
element which is usually missing in their
lives
(2) esteem is how one looks at one's self.
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2. Peer pressure is another term we use when
discussing youthful behavior.
a. When there is no self - esteem, young
people are easily pressured by their peers
(friends) into becoming members of an
organization that offers esteem and
recognition.
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b. To transform quickly from a nobody to a
somebody is hard to ignore and easy to
accept.
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3. The status as an appreciated and recognizable
member of a neighborhood street gang attracts
young individuals.
a. The fact that gang members are routinely
wounded and often killed does not deter the
enthusiastic "wannabe" (want-to-be) from the
desire to become a "Homeboy" (a full - fledged
street gangster).
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IV. STREET GANG INTIMIDATION AND WARFARE
A. Gang membership has increased
dramatically to the point that many teachers
and parents are afraid.
1. Some teachers have left the profession
entirely to seek other options.
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2. Parents are distraught that otherwise really
nice children have become the victims of this
emerging element of society.
a. Today's youth are joining the ranks of the
gang bangers for the sheer excitement
offered by their bizarre way of life.
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3. The adult population is at the mercy of
street gangs and the gang mentality.
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B. Street gangs are a phenomena that has
evolved in part as the result of the easy
access to illegal drugs and guns in the
metropolitan areas.
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1. The mobility resulting from the
availability of motor vehicles well as the over
- abundance of the amenities that accompany gang
activity, has led to an alarming increase in
total numbers of gangs.
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2. The tremendous profit in the sale of drugs
and lack of gun control allows gangs to arm
themselves with every type of weapon
available.
3. Hospital emergency rooms are filled with the
victims of gang violence and, as a result, have
increased security in the emergency areas.
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a. In September 1992, a gang followed their
victims directly into the emergency room of
White Memorial Hospital, located in a Southern
California gang neighborhood and a gun battle
ensued.
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b. In March 1993, gang members, bent on revenge,
mistakenly murdered an entire sleeping family of
five in the notorious gang-infested "Gardens"
housing complex in Watts, California.
(It was the wrong address.)
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a. It is fought in the suburbs, prisons, and
school sporting events.
4. The war is fought over "turf" claimed by
each gang in their own neighborhoods and
public streets.
(1) The school of one black high school
football team, was forced to cancel a
championship game because of street gang
gunfire.
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V. STREET GANG MENTALITY
A. The main purpose of the street gang is to
gain status.
1. Accomplished by waging war against other
neighborhood gangs.
a. Children and adults in these communities
become innocent victims of this warfare.
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2. Another war exists between street gangs and
law enforcement.
a. Most metropolitan police departments have
gang units and train officers to cope with
street gang activity.
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b. Increased numbers of officers have been
assigned to gang units to combat the uprising
of gangs.
c. As the methods of operation by the gangs
change, the police response is changing to meet
them.
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VI. RACIAL MAKE-UP OF GANGS
A. The racial make - up of the common street
gang differs according to the specific area of
the country.
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1. At one time gang activity in New York City
involved primarily Blacks but included a large
element of Puerto Rican nationals.
a. The dominant Hispanic gangs had not yet
arrived.
2. Los Angeles, is called the "mother of all
gang cities."
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3. As gang activity has spread throughout many
regions, the ethnic make-up has evolved from
primarily Black in the 1980's, to now
predominantly Hispanic gang membership.
a. The influx of native Mexicans across the
southern border has magnified the size of
present Hispanic street gangs.
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(1) Although the vast majority of these
immigrants are honest people.
(2) The Hispanic gangs have grown to become
veritable armies.
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b. Black gangs are second.
c. Asian gangs and Skin Heads running third and
fourth.
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4. Few Caucasians are members of gangs with the
exception of organized crime, outlaw bikers, Ku
Klux Klan and the neo - Nazis.
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a. They look upon the police as a referee in
their war with rival hood gangs.
5. Each gang considers themselves to be the
"soldiers of the hood."
(1) Gangs commonly refer to their
neighborhood, turf, territory or
protected boundaries as "the hood."
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VII. GANG IDENTIFICATION A. Being identified as
a gang member
1. Members enjoy the ultimate position in the
most important element of their community,
they are "in" and not "out."
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2. Recognition of this new status to their peers
is necessary and is achieved in many ways and
forms.
a. Gang members identify themselves to each
other, and to the community, through the
use of graffiti, attire, tattoos, hand
signals and "marked possessions.
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3. Eye contact also serves as identification
as signals are flashed with meaningful stares.

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B. Tattoos 1. Gang members are proud of their
association with the gang and freely admit
their membership in the organization.
2. They proudly display identification tattoos
openly, in addition to dressing in the styles
associated with their particular street gang.
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a. Tattoos are a permanent form of
identification that will be the possession
of the gang banger forever.
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3. The most important thing to gang members is
their "moniker" (the term the gang members are
known by).
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a. It may often be tattooed on their bodies,
and their personal possessions.
b. Often, a gang member is only known by his
moniker and members of his group may never be
aware of his true name.
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4. Common areas for displaying a tattoo are
the neck, face, arms, back and stomach.

a. The palm of the hand also is often a choice
site for a tattoo.
b. Many gang bangers tattoo letters on all of
their fingers, in the ring area, to spell out
messages.
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d. A teardrop tattooed at the outside corner of
the right eye may indicate that
c. Even the web of skin between the thumb and
fingers is often tattooed.
(1) The gang member has spent at
least one year (one bullet) in C.Y.A. or
State prison.
(2) The gang member has
committed a murder.
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5. Female gang members, as well as males, are
utilizing this body graffiti.
a. The use of Old English style lettering
has become the mode of expression for gangs.
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a. Some are accomplished without touching
other gang members.
C. Hand signals 1. There are hand signals
employed by each gang.
b. These are unlike the elaborate
handshakes utilized by fraternal
organizations of the "straight" community.
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2. The hand signal is visual and meant only for
rapid recognition in the event the signaler is
new at the game.
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3. The use of hand signals by gang members has
practically become another language with
meanings transmitted more rapidly than with
spoken words.
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a. Gang members "shoot" or "toss signs with
their fingers positioned in gestures that
identify the particular neighborhood gang with
which they are affiliated.
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This is very important because the lack of a
proper "shoot", may result in disastrous
consequences.
b. When a gang member employs the hand signal,
it is called "flashing."
(1) Gang attacks and shootings are often
preceded by sign flashing.
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D. Gang attire 1. The early days of street
gang prominence.
a. Clothing worn was the primary, if not
the sole, method of identification.
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b. Gang attire eventually evolved into two
predominant colors that represented the status
quo of the main gangs of each "hood"
(1) Red meant you were a "Blood",
(2) while blue indicated the wearer was a
"Crip."
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c. Time has not altered the mentality of the
street gang but it has transformed the dress
codes.
(1) Today's gang world activists all wear,
interestingly, the color of death -- black.
(2) Bright colors are "out."
(3) The Los Angeles Raiders' professional
football team emblems with the fierce eye -
patched pirate are in.
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2. While many young people on school campuses
all look like gang members, a great number
are only wanting to be.
3. Hand signals have replaced clothing worn as
the meaningful form of street gang
identification.
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E. Graffiti 1. To the gang members, graffiti is
the clear marking of territorial limits,
pride in his associations with the gang, and
a warning to other gangs to keep out this
territory is ours.
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2. The turf boundaries are marked by spray
painting their personal letters and numbers
which dates their organization.
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3. Graffiti also used as a temporarily written
history of the gangs and their accomplishments.
a. Young gang members see legendary figures
glorified and will be motivated to emulate a
fallen hero.
b. Many deaths and injuries have resulted from
disputes over these wall adornments.
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4. In many cases, the gang youth will have
minimal financial or worldly assets.
a. His most important possession becomes
his reputation within his own gang as well as
other gangs.
(1) He proudly and defiantly writes his name
and gang association anywhere it can be seen.
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a. This act is one that must be avenged.
5. A major insult by a rival gang directed at
a gang member is to "cross out his name"
This threatens not only his own self esteem
but his standing within the gang and by
extension, his identity.
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(1) It is this attitude that results in the
blood baths often seen on our city streets.
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VIII. PRISON GANGS A. In the 1960's a new
experience was born in the Nations prison
system -- highly organized prison gangs.
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1. These groups were so secret and well
organized that the prison system was undermined
and control was taken from prison officials
before the authorities were aware of their
existence.
a. One factor that promoted the growth and
spread of such gangs is the inbred violence
that caged men perpetrated on each other.
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b. Racial violence has always been a serious
problem within prisons, and gang organizers
encouraged racial segregation to facilitate the
growth of gangs.
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B. The Mexican Mafia 1. The first and most
notorious prison gang is the Mexican Mafia
(EME).
a. Organized in the late 1950's by a group of
Mexican - Americans, its purpose was to protect
fellow Hispanic prisoners from racial
violence within the prison system.
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b. They are responsible for the majority of
narcotics trafficking in the prisons they
control, and employ time - honored
racketeering techniques such as protection
and loan sharking to develop its strength in the
prison system.
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(1) born in California prisons
c. The Mexican Mafia also operates outside
prison walls, primarily in the urban areas of
the south western United States.
(2) major distributor of heroin
(3) will eliminate its competition in any
manner possible
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C. Nuestra Familia
1. The Mexican Mafia's most dreaded
enemy.
a. The Nuestra Familia means ("OUR
FAMILY")
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2. Born in the California prison system.
a. Was organized in 1967 at Soledad Prison.
b. It began as a political organization to
push for prison reform.
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3. Unlike its mortal enemy the Mexican Mafia,
it has a written constitution and an
identified rank structure.
4. The Nuestra Familia openly wars with the
Mexican Mafia in and out of the prison system.

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a. Violence has escalated to such a degree that
prison officials attempt to segregate Nuestra
Familia and Mexican Mafia from one another by
assigning members to separate prisons.
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5. The majority of Nuestra Familia recruits
are prisoners committed to the prison system
from rural areas.
a. They tend to control the narcotics and
organized criminal activity in the rural areas
of California.
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b. Their counterparts in the Mexican Mafia
generally come from the urban areas and
control criminal activities in the cities.

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D. The Black Guerilla Family (BGF)
1. A gang whose beginnings in prison
were motivated by political ideas.
a. Inside the prison, the BGF is linked to
the Black Liberation Army (BLA) which operates
as a Communist terrorist organization on the
streets of America.
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2. The BGF is responsible for most of the
assaults on prison officials, and on several
occasions has murdered prison staff.
3. Even though the BGF is very strong inside
prison, it is not as well - organized on the
outside.
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4. The organization is now almost totally a
criminal group trafficking in narcotics both
within and outside prison walls.
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E. The Aryan Brotherhood (AB) 1. The
most important white gang in the prison
system.
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2. Originally it called itself the Blue Bird
Gang, later changing its name to Aryan
Brotherhood.
a. The members can be identified by a
tattoo of the anti - Christ symbol in the
form of the triple six (666) contained
within a cloverleaf.
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3. Formed in the early 1960's as a white
supremacy group whose purpose was to protect
white inmates from other racially - oriented,
non - white gangs.
4. The feeling of the gang comes from Nazi
idealism which exists among white power groups
that afflict certain segments of society.
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5. Composed primarily of individuals who, on
the outside, associate with or belong to
various white racist groups.
a. Particularly violent and holds a strong
attraction for the violence - prone individual.
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6. Many of the inter -- racial murders
committed in the prison system are directly
related to the Aryan Brotherhood and the
Mexican Mafia.
7. The gang is not particularly strong outside
prison because upon release, members to tend to
rejoin their original white power groups or
resume former criminal associations.
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IX. PRISON GANG PHILOSOPHY A. Prison gang
philosophy is very often directly opposed to
that of the street gang.
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1. Although loyalty is a prime value for both
groups disagreements among prison gang members
are many times settled by the murder of the
offending member or members of his family.
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a. The killing of a "homeboy" on the other hand
is alien to most street gangs
(1) When a street gang makes raids on rival
gangs the intent is not to commit murder per
se but to terrorize rivals.
(2) If a street gang must kill to fulfill its
aims it will - but the killing itself is
secondary to the intent.
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2. In a prison gang the killing is of primary
importance, with the terror, which the killing
generates, an added extra.
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3. The prison gang prefers to advance its own
goals.
a. Turf and neighborhood are, for obvious
reasons of no concern.
b. Unlike the prison gang member, the street
gang member forsakes everything and places his
own interests second to the gang that
identifies with the neighborhood from which
he gains his identity.
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(1) For the street gang member, the
neighborhood and the gang which protects it
are entities from which he draws substance.

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4. The prison gang is different than the street
gang
a. It is cold, calculating and purposeful.

b. Individuals who break prison gang rules are
punished ruthlessly and swiftly.
c. The street gang, on the other hand, operates
on pure emotion.
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(2) There may not be a specific person selected
as a victim.
(1) Its planning is usually simple, its actions
spontaneous.
(3) The strike will be against any member of the
opposing gang as the target is not an individual
but the gang itself.
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(4) An attack on any gang member, therefore, is
an attack on the gang as a whole. Any member
will do.
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this concludes Street Gangs
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