The Bloods and Crips are two of the most known gangs in The United States. The Crips are a primarily African American gang. They started in Los Angeles in 1969 by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams. The estimated number of members is about thirty to fifty-thousand. The gang formed when Washington and Stanley united their smaller street gangs from the west and east sides of South Central Los Angeles. They combined their gangs to battle the other neighboring street gangs around them. A majority of the members were around the age of seventeen. By 1978, there were forty-five different crip gangs in Los Angeles. These different groups were called sets. They were involved in the production of Marijuana and Amphetamines. On March 11, 1979 Stanley …show more content…
Lack of Jobs, Poverty, Domestic violence, Negative peer networks, Lack of parental supervision and early academic failure. Although there are all these risk factors gangs are still expanding. Most young people join because they need a sense of family. They might not get enough support at home of feel like they don't get support so they leave home for companionship. They are trying to escape a negative home life, or they may be looking for a father figure to guide them. Gangs often make promises to give unconditional support, and to become the "family" they never had. Gangs often present themselves as a way to survive everyday life to those who lack basic essentials such as food, clothing and shelter. Gangs members use their affiliation to make money through illegal activities, like selling drugs and auto theft. Communities with high gang activity usually see younger kids join gangs to survive. It is often easier to join the gang than to remain to yourself, as this is a sign of vulnerability. One of the biggest reasons why kids join gangs is because of peer pressure. Kids face a constant pressure to fit in, they may not have the support they need to avoid the pressure of gangs.Some young people get a rush out of defying authority, or committing crimes. Currently gangs offer a brand new life style. Gang members usually have the newest clothes, the best cars, and throw the best …show more content…
The city of Compton is the most common city for gang violence. This is where the Blood & Crips were formed. Incarcerating members of gangs can total about Sixty-Thousand Dollars per year. This is about the same as sending a student to a top university. More adult are coming out of jail today than anytime in history. This creates a big problem. When people get released the usually go back to there gangs. This is bad for the community because they go right back to the street to do more crimes and violence and even murders. They also come out of jail and face the fight of unemployment which costs tax payers more money. All though the crime rate is down in Los Angeles the gangs there still impact the community. Gangs are a problem closer too home as well. In San Francisco there are multiple gangs. “ There isn't really a problem in certain communities because of gangs, Gangs are the community now, ” Said Walter Redding. Growing up in the Filmore he said gangs didn't really affect him or his community because so much of the community was living that
The Gangster Disciples is a violent gang which began in the Chicago, Illinois area. In the 1970's, the leaders of two different Chicago-based gangs, the Black Disciples and the Supreme Gangsters, aligned their respective groups andcreated the Gangster Disciples. Once united, the Gangster Disciples recruited heavily in Chicago, within Illinois jails and prisons, and throughout the United States. The Gangster Disciples are active in criminal activity in approximately 24 states. The Gangster Disciples employ a highly structured organization. Members are organized into geographic groups; each called a "count" or a “deck." Members in good standing are considered to be ”on-count" or ”plugged in." A meeting of a particular count may be referred to
Gangs have been in existence since the beginning of the Roman Empire. There were speeches made by Roman orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero, which references groups of men who constantly fought and disrupted Roman politics (Curry, 2013). The history of street gangs in the United States begins with their emergence on the East Coast around 1783, as the American Revolution ended. Though many believe the best available evidence suggests that the more serious street gangs likely did not emerge until the early part of the nineteenth century (Sante, 1991). Although our country has had their share of feared gangs like in the 1980’s with the turf war between the Bloods and Crips, back in the 17th and 18th century the Mohocks of Georgian, England were one of the most feared gangs. What draws juveniles to the gang lifestyle? Many people will say that most gang members are children from impoverished communities, single family homes where there was no father present, or maybe there is a more psychological/sociological answer? By appearance and presence most gangs cause fear, crime, and disillusionment in the communities they occupy. Throughout history joining a gang has been perceived as a life without any reward, yet by joining this lifestyle many juveniles are able to gain the needed stability and security in their lives.
Crips and Bloods: Made in America took place in south of Los Angeles focusing on gang violence among two fearsome African American gangs, Crips and Bloods. The documentary sends the viewer to the roots of the social strains of African American people that created Crips and Bloods. After the Civil War in the United States, slaves were granted freedom, they moved far from the south. As time passed African Americans were faced with many hardships from loss of jobs to racial profiling from law enforcement.
They use the traditional blue color associated with the Crips. The gang is identified by the numbers 7714 which is hill upside down in numbers.They are primarily involved in low level drug dealing, property crime, and prostitution. There have been a handful of shootings involving known members of the gang. The Hilltop Crips have exchanged gunfire with the VNOT gang resulting in the death of a civilian. However, they are not known to be at ‘war’ with other gangs.
One of these gangs that emerged was known as the Bloods. The Bloods was established in the West Piru Street area in the Compton area of Los Angeles. This conflict brought several sets of the Pirus together, and the Pirus joined forces with the Lourdes Park Hustlers and the LA Brims and various other gangs around the area who had been attacked in the past by the Crips was anxious to join forces against them and these gangs were united under the name Blood. Red gangs in the Compton refer to themselves as Pirus, and several other red gangs in the area such as the Brims, Bounty Hunters, Swans, and the Family are known as the Bloods.. During the latter half of the 1970's, the Crips and the Bloods began to divide into smaller sets, and as they were set throughout the Los Angeles area. They began to claim certain neighborhoods as their territory. Their gang rivalry became more vicious and bloody. Close to 30,000 gang members associated with the Crips or Bloods were housed in or around Los Angeles during the early 80's. Gang members ranged in ages from young as fourteen to twenty-four, and they were required to perform certain acts in order to receive access into these gangs so they were expected to fight members of the gang who also wanted to become apart of the gang also these future members would also be asked to commit a crime like theft in
Attitudes, meaning how we as people respond to a subject, values, what we perceive is right and wrong, and beliefs play a major role in what brings youngsters into gangs. How does one develop a "gang attitude" to begin with? To answer this we must look at the culture. The values we Americans tend to have, make the alternative life style very appealing, this in conjunction with the glorified gang life style portrayed through the lyrics of the "Gangsta" rap artists all influence the young impressionable mind. This may make the child feel a sense of power, identity, or family, reflecting on the child's attitude. Also one must look at the neighborhood. A child can turn a corner and buy cocaine, see a gang war being played out, etc. It is obvious that the child cannot help but be influenced by this.
Did you know gang's first started off as a way to help stop police brutality? Some gang members are “jumped in” or have to prove their loyalty by committing criminal acts. In the 1960s many gang organizations joined the Black Panthers. The Black Panthers wanted blacks to control businesses, education, employment, and the media in their area instead of having these businesses controlled by white people. They wanted to act as a community army so they can stop police brutality and racism. The leader of this important organization was Bunchy Carter. Street gangs had completely stopped as more black empowered organizations began to form in Los Angeles. After the Black Panthers disbanded that is when street gangs began to become popular because
Gangs and gang activity are extremely detrimental to our social order. “Gangs are groups of people—mostly young males—who band together for protection and a sense of belonging. Gangs are often associated with violence and crime. In fact, the United States Department of Justice officially defines a youth gang as a group of young people involved in criminal activity.” (Gangs, 2003). According to www.fbi.gov, some 33,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs with about 1.4 million members are criminally active in the U.S. today (FBI, 2010). This should be the motive for greater action from our society to halt the rise of gang related offenses in America
Across the United States and Europe, suburban gangs are growing as never before, estimations that in a typical inner city American community of 50,000 or more, there are 200 to 500 gang members. Some even larger organization called super gangs, which have more than 1,000 members spread over several states, have been known to operate in small town America. You cant say that any community is insulated from this activity," There's no restriction on where gang members can live. Gang members living in the suburbs share traits with recruits in the cities, and many of those factors have been exacerbated by tough economic times, The list of factors include divorce, separation, physical abuse, sexual abuse and having a parent with
The documentary, “Crips and Bloods: Made in America” talks about many social concerns. In the documentary, both discrimination and economics are the main factors for the problems in Southern California. The gangs started because of discrimination. By denying people because of their skin color to join social activities such as the boy/girl scouts is what led to the formation of groups that later turned into gangs. Apart from that, hatred and threats escalated the situations that then turned the gangs into what they are today. According to the documentary, because of the gang rivalry there exists an invisible line that separates the territories of both the Crips and the Bloods. Not only is that the only factor, but also
Stanley Tookie Williams, generally acknowledged as co-founder of the Crips, [2] started his own gang called the Westside Crips. The Crips became popular throughout southern Los Angeles as more youth gangs joined it; at one point they outnumbered non-Crip gangs by 3 to 1, sparking disputes with non-Crip gangs including the L.A. Brims, Athens Park Boys, the Bishops and the Denver Lanes. The Crips eventually became the most powerful gang in California. In response, all of the other besieged gangs, including the Pirus, formed an alliance that later became the Bloods.
The Bloods street gang is one of the most violent criminal organizations in the United States today. The Bloods started in Los Angeles, California back in the 1970’s as an answer to another notorious street gang known as the Crips. The Crips were formed by Raymond Washington, a 15 year old delinquent who had been suspended from school for fighting, and Stanley “Tookie” Williams, a local body builder who was eventually convicted and executed for murdering four people during separate robberies. Despite the influence of the Crips and their ability to absorb smaller gangs into their organization, there was plenty of anti-Crip sentiment among gangs that refused to kowtow down to the larger Crip gang. These anti-Crip gangs began referring to one
Gangs originated in the mid 1800’s in the cardinal direction using it as a method to defend themselves against outsiders.The idea of gangs became populous, powerful, and a broad influence. But like all powers, they tend to corrupt and recognizes violence as a way of getting what they want faster than other methods.They turn violence into fun, profit, and control.Creating a situation that affects youth in today’s society.
Additionally, the need for the young people to have a sense of protection mainly drives them to join gangs. Many societies with high reported cases of mob activities frequently see youths link with a bunch of criminals just for endurance. For many, it is better to connect with the mob that to stay vulnerable and defenseless in their localities (Klein & Maxson, 2006). For many being connected to mob guarantees sustenance in case of assault and retaliation for wrongdoings. While the young people with a good family unit often feel protected hence they desire not to link with
There are various reasons behind young people joining street gangs. One of the reasons young people join street gangs is because of neighborhood disadvantages. A theory that can contribute to why young people might join street gangs is Social Disorganization Theory. Social Disorganization theory assumes that “delinquency emerges in neighborhoods where neighborhood relation and social institutions have broken down and can no longer maintain effective social controls (Bell, 2007).” Social Disorganization contributes to residential instability and poverty, which affects interpersonal relationships within the community and opens opportunities for crimes to be committed.