Bloods Street Gang History

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

With the advent of crack cocaine in the 1980’s, the Bloods became involved in the sale and distribution of the drug, which led to their ability to expand to the eastern parts of the United States. An offshoot of the West Coast Bloods started in the early 1990’s at Riker’s Island correctional facility as protection against Hispanic inmates and gangs. This gang was started by Omar “OG Mack” Portee and Leonard “Deadeye” McKenzie and they referred to themselves as the United Blood Nation (UBN) and adopted the Blood name and considered themselves an affiliate of the West Coast Bloods. However, the West Coast Bloods did not agree to this affiliation and did not recognize the United Blood Nation as being “true”

Natioonwide, gang membership in the Bloods has been estimated between 15,000 and 20,000 members. Blood sets can range from highly organized and structured groups to loosely organized sets with little discipline, loyalty, or structure. The Bloods have grown in popularity over the years thanks in part to music, movies, and television shows that glorify the “gangsta” lifestyle as well as social networking sites and the vast amount of information available on the internet about the gang. As a matter of fact, gangs themselves have taken to the internet as an avenue to recruit new