Gangs

Gangs are surrounding the world and they consist of some of the most violent, ignorant, and prejudicial people in existence. Gangs started to emerge their power around the 1800’s; as time went on, the intensity and violence drastically increased. Today, some of the most popular gangs in the world include MS-13, The Bloods, The Crips, Latin Kings, Yakuza, and Barrio 18. In some prisons in America, more than half of the inmates are gang members. Although gangs are still slightly out of control, law enforcement has done an excellent job at figuring out the complex signs of gang activity.

Although gangs started in the 1800’s, the large outburst of violence truly began in the 1960’s with a gang known as the “Cribs”. The men part of the gang would “travel in a car filled with about 10 people and find a person walking by themselves and then beat that person up for their money, clothing, shoes, or jewelry.” (Blood vs. Crips Documentary). The victims that were mugged by people in the gang described their attacker as “Crip or Crippled” which later gave them their name “The Crips”. During 1972, students in high school or middle school that were part of the Crips started fighting and they would end up being expelled from school, which benefitted the gang because they would recruit more members from each school. The more people in the gang, the more power the gang receives.

In the early 1970’s in south central Los Angeles, the Crips started disturbing neighborhoods which turned into the anti-crip alliance. The Crips then started started wearing blue to separate themselves from the alliance. The anti-crip alliance then started wearing red which gave them the epithet “The Bloods”. Later into the 70’s, boundary lines w...

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...ifferent states in the U.S. To stop this problem schools need to start educating at a young age about the devastation and horror of violence and the outcomes of joining a gang. Students should be taught to stay away from pier pressure as well; Therefore if someone involved in a gang tries to recruit, they’ll know when to say no. Community efforts have also shown positive outcomes and decreased gang violence.

Works Cited

"21st-Century Yakuza: Recent Trends in Organized Crime in Japan ~ JapanFocus." 21st-Century Yakuza: Recent Trends in Organized Crime in Japan ~Part 1: JapanFocus. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014

"History of the Crips | National Geographic Channel." National Geographic Channel. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2014.

World's Most Dangerous Gang | National Geographic Channel." National Geographic Channel. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2014