Prison Gangs Essay

1455 Words3 Pages

Prison gangs were created by inmates as a way to protect themselves from other inmates. Each prison gang has their reasons for existing. There are five prison gangs in the United States. These gangs are as follow: The Aryan Brotherhood, The Black Guerilla Family, Texas Syndicate, Mexican Mafia, and La Nuestra Familia. They all have similar beliefs, meanings of their tattoos, how gangs impact their lives and society, and the challenges they bring the prison system in order to decrease gang population.
One of the largest gangs in prison with all-white male members is The Aryan Brotherhood. Established in the 1960s in California, the brotherhood was created because whites felt that black and Hispanic inmates were taking advantage of them. To
They began back in the late 1950s in Los Angles, California. Just like the Texas Syndicate there main agenda is the selling of drugs in and out of prison. Each member has a tattoo of an eagle with a snake to represent the Mexican Flag and the initials EME as there identifying marks. They have so much power that the wives and girlfriends of members control the drug trafficking in the streets of California. They also created the term blood in, blood out. Blood in means being beaten until bloody during initiation and blood out means there will be consequences if you depart from the gang. The Mexican Mafia is known as the powerhouse of prison gangs because of the power they have over there members to keep them under control.
Another gang created by Mexican-American/ Hispanic in order to be protected themselves from other gangs is the La Nuestra Familia. The hatred they receive from the Mexican Mafia generated the start of the gang. Because of their cultural difference created the hatred towards the two gangs. As their identification marks, they will get the initials NF, LNF or F on different parts of their bodies to represent their loyalty as a member. Just like the Mexican Mafia and Texas Syndicate their main focus is trafficking drugs in and out
The first is the free hand method in which the inmate gets ink and a needle and uses the original Polynesian weapon. These tattoos tend to illegible and sloppy. If the inmate can acquire the right supplies, he can also get a tattoo through the use of a homemade machine. This consists of a simple motor, a hollowed out ball point pen, guitar string, and a battery. Which basically can be constructed in such a way as to create a pivoting pin head that needs to be continually dipped in ink. This method is more precise and generally creates a better product. Getting caught with a tattoo gun, are in the act of getting a tattoo results in a major disciplinary response. The convict will lose privileges, be moved to a more restrictive wing, and sometimes face a disciplinary hearing. Due to the popular demand of tattoos, these rules do little to discourage the inmates from getting more tattoos. Within the prison subculture, a good tattoo artist is held in high regard”

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