There are 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). Within those 33,000 gangs there are many different types of gangs that all have different factors as to who are members of each gang. Many gangs are regionally specific. Often the regional nature of gangs not only increases the population of those gangs, but also increases the overall impact on the criminal justice system. With over a million criminally active gang members in the US today, gangs make a major impact on the criminal justice system. The stress placed on the criminal justice system has huge implications to American law enforcement. Some of the stresses can be seen by the evaluation of different types, styles and population of gangs and gang members, types and frequency of crimes committed and location of gangs as Prison gangs are criminal organizations that originate in the state or federal penal system. Although these types of gangs start in the penal system they can and often do become fully functioning street gangs once the gang originators are released. “Prison gangs are also self-perpetuating criminal entities that can continue their operations outside the confines of the penal system” (FBI 2013). Prison gangs will typically contain a smaller select group of members who establish a pecking order and are completely governed by a code of conduct. Prison gangs are a substantial player in the illegal drug game as they act as a middle man for many street gangs due to the networks developed in prison who share in the criminal activity. Prison gangs are more prevalent in the state penal system rather than the federal penal system (FBI 2013). Because of the criminal networks that prison gangs contain they are powerful, though the concentration of gangs in state prison rather than federal ones provides greater
A gang is an organized group with a recognized leader whose activities are either criminal or, at the very least, threatening to the community. (Walker, 2011) Throughout history there have been some infamous gangs that have gotten media attention and others that have gone under the radar. One of the more underground gang structures are prison gangs. The Nuestra Familia may not be in the news as much anymore compared to other gangs, but they are nothing to be taken lightly. Prison gangs have been around since the late 20th century and only seem to be getting stronger if nothing is going to be done to prevent them. Gangs in prison have members in and out of prison. One of the more popular gangs that has been gaining steam recently is the mainly Hispanic gang La Nuestra Familia. The purpose of this paper is to write about the history of the NF, the structure in which it operates, and some good preventative tactics that could prevent prison gangs from becoming stronger.
In response to a growing gang problem in specific communities, the OJJDP has refined the Comprehensive Gang Model to better fit the issues related to today’s gangs. The GRP incorporates several new aspects into the pre-existing Comprehensive Gang Model. The revamped program was tested in four communities: East Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, W...
According to the National Gang Center, the change is gangs from 2002-2007: +12% in larger cities, +33% in suburban counties, +27% smaller cities and +24% in rural counties (National Youth Gang Center, 2009). The gang problem in the United States of America has been getting worse since the first gang was formed by Irish immigrants in the early 1800s. For low income and areas with high population, gang involvement with youths has also been getting worse. Regarding gang-related homicides, it is for difficult data collection industries to gather correct information because after a murder is committed it must be determined whether the murder is gang-related or not. But despite that, reports of gang-related murders are concentrated mostly in the large cities in the United States of America. Including San Jose, where there are long standing and persistent gang problems, which mean there are a larger number of documented gang members. There are literally thousands of anti-gang advocacy groups because there are so many concerned parents. These groups support politicians who are working to try to create legislation to reduce the gang problem in the United States of America. There are a number of theories on how to combat the gang problem, but a strategy which rarely fails is to take small steps in progress and continue to move forward.. There will never be a perfect solution that solves every aspect of a problem. But one policy that covers a wide range of issues involving gangs is the United States Constitutional bill S.132, “Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2009.” It is the most extensive and sophisticated piece of gang legislation to appear in the last decade, it has many objectives on increasing and enhancing law enforcement resources committed to the investigation and prosecution of violent gangs. It has had more supporters from both parties than any anti-gang bill in the last decade. S.132, “The Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2009” has the potential to deter and punish violent gang crime, to protect law-abiding citizens and communities from violent criminals, to revise and enhance criminal penalties for violent crimes, to expand and improve gang prevention programs; it will give jobs back to police officers such as those in San Jose who lost their jobs and will help law enforcement indentify gang crimes to be able to put murderers behind bars faster.
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 Lanuestra 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.
Prison gangs are originally formed by inmates as a way of protecting themselves from the other inmates. These gangs have turned out to be violent and thus posing a threat to security. This paper will have a look at the different gangs in prisons, their history, beliefs and missions, and the differences and similarities in these gangs.
Criminal activities and gangs have mostly always been an on going problem in the United States. Gangs and gang members are frequently involved with a variety of different crimes. The 2008 National Youth Gang Survey reported that there are approximately 774,000 active gang members in the United States (Egley, Howell, & Moore, 2010). The 2008 National Youth Gang Survey also states that there are about 27,900 active gangs in the United States (Egley et al., 2010). The active gangs in California have caused a major impact on the state in many ways. According to the California Department of Justice, approximately 300,000 gang members are living in California (Crawford, 2009). California also attributes more than 25 percent of all homicides to gang activity (Crawford, 2009). This is a staggering huge amount. The rise of gang involvement and gang crime has led law enforcement to issue and enforce gang injunctions. However, these gang injunctions do not completely eliminate gang crime and they have no effect after one year of being issued. Also, gang injunctions interfere with the lives of normal people in society.
Street Gangs are becoming popular in many cities across the country. According to the Department of Justice's 2005 National Gang Threat Assessment, there are at least 21,500 gangs and more than 731,000 active gang members (Grabianowski). Gangs bring fear and violence to neighborhoods, drugs, destroy property, involve youth in crimes and drive out businesses. When you have gangs in a community, it affects everyone in the community. An alarming amount of young adults are joining gangs and becoming involved in illegal activity. Most gangs have a rule that when you join the gang you are a member of the gang for life. Gangs can be removed from our communities with more community involvement and education.
One of the major problems of corrections today is the security threat group - more commonly known as the prison gang. A security threat group (STG) can be defined as any group of offenders who pose a treat to the security and physical safety of the institution. Throughout the 1960's and 1970's, prison gangs focused primarily on uniting inmates for self protection and the monopolization of illegal prison activities for monetary gain (F.B.P., 1994, p. 2). STGs are mostly divided along racial lines and practiced defiance towards authority. STGs use a variety of hand signs, alphabet codes, tattoos, and different types of gang terminology. Gangs characteristically have rivals and make an alliance with other gangs. The criminal activity of S.T.G.’s does not only exist inside the confines of the prison walls, but has flowed to the outside world. “Prostitution, extortion, drug selling, gambling, loan sharking – such activities are invariably operated by prison gangs” (Gaines, Kaune, Miller, 2000, p.652). The Texas Prison System consists of eleven classified security threat groups; Texas chooses to classify a gang as a STG when they become involved in violent activity. “Prison gangs exist in the institutions of forty states and also in the federal system” (Clear and Cole, 2000, p. 260). Three main stages that the offender will experience with the S.T.G. are recruitment, the gang experience, and affiliation upon release.
This book review covers Policing Gangs in America by Charles Katz and Vincent Webb. Charles Katz has a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice, while Vincent Webb has a Ph.D. in Sociology, making both qualified to conduct and discuss research on gangs. Research for Policing Gangs in America was gathered in four cities across the American Southwest; Inglewood, California, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Phoenix, Arizona. This review will summarize and discuss the main points of each chapter, then cover the relationship between the literature and class discussions in Introduction to Policing and finally it will note the strengths and weaknesses of book.
They do this to ensure that they reduce the chances of becoming a victim within the confines of prison. The problem is that once they gain reliance on a group of people, they commonly find themselves in a gang. So instead of learning a trade to ensure that they are successful when they are introduced back into society, they more often become educated on the benefits of gang life. Works Cited Schmallager, F. (2012). Criminal Justice, Ninth Edition.
“Live by the streets, die by the streets.” This is a gangster’s code of conduct. Gang members are murdered or savagely beaten for not following this code of conduct. So, what choice does a gang member have: end up in jail or end up dead? Of course, not everyone who goes to jail is a gang member. But, the majority of those in jail grew up suffering the same hardships. So, what type of hardships normally breed criminals? According to the Bureau of Census, the majority of jail inmates are one or more of the following: male, Caucasian or African American, under 35 years old, and/or lower class (Clear, 2015, p. 165-166). This mix of socioeconomic status, environment, and race are usually found within certain neighborhoods across the United States. These neighborhoods suffer from social disorganization. Social disorganization is when members of a neighborhood, or community, find it impossible to solve the community problems at hand (Chambers, 2000). Factors within these communities become a cycle that becomes increasingly more difficult to break. Factors, such as low socioeconomic status, residential mobility, and heterogeneity, in addition to the social disorganization, produce criminals.
In the big house, one can alter the big fish, little pond theory into a prison one. In prison first time inmates always a little guppy, in an ocean filled with sharks and barracudas. Correction officers cannot see or control everything, and worst some corrections officers are crooked and corrupted. National Gang Intelligence Center, or NGIC estimates that 230,000 inmates are part of a gang affiliation in both federal and state prisons. A prison gangs main goals are to recruitment, profit, and sometimes protection. The prison gang will typically involve in any crime in prison to further their objectives examples such as murder, assaults, prostitution, drugs, threats to staff, to even gambling (2011
Fleisher, M. S., & Decker, S. H. (2001). An Overview of the Challenge of Prison Gangs. Corrections Management Quarterly, 5(1), 1.
Hallswort, S. And Young, T. (2004) Getting Real About Gang. Criminal Justice Matters [online]. 55. (1), pp 12-13 [Accessed 10 December 2013]
Many stereotypes of gangs have been fabricated. The problem is that a majority of gang members do not fit these stereotypes, which, in turn, makes it hard for the to be caught (Klein). Traditionally they organize their group around a specific neighborhood, school or housing projec...