Prison gangs are a fairly recently new phenomenon that has arisen within the corrections system in the U.S. With the “First known American prison gang was the Gypsy Jokers formed in the 1950s in Washington state prisons” (Orlando-Morningstar, 1997; Stastny & Tyrnauer, 1983; Fleisher & Decker, 2001, 2) and in California, The Mexican Mafia, formed in 1956 was the first Californian prison gang (Camp and Camp, 1985; Pyrooz et al., 2011; Skarkbek, 2012). The Mexican Mafia developed to protect Hispanic inmates from predatory white inmates and to reduce conflict among rival Hispanic street gangs (Mendoza, 2005; Skarkbek,2012). Now other prison gangs have spread like a disease throughout the nation for similar reasons but just with the inmates own corresponding race and/or ethnicity. …show more content…
For African Americans/Blacks, their corresponding prison gangs that are most apparent in corrections are “The Bloods and the Crips” (Noll, 2012) which are also a major street gang in the communities but the earliest African American/Black prison gang which was founded by a “Black Panther George Jackson united black groups such as the Black Liberation Army, Symbionese Liberation Army, and the Weatherman Underground Organization to form one large organization, the Black Guerilla Family, which emerged in San Quentin in 1966” (Fleisher & Decker, 2001). For the Caucasian/Whites are the “The Aryan Brotherhood, the Nazi Low-Riders, the Skinheads, and the Pecker-heads, also known as the Woods” (Noll,
As we open our eyes to the world around us, we see that crime comes in many different shapes and sizes. Organized crime is really not much different, it is a larger scale of individuals with the same goals, to commit criminal acts, normal for money or profit. As early as the 1700’s immigrants have been submitted to organized crime. They migrate to the United States and other countries in search for a better life but sometimes get caught up in the American system of wanting money and power and feel as though the illegal way is the only way of achieving this.
Millions of people die at the hands of cartels but despite that some people actually respect and love them. In the past year, Mexico's civil drug war has claimed some 6,300 lives. How and in what ways has the Mexican cartel affect the citizens of Mexico? Has the cartel done some good to the Mexican citizens or have they only done bad?
Wacquant, L. (2001) “Deadly Symbiosis When Ghetto and Prison Meet and Mesh”, Journal of Punishment & Society, Vol. 3, No 1, January 2001, pp 95-133.
Surprisingly, little has been written about the historical significance of black gangs in Los Angeles (LA). Literature and firsthand interviews with Los Angeles residents seem to point to three significant periods relevant to the development of the contemporary black gangs. The first period, which followed WWII and significant black migrations from the South, is when the first major black clubs formed. After the Watts rebellion of 1965, the second period gave way to the civil rights period of Los Angeles where blacks, including those who where former club members who became politically active for the remainder of the 1960s. By the early 1970s black street gangs began to reemerge. By 1972, the Crips were firmly established and the Bloods were beginning to organize. This period saw the rise of LA’s newest gangs, which continued to grow during the 1970s, and later formed in several other cities throughout the United States by the 1990s. While black gangs do not make up the largest or most active gang population in Los Angeles today, their influence on street gang culture nationally has been profound.
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.
Mexican Mafia also knows as la Eme is the top organized gang in the United States. It was formed in 1957 by Luis "Huero Buff" Flores. When he formed the gang Mexican Mafia he was incarcerated in Deuel Vocational Institution located in Tracy, California. He first formed the gang to protect Hispanics from other gangs in the California prison system. The gang quickly grew in number and strength so the California prison system moved Mexican Mafia members to other prisons such as San Quentin. The effort to break them up did not work instead there influence started to spread in the California prison system and quickly to the streets. Their symbol is the black hand of death or the number 13. Their ranking structure is paramilitary. When you first join the gang you become a soldados and you are able to move up in the ranks through loyalty, hits and proving himself a good soldier. After Soldado, you become a lieutenant, then captain and finally the top is the general. Their territories expand from Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley, San Bernardino, San Diego and cities across the central California region. They consist of 9, 000 members and mostly consist of Hispanics. They have an alliance with the Aryan Brotherhood, Surenos, and other various forms of
Theriot, Matthew T., and Barbara “Sunshine” Parke. "Native American Youth Gangs." Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice 5.4 (2008): 83-97. Print.
There were groups such as the Black Panthers, and the US Organization, which were known to have been rivals due to false rumors that had been spread by the government and the media. Black Panthers were known to have offered a more reliable source of protection during this time than the police did for African Americans. Sloan interviews current and former gang members from a variety of gangs spread throughout Los Angeles. He gives us a different perspective on where gangs came from and why they formed. Although they were originally formed to protect African Americans, they have strayed far from where they started.
Franco, C., (2007, May). The MS-13 and 18th street gangs:Emerging transnational gang threats, Retrieved from http://opencrs.com/document/RL34233/2007-11-02/download/1006/.
This paper attempts to examine the characteristics of the Sinaloa Cartel, which is revered as one of the most well established criminal organizations in Latin America having been quoted by Columbian newspaper El Tiempo, as controlling 35% of the cocaine exported from Columbia. Columbia itself is regarded as the largest producer of cocaine in the world. They have long been known to exploit transnational commerce and communications to protect and guide their illicit, profit driven activities. The organization’s characteristics, methods of operation, organizational structure, activities, and threats to the region and country of its various operations will all be explored extensively in addition to the impact of local and foreign law enforcement
Our team presentation focused on three Latino gangs, MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha), the Mexican Mafia and the Los Surenos gang. My part of the presentation was to provide information on the type of crime these three gangs are known to commit. The crimes committed by the MS-13 gang are varied, violent, and take place all over the country. The FBI even put together a task force called the MS-13 National Gang Task Force in December of 2004 to try to put a stop to this gang’s activities. (www.fbi.gov). Los Surenos or Sur-13, originally based in Los Angeles, has also branched out from turf wars with rival gangs to “for profit”, violent crimes across the country. The Mexican Mafia has a similar story to tell as well in regards to gang crimes, which again range from respect crimes, and retaliatory violence to crimes for profit.
Firstly, in order to gain a better understanding of the problems that plague our correctional system we must fully understand the enormous overcrowding problem that exists in the majority of state and federal prisons. Since 1980 the prison population has quadrupled and only the numbers continue to rise (Schmalleger, 2012).To help reduce the overcrowding problem within our prisons, taxpayers have funded 102 new correctional facilities since 1980 (Shelden, 1999).... ... middle of paper ... ... Offenders that are incarcerated within the prison quickly find a group of people commonly associated with their ethnic groups to establish a rapport with.
Starbeck (2012) observed that prison gangs continue to operate actively in contraband markets the through California’s correctional facilities while providing protection to the family and friends of gang members that also aide in financial support.
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]