Nuestra Familia

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.

Nuestra Familia (NF, Spanish for Our Family) was created in the late 1960’s at the Soledad Correction Training Facility in California. (NF 2011) Nuestra Familia was created because some of the Spanish inmates had gotten tired of the abuse handed out by the Mexican Mafia to fellow Mexicans. (Nuestra Family (2011)) Nuestra Familia was created as protection from the Mexican Mafia for young Mexican-American from rural areas. The first members of Nuestra Familia were strictly from Northern or Central California. (NF 2011) The all-out prison war between the Mexican Mafia and Nuestra Familia occurred in 1968 when Sonny Pena was stabbed to death by a member of the Mexican Mafia at San Quentin state prison. The recruitment for the two gangs split California in two. ...

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