All About Gangs

Inmates allege serious abuse by L.A. County prison guards

2010-05-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

By Robert Faturechi

Dozens of inmates at Los Angeles County’s Men’s Central Jail have alleged serious physical abuse by deputies — broken ribs, black eyes and head wounds that needed to be stapled shut, according to a report released by the American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday.

The extent of abuse at the downtown L.A. facility is impossible to gauge, the report said, because the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department refuses to share information on the number of use-of-force incidents investigated and its findings.

Sheriff’s Department officials said all complaints are investigated thoroughly by the Office of Independent Review, which oversees the department.

“Whether these investigations are shared isn’t relevant,” said sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore. “What is relevant is the complaint itself is thoroughly investigated.”

The ACLU report, spanning a 12-month period from 2008 to 2009, was based on weekly visits to the facility and inmate complaints. Many were anonymous, the report said, because inmates feared retribution from deputies. The complaints detail direct assaults from deputies and prisoner attacks orchestrated by guards.

Whitmore denied that guards masterminded any prisoner attacks.

The civil rights advocacy group has long called for Men’s Central Jail to be shut down, or have its inmate population significantly reduced. Sheriff Lee Baca and others from the department have acknowledged deficiencies in the past, lobbying to open a more modern facility.

The department is seeking federal stimulus money to revamp the jail and replace it with a “high-tech facility,” Whitmore said.

The report includes a complaint from an inmate who says he was assaulted by about a dozen guards. He said they entered his cell and hit him with flashlights repeatedly. “They used their flashlights like a bat, like I was a baseball or something,” the inmate told the ACLU. The inmate reported that he needed stitches but refused to visit the medical clinic because guards had intimidated him.

“I refused stitches. I refused a tetanus shot,” the complaint says. “I refused everything.”

The report suggests cutting the number of inmates by releasing some and monitoring them through electronic devices and drug and mental health programs.

Whitmore downplayed overcrowding at the facility, saying its capacity is 5,200 inmates with a current population of 4,175. In recent years, great improvements have been made, Whitmore said, especially compared to decades ago when “inmates were sleeping on the roof.”

Discuss 10 Notorious Cyber Gangs

2008-09-04T21:28:00.000-07:00

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Gangs & School Violence

2008-09-04T21:26:00.001-07:00

Yo,
you
want to
score big?

A good offense...

The first defense in protecting our kids against gang influence, is a good offense. Just as we warn our kids against the dangers of smoking, alcohol and drugs before we discover evidence of such activity, we must take similar precautions and talk to our children about the dangers of gang involvement. That is, making our children aware that gang association of any kind is harmful and will not be tolerated. They need to hear it from you and know where you stand.

Discuss the consequences of being in a gang. We must teach them that they should not associate with gang members, communicate with gangs, hang out where gangs congregate, wear gang-related clothing or attend events sponsored by gangs. We must try to make them understand that the dangers here are real and "just saying no" may save their lives.

What to look out for

Parents should be alarmed and take appropriate action if a child exhibits one or more of these warning signs. Although we should exercise caution, we need to determine the degree (if any) of a child's involvement. We can assume that a child has some level of involvement with a gang if he/she:

admits that they are involved in any manner with a gang
is obsessed with a particular clothing color
prefers sagging pants or gang clothing
wears jewelry with distinguishing designs or wears it only on one side of the body
requests a particular logo over others such as British Knights (BK) - known as "Blood Killer" in some areas
adopts an unusual desire for privacy and secrecy
exhibits a change in behavior and conduct and withdraws from the family
is frequently deceitful about their activities
declining grades at school
truancy and/or being late for school
begins keeping late hours
breaks parental rules repeatedly
is obsessed with gangster music or videos
associates with the "wrong crowd" (changes friends)
begins using hand signs with friends
has paint or permanent marker stains on his/her hands or clothes. Or, is in possession of graffiti paraphernalia such as markers, etching tools, spray paint, bug spray and starch cans.
show evidence of physical injures and lies about how they were received
displays unusual drawings or text on school books or displays graffiti in their bedrooms and on items such as books and posters
produces unexplained cash, clothing, jewelry, music CDs, etc.
exhibits use of alcohol or drugs

Be careful

None of these warning signs alone is sufficient for predicting gang involvement, aggression or tendencies toward violence. Also, it can be detrimental to use these signs as a checklist against which to measure children.

Early warning signs are just that, indicators that a child may need our help and guidance. These are behavioral and emotional signs that, when considered in context, can signal a distraught child.

Early warning signs provide us with a means to examine our concerns and address the child's needs. Early warning signs allow us to get help for the child before problems escalate.

* News * Society * Prisons and probation Muslim gangs 'are taking control of prison'

2008-09-04T21:23:00.001-07:00

Muslim gangs 'are taking control of prison'

Jamie Doward, home affairs editor
The Observer,
Sunday May 25 2008
Article history

Prison officers at one of Britain's maximum security jails are losing control to Muslim gangs, according to a confidential report obtained by The Observer. An internal review of Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire warns that staff believe a 'serious incident is imminent' as several wings become dominated by Muslim prisoners.

The report, written by the Prison Service's Directorate of High Security, says there is an 'ongoing theme of fear and instability' among staff at Whitemoor, where just under a third of the 500 prisoners are Muslim.

It claims: 'There was much talk around the establishment about "the Muslims". Some staff perceived the situation at Whitemoor had resulted in Muslim prisoners becoming more of a gang than a religious group. The sheer numbers, coupled with a lack of awareness among staff, appeared to be engendering fear and handing control to the prisoners.' The situation has become so acute that white prisoners are routinely warned about the Muslim gangs by staff on arrival.

The report says that apprehension about Muslim prisoners has potentially damaging consequences and is in danger of 'leading to hostility and Islamophobia'. It serves to highlight the growing concern about extremist activity in the UK's jails. The Home Office is concerned that young male prisoners are being radicalised by Muslim gangs and that the prison system is becoming a recruiting ground for al-Qaeda sympathisers. Similar problems have been experienced at Belmarsh prison in London and Frankland in Durham. A number of high-profile al-Qaeda sympathisers at Frankland have been moved as a result of increased tensions within the jail.

Frances Crook, director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said she was alarmed at the report's findings. 'The difficulties of running a high-security prison such as Whitemoor cannot be underestimated, but much of what this internal report uncovers is extremely disturbing,' she said. 'It is vital that the problems uncovered at Whitemoor are addressed as a matter of urgency.'

The report was commissioned partly as a response to the deaths of five prisoners at the jail within 12 months. Muslim prisoner support groups have also complained that Muslims are suffering harassment from staff. Recently a number of Whitemoor staff have been suspended on unrelated corruption charges.

The tense stand-off between staff and prisoners is causing problems, the report warns. 'Staff appeared reluctant to challenge inappropriate behaviour, in particular among BME [black and ethnic minority] prisoners for fear of doing the wrong thing,' the report states. 'This was leading to a general feeling of a lack of control and shifting the power dynamic towards prisoners.' It adds: 'A wing itself felt particularly unstable with a general lack of confidence among staff.'

The emergence of gang culture in Whitemoor has alarmed some prisoners. The team that compiled the report found that over the Christmas period the segregation unit was full as inmates sought refuge from the gangs over debt problems and drugs.

Henry Bellingham, the Conservatives' shadow justice minister, who has raised concerns about the running of Whitemoor in parliament, said he welcomed the report. 'However, I'm very concerned about some of the findings,' he added. 'They point to a systematic breakdown in the chain of command. It's in everyone's interests that these problems are sorted out soon. Whitemoor holds some of the most dangerous prisoners in the country.'

In recent months the Prison Service has unveiled a series of initiatives to combat extremism in the UK's jails through the supervision and monitoring of imams and better training for staff. 'It is vital that prison staff are equipped with the knowledge and skills to ensure they have the confidence to identify and challenge behaviour that is of concern,' said a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice. 'A programme of work is planned at Whitemoor to increase mutual understanding between staff and prisoners, including a development day for staff on the Muslim faith, focus groups in which staff and ethnic minority prisoners will discuss prison community issues, and diversity events.

'The prison will continue to work closely with the Prison Service's Extremism Unit and the police to monitor and assess issues around extremism, and work will be undertaken to examine the management of gangs and terrorist prisoners within the prison.'

Northwest Gangs

2008-09-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Northwest Gangs website. This website was made to give general information on street gang activity in the Northwest region of the United States.

Modern day street gangs have been active in the Northwest since the 1980's. Since then the Bloods, Crips, Surenos and Nortenos all made the move up here from California. Also in the 1980's the Gangster Disciple Folk Nation came to the greater Seattle-Tacoma area from Chicago, Illinois. More recently the Vice Lords and Latin Kings from Chicago’s People Nation have been showing up in our communities. Also in many communities are Skinhead, Neo-Nazi, Outlaw Motorcycle and Hybrid gangs.

On here you will find listings of several hundred different gangs throughout the Northwest. Gangs in the Northwest can have as few as 3 or 4 members to a few hundred members. They come from all racial backgrounds such as Blacks, Hispanic, Asian, Caucasian and Native American. The majority of gang members are males, but female gangsters are becoming more common. They can be as young as 10 and as old as 50.

This is a work in progress, so things will change periodically. I will be adding more things to the website as time goes along, but I am designing the website solely by myself and it may take me awhile to finish everything. Enjoy the website and contact me with any questions or comments.

An Urban Ethnography of Latino Street Gangs

2008-09-04T21:17:00.000-07:00

This is an on-going urban ethnography which began as part of a sabbatical leave from California State University Northridge in June of 1996, focusing on Latino street gangs in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Currently as of October 1999 it has expanded to Albuquerque and Phoenix hoping to find solutions, to share an ever expanding body of data and literature on Latino street gangs, and to locate successful strategies for prevention and intervention with at-risk youths.

The interviewing process continues although over 1200 young people both gang-affiliated and non-gang affiliated from the same socio-economic areas between the ages of 14 to 24 have already been interviewed so far. The interview examines their early school experiences between Kindergarten and 6th grade. It also inquires about their relationship with parents, why they dropped out of school (if they have), and why they think youths join gangs.

Another objective of this research is to discover turning points where intervention might prove useful. Are there crisis periods at which family members, sociologists, criminologists, law enforcement, and educators might step in? Patterns have emerged in the current study. Sadly, much of the problem points to a parenting crisis.

Sincerely,

Dr. Francine Hallcom

Major Prison Gangs

2008-09-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

There are six major prison gangs that are recognized nationally for their participation in organized crime and violence. They have no known official affiliation with other alliances.

Each group is represented in Florida's prison system population; however some are not readily recognizable.

The six major prison gangs currently are:

Although their numbers are small in Florida prisons, if left unmonitored they could easily develop into highly predatory groups as they have in states with comparable inmate populations. The largest prison gangs in the Florida Department of Corrections are Neta and Aryan Brotherhood.

Neta

Gender Makeup: Male

Racial Makeup: Puerto Rican-American/ Hispanic

Origin: an inmate established The Neta in 1970 in Rio Pedras Prison, Puerto Rico. It was formed to stop the violence between inmates housed in the Rio Pedras Prison.

Characteristics:

They use the facade of a cultural organization.
They are establishing ties to street gangs.
Members are strongly patriotic and have associated themselves with a revolutionary Puerto Rican group called the Los Macheteros
Their philosophy is "independence for the island" or "Puerto Rico."
They see themselves as oppressed people who are unwillingly to be governed by the United States.
Members are required to procure 20 perspective recruits.
Any disrespect shown to an individual Neta member is looked upon as disrespect to the group and is usually dealt with violently.
Neta members come together in observance of their fallen members on the 30^th of each month.

Identifiers/Symbols:

Their colors are red, white, and blue. There is also evidence that black is sometimes substituted for blue.
Members usually wear beads in these colors, but also will wear clothing such as bandannas, handkerchiefs sticking out of their pockets, white tops, black shorts, etc., in these colors.
Probationary members wear all white beads until they are considered loyal; then, they can wear black beads among the white, plus one red one.
Members usually display the Puerto Rican flag and are known to carry Neta identification cards.
The Neta emblem is a heart pierced by two crossing Puerto Rican flags with a shackled right hand with the middle and index fingers crossed.
Members salute each other by holding the crossed fingers of their right hand over their heart. This hand signal has the meaning "N" in sign language; it also means togetherness and unity.

Enemies/Rivals:

Latin Kings
Los Solidos

Neta members are secretive and will not freely admit membership. This group is much more challenging to identify and validate than other gangs.

Propensity for Disruptive Behavior:

A classic Neta tactic is to keep a low profile while other Hispanic groups draw attention to themselves.
They have quietly entrenched themselves in the drug trade and extortion, and have performed "hits" for other STGs.
Neta is actively recruiting members in our correctional facilities.
Neta's growth should be closely monitored in prisons and they should never be taken lightly.

Neta is dangerous to staff and inmates. Drug activity, extortion, and gang-related violence are what they do and they do it violently. They like to carry semiautomatic and fully automatic weapons. Neta members are not deterred by police and will not hesitate to attack or to kill one if they feel it is necessary.

Aryan Brotherhood (AB)

Gender Makeup: Male

Racial Makeup: White

Origin: Originated in 1967 in the San Quentin State Prison, California Department of Corrections.

Characteristics:

Unaffiliated splinter groups sometimes use the name of their state along with the name "Aryan Brotherhood" (e.g., Aryan Brotherhood of Texas).
Members display many white supremacist, neo-nazi characteristics and ideology, but often state their goals as simply "getting high and getting over," or making their stay in the prison as comfortable as possible.
Members are ordinarily apolitical. Most are in custody for crimes such as robbery.

Identifiers/Symbols:

Shamrock clover leaf
Initials "AB"
Swastikas
Double lighting bolts
The numbers "666"
Known to use Gaelic (old Irish) symbols as a method of coding communications
Aryan Brotherhood groups from other states often accompany the symbols mentioned above with the name of the state

Enemies/Rivals:

The AB maintains a working relationship with the Mexican Mafia (EME) and therefore opposes the EME's long-time enemy, the La Nuestra Familia (NF).

The Aryan Brotherhood has traditionally nurtured a deep hatred toward black individuals and members of black groups/gangs, such as the:

Black Guerrilla Family (BGF)
Crips
Bloods
El Rukns

Allies:

Maintains a working relationship with the Mexican Mafia (EME).
Is known to give moral support to black groups in an effort to encourage possible prison disturbances.
Utilizes black associates to buy and sell drugs to elements of the black prison population.
Compatibles with most motorcycle gangs; many members were former "Bikers."
Compatible with most white supremacy groups. This often leads to confusion in distinguishing AB members from other white supremacist groups, particularly when making identification by their tattoos or symbols.
"Copy cat" Aryan Brotherhood groups are generally tolerated by true members. However, federal and California ABs do not consider them to be legitimate and may threaten violence if AB tattoos are not burned or cut off.
Actively cooperates with the Dirty White Boys, an Anglo spin-off gang of the Texas Syndicate. Similar cooperation has been observed with the Silent Brotherhood.

Recruitment/Initiation:

Membership in the AB has traditionally come from white male inmates.
Lifelong allegiance is a requirement.
A "Blood in, blood out" oath must be taken.
Often a "hit" or significant act of violence is required before full membership is earned.
Candidacy for membership may last a year or more.

Propensity for Disruptive Behavior:

Aryan Brotherhood is not readily recognizable; however, receipt of inmates on interstate compact and the current membership in groups with white supremacy ideology lend to the threat of an organizing AB within our facilities.
Main activities of the AB are centered on drug trafficking, extortion, pressure rackets, and internal discipline.
Prison activities include introduction of contraband, distribution of drugs, and getting past facility rules and regulations.
Traditionally, targets have been non-gang inmates and internal discipline.
From 1975 to 1985, members committed 40 homicides in California prisons and local jails, as well as 13 homicides in the community.
From 1978 to 1992, AB members, suspects, and associates in the federal system were involved in 26 homicides, 3 of which involved staff victims.

Once released from custody, AB members are actively expected to continue to assist or "score" for the members remaining in prison.

East Coast Mexican Gangs

2008-05-02T00:21:00.000-07:00

by Sgt. Louis Savelli, Vice President,
East Coast Gang Investigators' Association

Mexican gangs have been forming in the United States for over 100 years. On the East Coast, however, Mexican gangs are a recent phenomenon. In the past several years, East Coast cities have experienced an increase in the creation of gangs consisting of Mexican nationals.

There are many experts who believe the North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA), enacted in 1993, which promised an increase in the national employment rate of Mexico, is partly to blame for the influx of illegal Mexican immigrants into the United States. The doubling of the unemployment rate during 1993 to 1995 and the drop in hourly wages to the lowest in Mexico since 1980, resulting in an economic crash referred to as the Peso Crisis during the 1990s. This lack of economic opportunity in Mexico has greatly contributed to the illegal exodus from Mexico to the U.S. in recent years.

HISTORY AND AFFILIATIONS
Many of these Mexican gangs forming on the East Coast maintain strong ties to Mexico and Mexican traditions, as well as their relatives across the United States.
Gang members throwing TVS hand signs at an amusement park.
Hispanic gangs forming on the East Coast during the mid and late 1990s have undergone a metamorphosis from unsophisticated loose knit social cliques to violent street gangs with strengthening alliances.

These gangs are largely Border Brothers gangs. In Spanish, the Border Brothers are called Hermanos de la Frontera. Border Brothers are usually illegal immigrants from the same region in Mexico or those who have illegally entered the United States at the same time. These Border Brothers have formed together for social functions and protection. After a short time, they operate like any other gangs.

This Border Brothers symbol represents crossing the border into the United States.

During the late 1990s, Mexican street gangs have found themselves at odds with many rival gangs of different ethnic backgrounds as well as Border Brothers gangs made up of Mexican nationals. As a result, an alliance similar to the People/Folk alliance in the Midwest was formed within the Hispanic street gang culture in the Northeast. Two umbrella nations were created: La Gran Raza (The Great Race or Nation) and La Gran Familia (The Great Family). In the following chart, this alliance is illustrated. Not all Hispanic street gangs are members of these two alliances, and these alliances may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

La Gran Raza
The Mexican Boys
Crazy Homies
Chidos Picudos
Cachandos
Wild Chicanos
Santaneros
Cuatro in Quietos
Pitufos
La Mugre
Los Cholos
Palomos
Vente Seis
Los Primos
Necios
Santiago Muchacan
Reyes Locos

La Gran Familia
Ninos Malos
Southside
Border Brothers
Traviesos (NY)
Cacos
18th Street
Sureno Trece
LA 13
Brown Pride
Vagabondos
Compadres
La Tremendas
Escandolosos
Barrio Kings
La Cien
Cueristos

Non-Aligned Gangs
Vatos Locos
La Raza
Sons of Mexico
El Escuadron
Tres Puntos
Traviesos (NJ)
13 Locos
Los Toros
M-18 (Diez y Ocho)
Vagos
Sombras
Los Locos
Chacas
Chicano Nation
Rincoenas
Los Playeros

Sources state that each nation is also affiliated with a powerful Hispanic prison gang. La Gran Raza is alleged to be affiliated with La Eme (The Mexican Mafia) and La Gran Familia is alleged to be affiliated to Nuestra Familia.

GRAFFITI AND IDENTIFIERS
Mexican street gangs on the East Coast have taken on similar traits to other street gangs. Initially, these gangs were social in nature and seldom interacted with other groups unless they were involved in drinking and partying. Their structure was loose-knit. Today, these gangs are more like their American counterparts. Leadership roles are usually assumed by the most violent member of the gang. This leader appoints a second in command and issues orders to the soldiers. The leader is called "Mero Mero," which means Chief or Godfather.

Mexican gang graffiti is more simplistic and to the point than other street gang graffiti. In the picture above, Vagos is abbreviated by taking the first letter of the gang name, the middle letter and last letter to make up the gangs version of an acronym (VGS). This abbreviation technique is extremely common to Mexican gangs on the East Coast. Their graffiti seldom uses symbols and needs almost no interpretation. As is plainly stated in the picture, Vagos are prominent around the area of West 116 Street. Gangs like the Vagos (a.k.a. Los Vagos) and other Mexican gangs will frequently insert a reference to 100%, which means "100% gangster" or "I am in this gang life 100%!"

Mexican gang graffiti may be less full of symbolism than that of other gangs, but their tattoos are highly symbolic in nature. Common to these gangsters is a picture of a pair of praying hands. These praying hands signify "praying to God for forgiveness."

Our lady of Guadalupe is the favorite patron saint of many Mexicans and a common tattoo worn by gang members. An example of a praying hands tattoo on a Mexican gang member.

The Cholo symbol (seen below), which signifies the struggle for acceptance in America during the 1940s, is frequently tattooed on the bodies of Mexican gang members. Choloization is the transition an individual makes away from the surrounding culture into the American street gang culture. During the early 20th Century, Mexican-American youth donned Zoot Suits as an expression of their individuality. The zoot-suiters were blamed for the Zoot Suit Riots in 1943, an altercation between sailors and Zoot Suiters, resulting in a ten-day riot in Los Angeles, California. It is still unclear, today, which group was the real blame for the 1943 riots.

Tattoos within the Mexican gang culture often contain phrases of great significance to the gang member. These include phrases like Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life) and Perdoname Mi Madre (Forgive Me, Mother) which are also symbolic of their awareness of their gangster life and how it is unaccepted by their family and others. These words or phrases are often tattooed in Old English style letters.

Many Mexican gangsters on the East Coast will also tattoo the web of their hands with drawings symbolic of their specialty within the gang. These hand tattoos are common among other Latino gangs present throughout North America. In some hardcore cases, these symbols will be burned into the hand.

Mexican gang turf during the middle 1990s on the East Coast was mostly temporary or non-existent. These gangs, which consisted of illegal aliens, were hesitant to remain in one neighborhood for any significant length of time. They were very nomadic and fled to neighborhoods miles away at the slightest hint of pressure from the authorities. They were careful to write graffiti and tags inside of buildings rather than out. During the late 1990s, Mexican gangs were claiming turf in neighborhoods in the northeast U.S. and hanging out in large groups without worry. Graffiti, marking their turf, became bold and superfluous. Large graffiti tags with the gangs name and membership roll call were now commonplace. Common turf for these gangs were neighborhoods with small apartments near restaurants and stores where they were employed. Today, these gang members will travel miles to work and stand on busy street corners in shape-up groups to obtain a day's work from contractors seeking cheap labor.

Most Mexican gangs prefer the colors of the Mexican flag as their gangs representative colors. The colors of the Mexican flag are green, white and red. There are, however, several gangs which have adopted other colors.

On the East Coast, many Mexican gangs have adopted beads with their representative colors. They were influenced by other Mexican gangs like the Latin Kings, La Familia and Netas which were using beaded necklaces since the 1980s. Beads, bandanas and color-coordinated clothing are now standard for Mexican gangs. Many members are discreet about revealing them, however, and may conceal these colors under a hat, on the inside of a belt, inside a knapsack, or inside a pants pocket. Mexican gang members are used to hiding their affiliation from the larger, more violent gangs of the Northeast like the Bloods and the Latin Kings. Because of the recent violence connected to Mexican gangs, they also hide their affiliation from the police.

CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES

These gangs, which started with victimization of their own people and other Hispanic gangs, have slowly developed in some cases into drug dealing gangs. During a debriefing, a member of Chidos Picudos detailed the initiation rite of his gang (translated from Spanish): ..they take you to a street corner, usually near a subway or bus stop. They give you a gun and tell you to stick-up a person for their money. After the stick-up, we meet at a park or schoolyard. well buy a couple of forties with the cash and drink until we get so messed up that we start fighting with anyone around!

Mexican street gangs, until recently, have been careful to claim turf in a neighborhood or at a local hangout. Their immigration status, often as illegal aliens, made these gang members too cautious to settle into one area for long. In the past few years, with their continued delving into the drug trade, these gang members have been visibly claiming turf and regularly marking their territory. Turf is not just a barrio anymore, it is a place of business for these gangsters to sell drugs, extort money from local businesses, and commit robberies on innocent bystanders. These gangs now mark their turf through straightforward graffiti, which provides evidence of their bold new style of gang banging.

Making money is another use for the gangs turf. Street corner drug sales are becoming more popular with the Mexican gangs. As drug use increased, the high demand brought the gangs into the new millennium where green (representing money) became the true gang color. Gangs claiming turf in highly traveled areas of some cities are gaining quite a clientele of drug customers and are raking in the profits. These customers are from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

Most of the violence in the Northeast involving Mexican gangs is directed toward other Mexican gangs and their own countrymen. Incidents of Mexican gang violence have frequently occurred as a result of a disrespectful act (dis) by a rival gang member precipitated from a "shout out" at a nightclub, party or celebration. When rival gangs are present at such functions, not much impetus is required to start an altercation. Other acts of violence have occurred when there is no other rival gang in sight but members view an opportunity to show their machismo. These acts often occur during baptism celebrations, weddings, sweet sixteen parties and other family gatherings crashed by Mexican gangsters who are friends with the DJ or one of the attendees. Mexican gang members may crash the party and take any opportunity as a chance to show their worth and gain respect in the eyes of the vatos (homies).

The favorite holiday for celebration among Mexican immigrants in the United States is Cinco De Mayo, the Fifth of May, which is the observance of the Battle of Puebla. The Battle of Puebla, which was fought on May 5, 1862, was a battle of freedom against the French Armys attempt to take over the town. A Mexican army, consisting of Mexican soldiers and local citizens armed with farm tools, totaling 2,000 strong, defeated an attack by 6,000 French Soldiers. Other important dates in the Mexican culture are Mexican Independence Day, September 16, and Revolution Day, November 20. Observance of these holidays by Mexican American citizens have been marred frequently on the East Coast by conflicts between rival Hispanic gangs.

Other forms of disrespect leading to violence among Mexican gangs are seen in graffiti cross-outs, written derogatory statements or aggressive paintings, drawings and murals. One such derogatory drawing (show below) was seized from a member of the Chicano Nation (CN) who shows himself tearing off the head of the leader of their rival gang, La Escuadron (SDN). Also depicted is the crossing out of Escuadron graffiti by Chicano Nation on the side of a building. The statement, Carnalitos hasta la muerta! means brothers until death.

FUTURE TRENDS
Maintaining close tabs on Mexican gangs is important. As they are rapidly increasing in numbers, they are also stepping up their acts of violence. Many times, innocent people are victims of their violent behavior, especially those who are celebrating a family function when the gangsters decide to crash it. There are several murders still under investigation in New York that have not been solved with an arrest of a perpetrator.

These gangs are spreading to all types of neighborhoods, cities and towns. Rural areas with farms to work, major cities with restaurants to man and suburban areas with construction jobs to complete are areas which are likely to see influxes of immigrants from Mexico. The vast majority of these immigrants are hard-working people who are simply looking for a better life. A very small percentage, however, may bring their gang affiliations with them.

In terms of officer safety, Mexican gang members can be very dangerous. This can be true for three reasons. First, these members consider themselves Cholos (gangsters) and may be involved in criminal activity. Second, these gang members view law enforcement as their enemy due to negative perceptions about police officers in Mexico. As a result of increased drug activity in Mexico, the DEA is now estimating that over 90% of Mexican police officers have been corrupted by Mexican illegal drug cartels/gangs. Thus, Mexican immigrants may have little trust in the police, and may have been victimized by police officers in their home country. Third, they may be particularly worried about contact with officers due to illegal immigrant status and their fear of being deported. Be careful!

Mexican Gang Slang

Mexican gangs have their own form of spoken and written language that is evident in their graffiti and conversation. Some of words, phrases, terms, gang name translations or numbers to be aware of are listed below:

13 = Depicts the letter M; refers to southern California
14 = depicts the letter N; refers to northern California
Barrio = (Varrio) Neighborhood
Cacos = Local Thieves
Carcel = Jail
Carnal(es) = Brother(s)
Chaca = Indian Warrior
Chicano/a = Mexican American
Chola = Female gangster
Cholo = Gangster
Cuetes = Gun, explosive, firecracker
Salto; En salto = Jump in (initiation)
Ese = Hey or "Whats up?
Eses = Chicanos
Guerrero = Warrior
Hasta La Muerte! = Until death!

Gang Tape Volume 3 Contents

2008-05-02T00:13:00.000-07:00

1. LAPD Rampart Scandal Footage, 1999, 42 minutes
-discussion with area residents about their perceptions of the LAPD in Rampart division, the 12 police officers that are under investigation and Javier Ovando, a gang member, is released from Salinas Valley Prison after an LAPD officer admitted that he was framed and convicted for a crime that he never committed by imprisoned Officer Rafael Perez. A history of LAPD police corruption from the 1920s to the 1930s is examined. The beating of Ismael Jimenez in the Rampart police station is discussed and LA Mayor and LAPD chief comments about the laws violated by LAPD officers. Nino Durden is also mentioned as a corrupt cop. Alejandro Alonso comments about the LAPD corruption and officer Rafael Perez. Gang injunctions against 18th street are put on hold.

2. Straight From the Streets, 1999, 1 hr 46 minutes
A look into LA gang culture, low rider culture from the early 1990s with footage of rappers, gang members and police officers with an emphasis on the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Interviews with Ice T, Ice Cube, DJ Quik.

3. Prison Riot and Officer Force, 1999, 1 minute
Bob Martinez of the department of corrections discusses the problem of violence in prison.

4. Juvenile Justice System Examination Part 1, 1999, 22 minutes
A look at a juvenile system in Santa Clara, California and the question of rehabilitating juveniles is debated in B-9.

5. Reforming the LAPD, 1999, 2 minutes
Bernard Parks talks about the reform that must be implemented to clean up the Rampart corruption scandal

6. Juvenile Justice System Examination Part 2, 1999, 22 minutes
Discussion of juveniles in the criminal justice system in California and if offenders can be rehabilitated. The issues of substance abuse are considered a major hurdle to limit juvenile delinquency.

7. LAPD CRASH unit is disbanded, 1999, 1 minute
Bernard Parks disbands CRASH, the anti gang unit, in the wake of the Rampart police scandal and corruption

8. Is Sammy "the Bull" Gravano living in Phoenix as Jimmy Moran?, 1999, 13 minutes
Former under boss of the Gambino Crime family who testified against John Gotti is living in Phoenix, AZ running an ecstasy drug ring. Him and his entire family are arrested for running a large drug rings and the largest second chance is blown.

8. DA investigation of Rampart Scandal, Dec 1999, 4 minutes
Chief of Police, Bernard Parks and Gil Garcetti, the LA County District Attorney are having a feud over the LAPD corruption scandal. Garcetti is blaming Parks for the lack of Rampart investigation. The mayor, Dick Riordan voices his view and Michael Zinzun claims that the scandal has become a hot potato. Many protestors are complaining about police corruption

9. Shooting in Athens Park, June 2000, 2 minutes
Eight shot in the Willowbrook area of Los Angeles believed to be gang related. Most victims appear to be black and the assailants were using AK 47 weapons.

10. Gangs in America, 60 minutes
Footage of gangs in American cities and a lot of raw footage of gang homicide scenes with interviews of gang members. The footage on this program is very graphic and not suitable for children. Footage shows paramedics treating gang violence victims and trying to revive victims There is a discussion of white supremacist gangs in California. Polices officers, community leaders, parents, and youths are interviewed discussion Los Angeles area gangs.

11. Motorcycle Gangs in California, 2000, 45 minutes
Are all bikers gangs related? Interviews with law enforcement discuss the criminal behavior of the Mongols and the Hells Angels. Sonny Barger, the founder of the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels discusses his criminal history. The Buffalo Soldiers are a motorcycle club but not gang or criminal related and consist of mostly black members and the history of the motorcycle is discussed.

12. Dr. Dre Biography, 2000, 44 minutes
Dr. Dre's music career is the and his early days in the World Class Wrecking crew in the mid 1980s is discussed. His role in the emergence of gangster rap is shown but also how his upbringing if far from the gangster life in Compton. His mother shelters his life away from the criminal element then the development of the group NWA is chartered with interviews of Ice Cube, Dr Dre, MC Ren, Snoop Dog, Eminen and others. His distance of gangster rap in the late 1990s occurred and he formed Aftermath records when he separated himself from Death Row records and Suge Knight.

13. Tattoo Removal Program in Los Angeles, 2000, 3 minutes
Dr Frank Ryan, a cosmetic surgeon in Beverly Hills, California helps gang members get their tattoos removed so that they can enter the work force and society. The process of laser removal

14. Rampart Trial of 4 Officers, 2000, 2 minutes
Trial selection for the 4 LAPD officers on trial are discussed. Lorenzo Nava, a gang member claims that LAPD officer framed him just like Javier Ovando. Walter Rivas was released from police custody and claims that LAPD officer Michael Buchanan framed him.

Hispanic Gang Tape Vol. 2 Contents

2008-05-02T00:12:00.000-07:00

1. Police use graffiti to solve gang crime in New York City 1995, 4 minutes
The NYPD interpret gang graffiti in New York and gather intelligence from it.

2. Gangs that use bombs as weapons in Southern California, 1996, 2 minutes

3. New York Gang and Drug Problem, 1996, 2 minutes
Interview with a youth who was paralyzed from selling drugs on the streets of the Bronx.

4. Path of a Bullet, 1996, 3 minutes
Members of the White Fence gang in East Los Angeles talk about surviving bullet wounds.

5. Gangs in Fullerton, 1996, 6 minutes
The story of a young gang member murdered in Fullerton who was trying to leave the gang. The family discusses how this individual was making changes as they read from his diary.

6. Trial against the Mexican Mafia begins by the Federal Government, 1996, 2 minutes
Footage of Sana, a Mexican-Mafia leader, and clips of gang member meetings, and discussion of the trial against 11 Mexican Mafia members.

7. Footage of gang members being taken into custody by LAPD near Crenshaw in Los Angeles after gun shots fired, 1996, 4 minutes

8. A Look into the Latin Kings of New York City, 1997, 16
An inside look into the Latin Kings with interview of Antonio n Fernandez, and other Latin King members in Brooklyn, New York. There is also a discussion of the new conflict between the Bloods in New York and the Latin Kings. Police dispute the change the Latin Kings claim to have made towards business and legitimate organizations. Did the Latin Kings go straight? The FBI are also following Latin King members.

9. Gang in Honduras, 1997, 5 minutes
Los Angeles gangs are being exported to Central America. Mara Salvatrucha (MS) and 18^th street gang members are interviewed in San Pedro Sula, Honduras in a prison called Puerto Cortes. Many of the gang members from Los Angeles are admired in Central America by the younger males. The issue of deportation of Los Angeles gang members to the original homeland is blamed for the crime in Honduras.

10. The Murder of Willie Bogan, 1997, 5 minutes
LAPD detectives try to solve the murder of a crack user killed by gang members on Wadsworth Ave in South Los Angeles. The witness of the murder was threatened until she could testify against the gang members but was murdered on Wadsworth and 87^th Street.

11. A Retrospective on the Gambino Crime Family, 1997, 90 minutes
A historical look at the beginnings of the Mafia in Palermo Italy, the beginnings of the Gambino Crime family, and the fall of the family under John Gotti. Carlo Gambino, Paul Castellano, Sammy Gravano, and John Gotti are discussed along with the other 4 mafia families of New York City.

12. Genesis of a Gang, 1998, 3 minutes
Three generations of gang activity in one family are discussed with the Mena family from East Los Angeles, and the church and worship helped the family out of the gang life style. 13. Gang Injunction against 18^th Street, 2 minutes
Termite and 90 other 18^th street gang members in the Pico Union area are banned from congregating. City Attorney Hahn is pushing for the injunction.

14. Female gangs in Los Angeles, Jan 1998, 28 minutes

15. Gun Trafficking in Southern California, 1997, 45 minutes
ATF agents track the gun trafficking problem that consisted of many guns manufactured by Lorcin guns in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside County. Mendoza, a worker at the Lorcin, was supplying thousands of guns in the Southern California area. Many of the guns that were not intercepted by the ATF were used in crimes in various cities throughout the US. There is under cover footage of the ATF purchasing guns from street dealers. Also the debate of gun control is discussed.

16. LASD Homicide Detectives investigate a homicide in LA, 1998, 19 minutes
Two LASD detectives try to solve a gang related homicide. Scent tracking dogs are used to identify potential suspects near Mangate Street and a rifle is found. Puente gang members from El Monte, LA are involved.

17. Mexican Mafia member Art Romo, 1998, 5 minutes

Santa Ana footage of the Mexican Mafia meetings in Orange County. Art Romo is implicated in drug trafficking and money laundering. Over 262 kilos of cocaine are confiscated and connected to Santa Ana gang members and Art Romo.

18. Gang Injunctions in Los Angeles, May 1999, 5 minutes

LA City Attorney Hahn and DA Gil Garcetti discuss the gang injunction acquired against the Culver City Boys in Los Angeles. A father discusses the violence of the Culver City Boys. Also the Venice Shore Line Crips were handed down an injunction. The anti-gang ordinance in Cicero Chicago are also discussed as unconstitutional.

Black Gangs Volume I

2008-05-02T00:07:00.000-07:00

1.History of the Crips in Los Angeles, 1999 - 60 minutes A story of the history of Crips in Los Angeles from their beginnings when Raymond Washington first organized Black teen in Los Angeles in 1969
2. Gullymen Posse Jamaican gang in Brooklyn New York, 1996 – 8 minutes The Gullymen (Shower Posse) from Brooklyn New York are under investigation by the FBI for drug dealing and multiple murders. The leader Eric Vassel has fled to Jamaica but the Jamaican authorities are working with the FBI to bring gang leader Vassel, and Desmond Brown into custody. (Tape #33)

3. Asian gangs on the rise in LA County and Southern California, 1996 – 19 minutes Wah Ching and the Asian mafia are discussed between LA County Sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Buds and Richard Chiang a gang researcher. Also an interview with a Wah Ching gang member.

4. Murder in Watts, 1996 – 2 minutes Innocent elderly woman Viola McKlain killed in Watts by alleged gang members in Watts near the Nickerson Gardens housing projects.

5. Gangs in Pittsburgh, 1996 – 44 minutes A discussion with John McIntire, Alejandro Alonso, and some former gang members from Pittsbugh, PA

6. Interview of Freeway Ricky Ross, 1996 –2 minutes Allegations that the CIA helped fund the crack trade in Los Angeles.

7. Marion “Suge” Knight in Court, 1996 – 4 minutes Video tape evidence of Suge Knight and Tupac Shakur beating Orlando Anderson in a Las Vegas casino. Yaphey Uphula, of Tupac Shakur’s rap group was killed in an unrelated incident in Orange, New Jersey. The commentator incorrectly identifies that the “W” for Westside means gangster rap

8. Tupac Shakur was shot , September 9, 1996 – 1 minute

9. Allegations that the CIA was involved in the Crack trade, 1996 - 2 minutes Maxine Waters, congresswomen of California attempts to uncover this story.

10. City Hall of Los Angeles attempts to address the Gang issues, 1996 – 2 minutes

11. Gang Members Arrested in South-central Los Angeles, 1996 – 2 minutes Members of Van Ness Gangster Blood are detained after it was believed that they committed a drive-by shooting. They are apprehended behind Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles.

12. Geronimo Pratt New Footage, 1996, 1 minute Did the FBI have knowledge about the truth behind Pratt’s conviction.

13. CIA is exposed for running drugs, 1996, 2 minutes A former LAPD officer who worked narcotics in the 1970s has documented a link between drug transactions and law enforcement agencies.

14. Corcoran Prison guards shoot inmate- 1996, 1 minute

15. Marion Suge Knight violated probation – 1996, 2 minutes The judge states that Knight is guilty of a violation.

16. To Live and Die in LA, music video, 1996, 4 minutes Tupac Shakur (Makieveli) music video that shows many of the popular landmarks in Los Angeles and South Los Angeles ghetto culture.

17. Murder of Willie Bogan, 1996, 5 minutes LAPD detective try to figure out which gang members murdered Willie Bogan in Los Angeles on Wadsworth Ave.

18. Criminal Justice in the US, 1996, 90 minutes The issue of crime and gangs are discussed with interviews with several juveniles and police officers. Also the history of delinquency in the US is examined focusing on the punishment, the penitentiary, executions, and chain gangs. Footage of Pelican Bay in California, Angola State Prison in Alabama, and Attica Prison in New York are highlighted. The California Youth Authority is visited and the issue of gangs are addressed. Three strikes, the California law, and capital punishment is a topic of discussion.

19. Westside Connection - Jan 1997, 4 minutes Music video of “Bow Down” by the Westside Connection, Ice Cube, Mack 10, and WC.

20. The sentencing of 3 Pasadena Gang Members – Jan 1997, 2 minutes A judge sentences 3 gang members to death for murders that were committed on Halloween night of 1994.

21. A look at Los Angeles County’s new County Jail (Twin Towers) – 1997, 2minutes After a few years of its completion it will finally be open to house inmates.

22. The Killing of Corie Williams – Jan 1997, 2 minutes Two gang members are wanted for the killing of Corie Williams that took place on the back of an MTA bus, the same day that Bill Cosby’s son was killed in Los Angeles.

23. Afeni Shukur discusses her son Tupac Shakur – Jan 1997, 12 minutes Afeni Shakur discusses the financial problems of Tupac before and after his death and how Marion “Suge” Knight may have manipulated many rap artists.

24. Marion “Suge” Knight expose – 1997, 7 minutes A background of Marion Suge Knight from high school, to college and as CEO of Death Row records.

25. Graffiti Violence – 1997, 3 minutes In Orange, California, a women is shot after she tries to stop graffiti writing. The woman shot was also interviewed

26. Notorious BIG killed in Los Angeles - March 1997, 13 minutes The facts around the unexpected murder of Notorious BIG (Christopher Wallace) are discussed with comments by Snoop Dog and other rappers. Violence in the rap industry is discussed and the murder of Tupac is also discussed.

27. Corcoran State Prison – 1997, 8 minutes The killing of Tate by prison guards was viewed unjustifiable, and the prison is considered the deadliest prison in the US.

18th Street Gang in Los Angeles County

2008-04-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

In Los Angeles the 18th Street gang is considered the largest gang in Los Angeles County. It is estimated that there are close to 20,000 members in Los Angeles County. Most of them are Mexican and Chicano with some Salvadorean membership and a few Blacks. Some estimates of the 18th are as low as 8,000, but this low estimate still makes them the largest gang in the county if you include all their barrios as one.

The 18th Street Gang is actually a collection of several smaller gangs, making them the most fragmented gang in the County also. The individual factions can number from 50 to several hundred members each. Factions of the 18th Streets are dispersed throughout the county in San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, the South Bay, South Los Angeles, and Downtown Los Angeles just to name a few. Their strong hold and their oldest barrio is located east of the Staples center between the Harbor 110 Freeway (east) and Hoover Ave (west). There are also two significant size 18th Street Barrios in South LA, one between Vernon (north) and Slauson (south) along Vermont Avenue and second one being between Florence (north) and 91st Street (south). To say that the 18th Street is the largest gang in LA is a bit misleading, because what makes them so big is a collection of about 20 different gangs. The largest single Hispanic gang interms of turf size and membership would be one of 18th Street's main rivals, the Florencia 13 gang that has a turf that stretches from Western Ave (west) to Compton Ave (east).

The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office has three gang injunctions against the 18th Street Gangs; two in the Rampart Division and one in the Southwest Division of the LAPD. The 18th Street gang in the Southwest division was implicated in the murder of an LAPD officer in 1998. The Rampart injunctions were under review and temporarily halted in September of 1999. In 2002 these injunctions were refiled by the City Attorney's Office.

Certain factions in South Los Angeles are fueding with Black gangs, such as the Black P Stones from the West Adams area and the Black P Stones from the Jungles of Los Angeles. They have also been fueding with the NeighborHood Rollin 20s Blood.

Caption on the Map
"The spread of 18th Street's violence is shown by 154 murders linked to the gang from 1985 to 1995. This only plots homicides within Los Angeles where the killings have been tied to the gang." The killings on the map show 18th Street as both victims and assailants of murderand one can see a concentration west of the 110 Freeway near downtown Los Angeles.

MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha 13)

2008-04-05T01:47:00.000-07:00

Introduction

The MS-13 gang, aka Mara Salvatrucha 13, is one of the most violently dangerous gangs in the United States - and one of the most organized. The MS-13 gang has cliques, or factions, located throughout the United States and is unique in that it retains is ties to its El Salvador counterparts. With cliques in Washington DC, Oregon, Alaska, Arkansas, Texas, Nevada, Utah, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and several other South American countries, the MS-13 gang is truly "international" and on the verge of becoming the first gang to be categorized as an "organized crime" entity.

Gang members, who sport numerous tattoos on their bodies and faces, wear blue and white colors taken from the El Salvadoran flag. Their membership is estimated to total over 36,000 in the Honduras alone. Members typically range in age from 11 to 40 years old. Their progressive increase in violent activities and careless disregard for the law (threats and attacks against law enforcement officials is common), has made them the most feared gang in the United States. MS-13 criminal activities include drug smuggling, gun running, people smuggling, hits for hire, theft, drug sales, arson, and of course, strong arming the locals. Their wide-ranging activities and elevated status has even caught the eye of the FBI who recently initiated wide-scale raids against known and suspected gang members netting hundreds of arrests across the country.

Their penchant for violence is renowned. Members often arrive in the United States with fighting skills gained in military training and are particularly adept with machetes. In March 2004, the Maldon Institute, a Washington DC based think tank, released a report detailing the violent methods MS-13 used, including their increasingly typical (and disturbing) calling card. MS-13 often leaves behind dismembered corpses, complete with the decapitated head, at the scene of their murders. Often a grim note is attached to the body.

In a recent Texas incident, a MS-13 gang member admitted that he had led the gang rape of a 24 year-old woman and then kicked her in the neck with such force that it killed her. During questioning, the MS-13 member further acknowledged robbing and beating a small child in Houston and to stabbing an Alexander, Texas man three times in an attempt to kill him. When asked if he though murdering someone elevated his status within the gang he replied:

Hell Yeah. The crazier you are known to be, the more respect the gang gives you. In my gang, my street name is "psycho".

The Growth of MS-13

Like many gangs, MS-13 was named after "La Mara", a street in El Salvador and "13th Street" in Los Angeles. The gang originated in El Salvador and initially consisted of violent guerillas who fought in El Salvador's civil war. As the war neared its end, the gang moved operations into the nearby Honduras. In the Honduras, where membership topped 36,000, the gang rose to such power that the Honduran government instigated a crackdown on all gangs and even passed a law aimed specifically at busting up gangs and organized crime. Code named "Strong Arm", the Honduran government arrested more than 4,000 gang members in 2003, often solely because they wore tattoos or colors of known gangs. Under Honduran law, gang members can receive up to 12 years in prison if they are a leader of a local clique and up to 9 years for simply being a member of a gang.

The recent Honduran gang law amendments enraged the MS-13 group. They carried out their revenge in 2002 in the form of a slaughter that took place on the outskirts of the city of Tegucigalpa. A car carrying two men armed with AK-47s and M-16 automatic weapons, cut off a public bus forcing it to stop. The men quickly boarded the bus and opened fire on the passengers killing 28 people including 7 small children. They left a slang-ridden message, written on a red poster board and weighted down with rocks, on the hood of the bus. When MS-13 subsequently felt excessive pressure in Honduras, they promptly migrated to Mexico.

This pattern continued in Mexico and in early 2004, the Mexican government began a campaign to eradicate MS-13. Authorities arrested 300 gang members in response to what they called "a threat to National security". Arrestees were charged with drug trafficking and smuggling of firearms across Mexico and Central America.

The Mara Salvatrucha gang moved into the Los Angeles area in the late 1980's as immigrants from El Salvador began arriving in the city. The early Los Angeles MS-13 gangs sought to protect El Salvadorian immigrants from the ruthless LA gangs. As with many gangs who's original intent was to protect others, the gang soon came to prey upon the Salvadorian community themselves. Once profits were recognized, Mara Salvatrucha cliques began to spread across the United States at an alarming rate. By the 1990's, MS-13's reach had spread across the country and had planted its roots deep on the East Coast. The early cliques located on the eastern coast were independent and not well organized. In the early 2000's, the gang hierarchy changed radically when leadership for these newly unified units, came from as far away as California and El Salvador. Cells continued popping up all over the country.

In Texas and the Rio Grande area, MS-13 has become particularly profitable. U.S. and Mexican authorities acknowledge that MS-13 has been heavily involved in drug smuggling and human trafficking operations. They estimate that there are over 200 active cells (cells are groups of at least 20 members) operating in the states that border Mexico. Rumors abound concerning high-profile terrorist organizations contacting MS-13 for assistance in crossing borders in these areas.

Membership

Membership in MS-13 has grown rapidly. In Charlotte, North Carolina, membership is estimated to be 200+. Police have implicated MS-13 in at least 11 murders in the Charlotte area in 2000 alone. In northern Virginia and southern Maryland, around the Washington DC area, local authorities estimate MS-13 membership to be between 5,000 and 6,000 members - by far the largest gang in the area. In July of 2003, the Washington DC area encountered three murders attributed to MS-13. The first was the murder of a federal informant. The second was the shooting death of a 17 year old boy. The third was the death of a 16 year old boy who had both of his hands completely chopped off.

Members is MS-13 cells are often initiated by being "jumped in". In one Washington DC event, witnessed by a reporter, the inductee was an 11-year old boy - he sought membership in MS-13 so they would protect him from bullies in his neighborhood. The rights of passage included placing the boy in a circle of gang members. The five strongest members stepped inside the circle with the 11-year old boy. As members began counting slowly to 13, the boy was beaten and kicked repeatedly until he reached the point of unconsciousness. If he had been a girl, the rights of passage would have included being gang raped by six gang members.

While most gangs offer simple initiation rights, such as being "jumped in", where you are beaten or punched for several minutes in order to prove your worth, for many MS-13 cells, initiations are a little more stringent. In these cells, in order to join MS-13 you must first commit a violent act against someone else - either a beating, a rape, or a murder.

The MS-13 tell-tale body markings will typically include numerous body and facial tattoos containing the texts "MS", "13", or "18". Various symbols are used including dice, crossbones, or daggers. Often the symbols signify the members area of specialization. For instance, if a member has a tattoo of a grenade on his back it means that particular person specializes in explosives.

One of the defining factors of MS-13 is their absolute intolerance for anyone who informs the police of their activities. Court papers in Nassau County detail recorded telephone conversations where a MS-13 member bragged how he had put a stop to a informant - "I put one in the chest and three in the head."

Once a member is brought in to the gang, they are in for life. They cannot act without the boss's consent - they cannot kill without reason, cannot talk to the police, cannot skip gang meetings, nor can they leave the gang. MS-13 has no tolerance for gang members who drop out. In March of 2004, 16-year old Edgar Guzman, was brought before the US Bureau of Immigration and Customers Enforcement in Colorado. He had entered the United States illegally, traveling from Guatemala on foot. In Guatemala he had been a member of the MS-13 gang. His sole reason for leaving his native country was to escape the gang life, live with his Aunt in Georgia, and begin school. He begged authorities not to deport him

If I had stayed in Guatemala, members of the Salvatrucha gang would have killed me. I've seen them hit people with baseball bats and shoot them. I know they kill people. I know that if I go back to Guatemala they will torture me. They will kill me if I go back to Guatemala. They will kill me because I left the gang.

On March 10, 2004, Edgar was released from jail and deported. On March 20, 2004, 10 days after he was deported, Edgar was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds. He had hidden in his home for 10 days and eventually left the confines of his house when his grandmother had unexpectedly died. He barely made it 5 blocks from his home before members found him and delivered the punishment that was deemed appropriate for his deserting the gang. Death is almost always the only means of escaping the clutches of MS-13.

One of the reasons for MS-13's success is their flexibility. When they enter a new area where they are not known, they will wear their colors in a flashy display in order to promote intimidation. Once the authorities catch wind of their presence, they will change their colors, carry their bandanas in their pocket, and change their markings to say, 76 or 67 (which total up to 13).

Flexible, organized, and highly violent - Mara Salvatrucha 13 has carved a niche in our society and dug in their heels, refusing to back down even from high profile authorities such as the Federal Police.

latimes.com The Daily Mirror blog

2008-04-05T01:31:00.000-07:00

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Asian gang war

June 4, 1957
Los Angeles

Meet the city's Japanese American gangs: The Black Juans, the Dominators, the Koshakus, the Ministers, the Algonquins and the Little Gents.

Unfortunately, The Times wrote very little about them. One exception was a 1970 story about the Yellow Brotherhood, a self-help group founded to help get gang members off drugs and back in school.

One unidentified founder, a former gang member, said: "The kids aren't happy. The parents are working so hard to give the kids the things they didn't have but they are thinking in terms of material things. Not love."

Tadashi Nakamura's 2004 film on the Yellow Brotherhood won an award for best documentary short at the San Diego Asia Film Festival.

Black Street Gangs in Los Angeles: A History

2008-03-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

(excerpts from Territoriality Among African American Street Gangs in Los Angeles
by Alex Alonso, PhD Candidate.

In Los Angeles and other urban areas in the United States, the formation of street gangs increased at an alarming pace throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The Bloods and the Crips, the most well-known gangs of Los Angeles, are predominately African American[1] and they have steadily increased in number since their beginnings in 1969. In addition, there are approximately 600 Hispanic gangs in Los Angeles County with a growing Asian gang population numbering approximately 20,000 members.

Surprisingly, little has been written about the historical background 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.

In order to better understand the rise of these groups, I went into the original neighborhoods to document the history which led to these groups. There are 88 incorporated cities and dozens of other unincorporated places in Los Angeles County (LAC). In the process of conducting this research, I visited all of these places in an attempt to not just identify gangs active in Los Angeles, but to determine their territories. Through several weeks of field work and research conducted in 1996, I identified 274 black gangs in 17 cities and four unincorporated areas in LAC.

Post WWII to 1965

The first major period of black gangs in Los Angeles began in the late 1940s and ended in 1965. There were black gangs in Los Angeles prior to this period, but they were small in numbers; little is known about the activity of these groups. Some of the black groups that existed in Los Angeles in the late 1920s and 1930s were the Boozies, Goodlows, Blogettes, Kelleys, and the Driver Brothers. Most of these groups were family oriented, and they referred to themselves as clubs.[2] Max Bond (1936:270) wrote briefly about a black gang of 15-year-old kids from the Central Avenue area that mostly stole automobile accessories and bicycles. It was not until the late 1940s that the first major black clubs surfaced on the East side[3] of Los Angeles near Jefferson High School in the Central Avenue area. This was the original settlement area of blacks in Los Angeles. South of 92^nd Street in Watts and in the Jefferson Park/West Adams area on the West side, there were significant black populations. By 1960 several black clubs were operating on the West side[4] of Los Angeles, an area that had previously restricted black residents during the 1940s.

Several of the first black clubs to emerge in the late 1940s and early 1950s formed initially as a defensive reaction to combat much of the white violence that had been plaguing the black community for several years. In the surrounding communities of the original black ghetto of Central Avenue and Watts, and in the cities of Huntington Park and South Gate, white Angelenos were developing a dissatisfaction for the growing black population that was migrating from the South during WWII. During the 1940s, resentment from the white community grew as several blacks challenged the legal housing discrimination laws that prevented them from purchasing property outside the original settlement neighborhoods and integrate into the public schools. Areas outside of the original black settlement of Los Angeles were neighborhoods covered by legally enforced, racially restrictive covenants or deed restrictions. This practice, adapted by white homeowners, was established in 1922 and was designed to maintain social and racial homogeneity of neighborhoods by denying non-whites access to property ownership.

By the 1940s, such exclusionary practices made much of Los Angeles off-limits to most minorities (Bond 1936; Davis 1990:161,273; Dymski and Veitch 1996:40). This process contributed to increasing homogeneity of communities in Los Angeles, further exacerbating racial conflict between whites and blacks, as the latter existed in mostly segregated communities. From 1940 to 1944, there was over a 100 percent increase in the black population of Los Angeles, and ethnic and racial paranoia began to develop among white residents. Chronic overcrowding was taking a toll, and housing congestion became a serious problem, as blacks were forced to live in substandard housing (Collins 1980:26). From 1945-1948, black residents continually challenged restrictive covenants in several court cases in an effort to move out of the dense, overcrowded black community. These attempts resulted in violent clashes between whites and blacks (Collins 1980:30). The Ku Klux Klan resurfaced during the 1940s, 20 years after their presence faded during the late 1920s (Adler 1977; Collins 1980), and white youths were forming street clubs to battle integration of the community and schools of black residents.

In Huntington Park, Bell, and South Gate, towns that were predominately white, teenagers formed some of the early street clubs during the 1940s. One of the most infamous clubs of that time was the Spook Hunters, a group of white teenagers that often attacked black youths. If blacks were seen outside of the black settlement area, which was roughly bounded by Slauson to the South, Alameda Avenue to the east, and Main[5] Street to the west, they were often attacked. The name of this club emphasized their racist attitude towards blacks, as “Spook” is a derogatory term used to identify blacks and “Hunters” highlighted their desire to attack blacks as their method of fighting integration and promoting residential segregation. Their animosity towards blacks was publicly known; the back of their club jackets displayed an animated black face with exaggerated facial features and a noose hanging around the neck. The Spook Hunters would often cross Alameda traveling west to violently attack black youths from the area. In Thrasher’s study of Chicago gangs, he observed a similar white gang in Chicago during the 1920s, the Dirty Dozens, who often attacked black youths with knives, blackjacks, and revolvers because of racial differences (Thrasher 1963:37). Raymond Wright was one of the founders of a black club called the Businessmen, a large East side club based at South Park between Slauson Avenue and Vernon Avenue. He stated that “you couldn’t pass Alameda, because those white boys in South Gate would set you on fire,”[6] and fear of attack among black youths was not, surprisingly, common. In 1941, white students at Fremont High School threatened blacks by burning them in effigy and displaying posters saying, “we want no niggers at this school” (Bunch 1990: 118). There were racial confrontations at Manual Arts High School on Vermont and 42^nd Street, and at Adams High School during the 1940s (Davis 1990:293). In 1943, conflicts between blacks and whites occurred at 5^th and San Pedro Streets, resulting in a riot on Central Avenue (Bunch 1990:118). white clubs in Inglewood, Gardena, and on the West side engaged in similar acts, but the Spook Hunters were the most violent of all white clubs in Los Angeles.

The black youths in Aliso Village, a housing project in East Los Angeles, started a club called the Devil Hunters in response to the Spook Hunters and other white clubs that were engaging in violent confrontations with blacks. The term "Devil" reflected how blacks viewed racist whites and Ku Klux Klan members. The Devil Hunters and other black residents fought back against white violence with their own form of violence. In 1944, nearly 100 frustrated black youths, who were denied jobs on the city’s streetcar system, attacked a passing streetcar and assaulted several white passengers (Collins 1980: 29). During the late 1940s and early 1950s, other neighborhood clubs emerged to fight the white establishment. Members of the Businessmen and other black clubs had several encounters with the Spook Hunters and other white clubs of the time.

In Watts, several of the clubs were organized geographically by the housing projects in the area. The projects were built for war workers in the 1940s and were intended to be interracial. The first public housing project of Watts was the Hacienda Village: single-story units, built in 1942. In May 1944, the Imperial Courts (498 units) was built, and in September, Jordan Downs (700 units) was completed. In 1955, the most massive of all public housing projects was completed and named the Nickerson Gardens (1,100 units) (Bullock 1969:14-15). By the end of the 1950s, over one-third of the population of Watts lived in public housing (Bullock 1969:16). Clubs like the Huns and the Farmers were active in the Watts housing projects. Several of these groups fought against the established white clubs for several years. As black clubs began to negotiate strategies to combat white intimidation and violence, the effectiveness of whites to fight against integration and residential segregation began to fail.

Eventually "white flight" occurred, as white residents began to move into the growing suburban areas that flourished in the 1950s, leaving the city areas of South Los Angeles behind. This left the central city of Los Angeles as a primarily black enclave, with blacks accounting for 71 percent of the inner-city population (Brunn et al. 1993: 53). By 1960, the three separate communities of Watts, Central Ave, and West Adams had amalgamated into one continuous black settlement area where low, middle, and upper class black neighborhoods were adjoined into a single community.

During the 1960s, conflicts among the black clubs were growing and, as more white residents continued to move and the white clubs began to fade, the black clubs moved from interracial violence to intraracial violence. The Gladiators, based at 54^th Street and Vermont Avenue, were the largest black club on the West side, and clashes between other black gangs were increasing as intra-racial violence between black club members was on the rise. By 1960 several clubs emerged on the West side and rivalry between East side and West side clubs developed, along with infighting among clubs organized on the same side of town (Figure 4.1). The Businessmen (an East side club) had a rivalry with both the Slausons (an East side club) and the Gladiators (a West side club). Even though more than 50 percent of the gangs active in Los Angeles were Hispanic, black gangs represented a significant proportion of gang incidents that were rapidly increasing in numbers (Study of Delinquent Gangs 1962: 1). During this time, disputes among these were handled by hand-to-hand combat and by the use of weapons, such as tire irons and knives, but murders were rare. In 1960, the six gang-related murders that occurred in Los Angeles were considered an extremely high number. At that point, black-on-black violence between the clubs was becoming a serious concern in Los Angeles. On the surface, the rivalry between East side and West side clubs was associated with altercations on the football field, disputes over girlfriends, and disagreements at parties, but most of their clashes were rooted in socioeconomic differences between the two. East side youths resented the upwardly mobile West side youths, because East side residents were viewed as economically inferior to those residents who lived on the West side. On the other hand, West side youths were considered less intimidating and lacking the skills to be street savvy and tough. In an effort to prove themselves equally tough, West side youths engaged in several confrontations with East side youths during the early 1960s.

Several of these clubs fought against each other during this period, but in 1965 after the Watts Rebellion and under the leadership of several socially conscious organizations, most of the rivalry was eradicated. Young black youths moved towards being more politically aware and having greater concern for the social problems that plagued their community. Alprentice “Bunchy” Carter, a member of the Slausons, was successful in transforming several black youths of South Los Angeles into revolutionary soldiers against police brutality (Hilliard & Cole 1993:218), and several other organizations were also contributing to the change. The Watts Riots of 1965 were considered “the Last Great Rumble,” as members of these groups dismissed old rivalries and supported each other against the despised Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) (Baker 1988:28; Davis 1990: 297). Paul Bullock wrote that a result of the riot activity in Watts was a movement to build organizations and institutions which were led by and entirely responsible to the [black] community (1969:69).

Social-Political Period, 1965-1970

In the aftermath of the rebellion, young people, namely former club members from the community, began to build political institutions to contest social injustices, specifically police brutality, which sparked the 1965 Watts Riots. Following the Watts Riots, and throughout the rest of the 1960s, black groups were organizing and becoming politically radical.

For nearly five years, beginning in 1965, there were almost no active black street gangs in Los Angeles. Several reports that black gang activity was on the decline began to circulate (Klein 1971: 22). According to Sergeant Warren Johnson, “during the mid and late 1960s, juvenile gang activity in black neighborhoods was scarcely visible to the public at large and of minimal concern to south-central residents” (Cohen 1972). It was the formation of these new movements that offered black youths a vehicle of positive identification and self-affirmation that occupied the time and energies that might have been spent in gang activity. A sense of cohesiveness began to form, along with self-worth and positive identification, as pride pervaded the black community (Los Angeles Times 3/19/72).

After the Rebellion in 1965, club members began to organize neighborhood political groups to monitor the LAPD and to document their treatment towards blacks. Ron Wilkins (ex-member of the Slausons), created the Community Action Patrol (CAP) to monitor police abuses (Davis 1990:297), and William Sampson (ex-member of the Slausons), along with Gerald Aubry (ex-member of the Orientals), started the Sons of Watts, whose key function was to “police the police” (Obtola 1972:7). The B started a chapter in Los Angeles shortly after Huey Newton, and Bobby Seale started the Party in Oakland, California, in 1966. The BPP in Los Angeles also organized both the black on several high schools campuses in Los Angeles and the black, a meeting place for black residents concerning community issues on Florence and Broadway in 1967. Ron "Maulana" Karenga organized a nationalistic group called US Organization, and Tommy Jacquette organized the Self Leadership for All Nationalities Today (SLANT) in October of 1966 (Bullock 1969:67; Tyler 1982: 222). After splitting away from the US Organization, Hakim Jamal started the Malcolm X Foundation in 1968, and Robaire Nyjuky founded the Marxist Leninist Maoist (MLM) which had an office on 78^th Street and San Pedro (Tyler 1983:237). Student Non-ViolentCoordinating Committee (SNCC), a national organization of black nationalists visited Los Angeles and opened an office on Central Avenue in 1967. Also during this period, Ron Karenga created Kwanza, a non-religious holiday that celebrates African heritage.

All these groups were formed in the wake of the 1965 rebellion to provide political support to the civil rights movement that was gaining strength within the black community of Los Angeles. There were several other black nationalist groups in Los Angeles, but the Panthers and US Organization were considered to have the largest following and the most political influence in the black community of Los Angeles following the Watts Rebellion. The BPP heavily recruited members from the Slausons, an East side club, while the US Organization had a large a following from the West side clubs, including the Gladiators, but members of both political groups came from a variety of different clubs from all over Los Angeles. _____________Carter was elected president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the black Panther Party (BPP), whose sole purpose was monitoring the actions of the Los Angeles Police Department. Several members of the Black Panthers and the US Organization (incorrectly referred to as United Slaves)[7] headed by Ron Maulana Karenga, were at one time members of the black clubs of Los Angeles during the 1950s and early 1960s. Some experts have suggested that the rivalry between the BPP and US was rooted in previous club rivalry, but it was actually associated with the opposite philosophies of the two groups.

After the formation of several progressive groups in Los Angeles, local and federal law enforcement agencies began to target those groups that they viewed as a threat to society and the nation as a whole. The emerging black consciousness of the 1960s, that fueled the political movement, was viewed as hostile. The efforts of these political and militant groups to organize young blacks against police brutality were repressed by the FBI, because they specifically viewed the actions of the Panthers and other groups as subversive and a threat to the security of the nation. Chief Thomas Reddin of the Los Angeles Police Department retained the military model and police tactics that his predecessor (Chief Parker) had employed for sixteen years. Reddin believed that the black Panthers represented a major threat to the safety of his officers and their authority on the streets (Scheisl 1990: 168).

By 1967, the Panthers were one of the strongest black political groups in the nation, and by November 1968, J. Edgar Hoover dispatched a memorandum calling his field agents to “exploit all avenues of creating ...dissension within the ranks of the BPP” (Churchill and Wall 1990:63). This was accomplished by the use of counterintelligence (COINTELPRO) which are tactics designed to divide, conquer, weaken, and to make ineffective the actions of a particular organization. COINTELPRO tactics that the FBI began to use against the BPP to weaken its power base, were previously used during the 1940s and throughout the 1950s against the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and the Communist Party (CPUSA) in the United States (Churchill & Wall 1990:37). From 1968-1971, these tactics were used against the BPP to control and neutralize what was believed to be “a dangerous black political group.” The most vicious and unrestrained application of COINTELPRO techniques during the late 1960s and early 1970s was clearly reserved for the BPP (Churchill & Wall 1990:61; Horne 1995:13).

After several confrontations for over two years, the disputes between the BPP and US continued to the campus of UCLA resulting in the murders of BPP leaders. There are several versions of the events in the described oral histories of those who were present and those who knew the victims personally, but US members were ultimately arrested for the murders. The years of 1969 and early 1970 marked the end of any forward progress by black political groups in Los Angeles.

Gang Resurgence, 1970-1972

The attack on black political leadership in Los Angeles, and the power vacuum that remained, created a large void for young black youths in the late 1960s that coincided with the resurgence of black gangs. A generation of black teens in Los Angeles saw their role models and leadership decimated in the late 1960s. Raymond Washington, a 15-year-old student at Fremont High School, started the first new street gang in 1969, shortly after much of the Panther power base was eliminated and as other social and political groups became ineffective in Los Angeles. Washington, who was too young to participate in the Panther movement during the 1960s, absorbed much of the Panther rhetoric of community control of neighborhoods (Baker 1988:28) and fashioned his quasi-political organization after the Panther’s militant style, sporting the popular black leather jackets of the time. Washington got together a few other friends and started the first new black gang in Los Angeles on 76^th Street near Fremont High School called the Baby Avenues.

In addition to emulating the Panther appearance, Washington also admired an older gang that remained active throughout the 1960s called the Avenues. He decided to name his new quasi-political organization the Baby Avenues, to represent a new generation of black youths. They were also known as the Avenue Cribs, and after a short time they were referred to as the Cribs, which was a comment on their youthfulness. Their initial intent was to continue the revolutionary ideology of the 1960s and to act as community leaders and protectors of their local neighborhoods, but the revolutionary rhetoric did not endure. Because of immaturity and a lack of political leadership, Raymond Washington and his group were never able to develop an efficient political agenda for social change within the community.

The Cribs were successful in developing a style of dress and a recognizable appearance. In addition to their black leather jackets, they would often walk with canes, and wear an earring in their left ear lobe. Some were also avid weightlifters. The Cribs began to venture into their own criminal behavior, committing robberies and assaults. In 1971, several Crib members that were assaulting a group of elderly Japanese women were described by the victims as young cripples that carried canes. These young cripples were the Cribs, but the local media picked up on this description, and referred to this group as the Crips (Los Angeles Sentinel, 2/10/72). The print media first introduced the term Crip, and those that were involved in a life of crime were considered to be Crippin’ by other Crib members who were still trying to be revolutionary, with the same political thinking of the 1960s. According to ______________ Danifu, an original Crib member, the Cribs was the original name of the Crips, but the term Crips was substituted by the use of the word C through a newspaper article that highlighted specific individuals who were arrested for a murder.[8] Because some of the early Cribs carried canes, the entire notion of Crip as an abbreviated pronunciation from crippled caught on. Jerry Cohen wrote that Crip members wore earrings in their left lobe, in addition to carrying canes, but the walking sticks were not the source of the gang’s name that many believed (1972: C3). Danifu continued to add that Crippin’ was a separate thing from being a Crib… “Crippin’ meant robbing, and stealing, and then it developed into a way of life.”[9]

As mentioned earlier, these youths tried to emulate the fashion of the Panthers by developing a style of dress that included black leather jackets. Those youths who had the crippin’ mentality, became excessively concerned with imitating the Panther appearance. By 1972, most Cribs had been completely transformed into the Crippin’ way of life, which often led into criminal activities. For example, the acquisition of leather jackets by unemployed black youths was accomplished by committing robbery and strong-arming vulnerable youths for their jackets. Jerry Cohen (1972) described the early Crips as:

a group of juveniles that committed extortion of merchandise, mugging the elderly, and ripping off weaker youths, particularly for leather jackets that have become a symbol of Crip identity. (p C3)

Ironically, three days after this article was published, the desire for leather jackets led to perhaps the first Crip murder, when a sixteen-year old son of an attorney was beaten to death over a leather coat. The victim, who was not a gang member, was a West side resident who attended Los Angeles High School and played cornerback for the football team. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the group that assaulted him fled the scene with five leather jackets, two wallets, the victim and his friends. A few days later, nine youths, including members of the infamous Crip gang, were arrested for the murder. The previous month there was a similar incident where 20 black youths had attacked and beaten a 53- year-old white man to death on Figueroa and 109^th Street in South Los Angeles. It was believed that the Crips were responsible for this killing, but no arrests were ever made (Los Angeles Sentinel 2/10/72).

The sensational media coverage of the event at the Hollywood Palladium, plus continued assaults by the Crips, attracted other youths to join the Crips. For youths that have been marginalized along several fronts, such gangs represented manliness to self and others (Vigil & Yun 1990:64). Many youths joined the Crips, but others decided to form their own gangs. The increased attention the early Crips received by the police and from the community, because of the violence they were involved in, actually attracted more youths to join these early gangs. The violence was said to have been committed to attract attention and to gain notoriety (Rosenzweig 1972). In addition, several other youths formed other non-Crip gangs, in response to continued Crip intimidation. The idea of Crippin’ had taken over the streets of south Los Angeles, and Mike Davis stated that “Cripmania” was sweeping South side schools in an epidemic of gang shootings and street fights in 1972 (1990:300). In three short years, the first Crip gang on the East side on 78^th Street had spread to Inglewood, Compton, and the West side, totaling eight gangs, as ten other non-Crip gangs formed. By years end, there were 29 gang-related homicides in the city of Los Angeles, 17 in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, and nine in Compton (Rosenzweig 1972). Gang violence was in the early stages of what would soon become an epidemic in Los Angeles.

1970-1980

Between 1973 and 1975, several the non-Crip gangs decided to form a united federation, as many Crip gangs began indulging in intra-racial fighting with other black non-Crip gangs. Because of the sheer numbers that the Crips were able to accumulate through heavy recruitment, they were easily able to intimidate and terrorize other non-Crip gangs, resulting in one of the first Crip against Blood gang-related homicides. A member of the LA Brims, a West side independent gang, was shot and killed by a Crip member after a confrontation (Jah & Keyah 1995:123). This incident started the rivalry between the Crips and the Brims. The Piru Street Boys (non-Crip gang) in Compton had severed their relations with the Compton Crips after a similar confrontation, and a meeting was called on Piru Street in Compton where the Blood alliance was created. Throughout the mid-1970s the rivalry between the Bloods and Crips grew, as did the number of gangs. In 1974 there were 70 gang-related homicides in Los Angeles, and by 1978, there were 60 black gangs in Los Angeles, 45 Crip gangs, and 15 Blood gangs. By 1979, at the age of 26, the founder of the Crips was murdered, Crip infighting was well-established, and gang crime became more perilous. The county reported 30,000 active gang members in 1980 (Table 1.1), and gang murders reached a record high 355 (Table 1.2). The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office and the Hard Core Gang Unit began to focus their resources on prosecuting gang-related offenses during this time (Collier & Horowitz 1983: 94). From 1978 to 1982, the number of black gangs grew from 60 to 155 (See chapter 5), and by 1985 gang homicides were reaching epidemic proportions after a brief lull of activity during the Olympics of 1984. The epidemic of gang-related crime and homicides continued to soar throughout the 1980s, peaking in 1992 with 803 gang-related homicides.

In three years, after the first Crip gang was established in 1969, the number of black gangs in Los Angeles had grown to 18. Table 1 reveals that in each year where gang territory data was available, the growth in the number of gang territories was significant. In the six years between 1972 and 1978, 44 new black gangs formed, and only two gangs became inactive. In the 14 years between 1982 and 1996, 150 new gangs formed. However, the most dramatic growth was in the four years between 1978 and 1982 when 101 new gangs formed. In addition to the number of gang territories increasing, the spatial distribution of gang territories changed during these years, penetrating several new places within Los Angeles County.

Table 1. Number of black Gangs in Los Angeles County, 1972-1996

Year	Number of gangs	Percent change	Number of defunct	Net new gangs
1972	18	-	-	-
1978	60	233	2	44
1982	155	149	6	101
1996	274	76	31	150

In 1972 the Crips and the Bloods were operating in three cities; Los Angeles, Compton, and Inglewood (Figure 1). Eight Crip gangs, eight Blood gangs, and two independent black gangs were firmly established within the south-central area of Los Angeles, including Compton and Inglewood. Six gangs had territories that went beyond municipal boundaries into the adjacent unincorporated areas of Athens, Florence, Rosewood, and Willowbrook. The gang territories of these 18 gangs represented a contained and continuous region of gang territories in the south Los Angeles area of 29.9 square miles (Figure 1).

By 1978, the number of gangs in the city of Los Angeles doubled. By 1982, 17 places within Los Angeles County had observable gang territories, with the most significant gains occurring in Los Angeles, Compton, Lynwood and Inglewood. Twenty-one places within Los Angeles County had identifiable gang territories by 1996.

Table 2. Number of Gangs in Los Angeles County

City/Area	1972	1978	1982	1996
Los Angeles	11	31	74	138
Compton	4	11	25	36
Athens	1	5	5	16
Inglewood	1	2	7	14
Carson	0	6	3	11
Long Beach	0	0	3	10
Pomona	0	0	4	7
Florence	0	0	4	6
Rosewood	1	1	2	5
Pasadena	0	0	2	5
Gardena	0	2	2	5
Hawthorne	0	0	1	4
Willowbrook	0	2	6	5
Altadena	0	0	2	2
Torrance	0	0	0	2
West Covina	0	0	0	2
Lynwood	0	0	9	2
Duarte	0	0	1	1
Lakewood	0	0	0	1
Paramount	0	0	1	1
Santa Monica	0	0	0	1
Total	18	60	155	274

To summarize, the research presented on gang territories for the four different years shows a growing trend in both the number of gang territories and the spatial extent of these territories. Not only did gang territories expand from the original regions of Los Angeles and Compton, but territories were being formed in several communities outside this area in the periphery of the county. Black gangs developed first in the central area of Los Angeles during the early 1970s, then spread to the adjacent suburban areas by the late 1970s and early 1980s. During the 1980s, black gangs appeared in peripheral suburban areas of the county. The increases in black gang territories from Los Angeles to suburban areas of Los Angeles County coincided with the out migration of blacks from Los Angeles County that increased in the late 1970s (Johnson and Roseman 1990:209). Migration patterns within Los Angeles County have, to some degree, influenced the spatial distribution and growth of gang territories within Los Angeles County. In nearly thirty years, gang territories spread to cover over 60 square miles of the county.

The number of black gangs in Los Angeles dramatically increased from 18 gangs in 1972 to 60 gangs by 1978. This trend did not cease, and by the 1990s, there were close to 300 black gangs in Los Angeles County. The accompanying expansion of gang territories led to the inevitability that gang conflict would spill into non-gang communities. black gangs along with Latino gangs were no longer confined to the inner city of Los Angeles. By the 1990s, the changing geography of these gangs, which were once confined to the inner-city during the 1970s, became bizarrely juxtaposed with the affluent landscape of Los Angeles suburbia by the late 1980s and early 1990s. As the gang epidemic was unfolding in Los Angeles, other urban and suburban areas in the United States began to see the formation of street gangs. During the 1980s, a number of cities reported street gang activity, with many reporting the presence of active Los Angeles-based Blood and Crip gangs. In 1988 police departments from all over the country, from Shreveport, Louisiana, to Kansas City, Missouri, to Seattle, Washington, were reporting that California gang members were extending their operations (Skolnick et al. 1993). Some of this was due to migration of gang members from Los Angeles, and some gang formation was the result of indigenous youths emulating Los Angeles gang culture, which was partly facilitated through the media and films.

Klein’s research revealed that there were one hundred cities reporting gang activity in the United States in 1970 with a significant cluster of jurisdictions reporting gang activity in Southern California. Cities on the East Coast were believed to have a contained pattern of gang formation, while California’s spatial distribution of “gang cities” reflected a pattern of regional proliferations. By 1992, Klein’s survey showed that 769 cities in the United States were reporting street gang activity. By the 1990s, several cities in the Midwest were reporting gang activity while California led the nation in the number of cities reporting gangs. Only four states in the 1992 survey did not report any gang activity (See Klein 1995:193-195). Research by Walter Miller showed that by 1975, Los Angeles was en route to becoming the gang capital of the nation, with an estimated 580 gangs being reported in Los Angeles, the largest number reported in this survey. New York led the nation in gang membership with 24,000, but Los Angeles was second in the country with 13,500 estimated gang members.

Table 3. Average Estimates of Gangs and Gang Members in Six Cities 1974-1975[9]

City	Number of gangs	Number of members
Los Angeles	580	13,500
Chicago	443	7,000
New York	394	26,875
Philadelphia	244	9,800
Detroit	125	875
San Francisco	20	250

Source: Walter Miller 1975

The dramatic increase in the number of gangs from 1978 to 1982, which was most evident in Los Angeles, Compton, and Inglewood, occurred during the same time when unemployment was rising because of plant closures. A major phase of deindustrialization was occurring in Los Angeles that resulted in 70,000 workers being laid off in South Los Angeles between 1978 and 1982, heavily impacting the black community (Soja et al. 1983: 217). Unemployment at the expense of base closures and plant relocations has been linked, among other factors, to persistent juvenile delinquency that has led to gang development (Klein 1995: 103,194). Spergel found that gangs where more prevalent in areas where limited access to social opportunities and social disorganization, or the lack of integration of key social institutions including youth and youth groups, family, school, and employment in a local community, were found (1995:61). Also the type of community was believed to influence the prevalence of gangs, and neighborhoods with large concentrations of poor families, large number of youths, female-headed households, and lower incomes were key factors (Covey et al. 1997:71). In addition, poverty that is associated with unemployment, racism, and segregation is believed to be a foremost cause of gang proliferation (Klein 1995: 194). These conditions are strongly associated with areas plagued by poverty, rather than the suburban regions identified in this study.

By the mid 1990s there were an estimated 650,000 gang members in the United States (U.S. Department of Justice 1997), including 150,000 in Los Angeles County (Figure 1.1). In addition, in 1996 there were over 600 Hispanic gangs in Los Angeles County along with a growing Asian gang force of about 20,000. With gang membership increasing, gang-related homicides in Los Angeles County reached epidemic proportions for black and Hispanic males that represented 93 percent of all gang-related homicide victims from 1979 to 1994 (Hutson, et al. 1995). From 1985 to 1992, gang-related homicides had increased in each of the eight consecutive years (Figure 1.2). However, the year following the Los Angeles Civil Unrest of 1992, there was a ten percent drop in homicides, the first reduction in gang-related homicides in Los Angeles since 1984. This drop in killings was the result of a gang truce implemented by the four largest gangs in Watts, the Bounty Hunters, the Grape Streets, Hacienda Village, and PJ Watts (Perry 1995:24). In 1992, shortly before the urban unrest of April 29, 1992, a cease-fire was already in effect in Watts, and after the unrest, a peace treaty was developed among the largest black gangs in Watts. Early on, the police started to credit the truce for the sharp drop in gang-related homicides (Berger 1992). Homicides remained relatively stable for the two years following 1993, and in 1996, there was a notable 25 percent drop in gang-related homicides from the previous year. By 1998 gang-related homicides were at their lowest rate in over ten years despite the increasing number of gang members over the same period. It is not known if the gang truce of 1992 is still responsible for the low number of homicides, or if some other factors such as an increase in police officers, a changing economy, or the implementation of new anticrime legislation have had an effect on the drop in gang crime. Additionally, the growing number of antigang programs may have had an influence on the reduction of gang-related crime.

[1] A majority of the Crips and Bloods in Los Angeles are African American with the exceptions of a Samoan Crip gangs active in Long Beach, a Samoan Blood gang active in Carson, an Inglewood Crip gang with mostly members of Tongan descent, and a mixed Samoan/black gang active in Compton. With the exception of these four gangs, Crips and Blood gangs are predominately African American.

[2] The groups during this time identified themselves as clubs, but the police department often characterized these groups as gangs.

[3] The East side of Los Angeles refers to the areas east of Main Street to Alameda in the City of Los Angeles. This area includes Watts, and the unincorporated area of Florence. It does not include East LA, Boyle Heights, or other eastern portions of the city. Those areas are usually referred to by their specific names.

[4] The West side of Los Angeles refers to the areas west of Main Street, an area that was off limits to blacks in the 1940s. Through time, though, the border between east and west has moved slightly west in the “mental maps” of those who lived in this area. Later Broadway became the infamous border, and later again the Harbor 110 freeway became the border. Some today consider Vermont Avenue the division between the West side & East side. Gangs have always identified geographically to either East side or West side and they have maintained the use of Main Street as their point of division between the two.

[5] Main Street was the street that bounded the Central Avenue community to the west, but over time, this boundary would move further west. Success to move out of the ghetto occurred in a westerly direction, and over time, Broadway became the boundary, then later Vermont.

[6] Personal interview with Raymond Wright.

[7] Organization was a Los Angeles based black political cultural group from the 1960’s that was under the leadership of Ron Karenga (also known as Maulana Karenga).

[8] Interview with Danifu in 1996.

[9] Miller’s data was presented in two sets of figures for both the number of gangs and the number of gang members with one a high estimate of gangs and other a low-end estimate. I averaged the two figures for Table 1.1.

18th Street Gang in Los Angeles County

2008-03-31T09:34:00.000-07:00

By Alex Alonso, Staff Writer, Streetgangs.Com Magazine
updated December 22, 2002

The 18th Street Gang is actually a collection of several smaller gangs, making them the most fragmented gang in the County also. The individual factions can number from 50 to several hundred members each. Factions of the 18th Streets are dispersed throughout the county in San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, the South Bay, South Los Angeles, and Downtown Los Angeles just to name a few. Their strong hold and their oldest barrio is located east of the Staples center between the Harbor 110 Freeway (east) and Hoover Ave (west). There are also two significant size 18th Street Barrios in South LA, one between Vernon (north) and Slauson (south) along Vermont Avenue and second one being between Florence (north) and 91st Street (south). To say that the 18th Street is the largest gang in LA is a bit misleading, because what makes them so big is a collection of about 20 different gangs. The largest single Hispanic gang interms of turf size and membership would be one of 18th Street's main rivals, the Florencia 13 gang that has a turf that stretches from Western Ave (west) to Compton Ave (east).

DVD about the 18th
Street Gang

The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office has three gang injunctions against the 18th Street Gangs; two in the Rampart Division and one in the Southwest Division of the LAPD. The 18th Street gang in the Southwest division was implicated in the murder of an LAPD officer in 1998. The Rampart injunctions were under review and temporarily halted in September of 1999. In 2002 these injunctions were refiled by the City Attorney's Office.

Certain factions in South Los Angeles are fueding with Black gangs, such as the Black P Stones from the West Adams area and the Black P Stones from the Jungles of Los Angeles. They have also been fueding with the NeighborHood Rollin 20s Blood.

Caption on the Map

"The spread of 18th Street's violence is shown by 154 murders linked to the gang from 1985 to 1995. This only plots homicides within Los Angeles where the killings have been tied to the gang." The killings on the map show 18th Street as both victims and assailants of murderand one can see a concentration west of the 110 Freeway near downtown Los Angeles.

This maps comes from a Los Angeles Times series published on November 17-19, 1996.

Mara Salvatrucha MS-13

2008-03-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

In the early 1980s a civil war erupted in El Salvador killing as estimated 100,000 people. In addition, it is estimated between one and two million people have immigrated to the United States as a result of the unstable environment in El Salvador.

The first large population of El Salvadorian refuges settled in the Rampart area of Los Angeles. This influx of immigrants looking for low cost housing and employment was not readily welcomed by the Mexican-American population who were already residing in that area. The area was already plagued with gangs and crime.

These immigrant Salvadorian youth and young adults were soon were victimized by local gangs. A group of Salvadorian immigrants created a new gang calling themselves Mara Salvatrucha also known as MS-13. It is believed they got their name from combining the name of “La Mara”, a violent street gang in El Salvador with Salvatruchas, a term used to denote members of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front. This was a group of Salvadorian peasants trained as guerilla fighters. The “13” was added to pay homage to the California prison gang, the Mexican Mafia.

Members of this newly formed gang soon engaged in violent criminal acts. They quickly became known as one of the most violent gangs in the area because many of their founding members had experience or training in guerilla warfare, thus gaining a level of sophistication that superseded their rivals.

Various members of the newly formed MS-13 were soon arrested and deported back to El Salvador. All deportees were first housed in the Guezaltepeque Prison, in Northern El Salvador. Quickly and unexpectedly, Mara Salvatrucha flourished in the prison system and recruitment began on the streets in El Salvador, while the gang continued to grow in the United States as well.

With little direction and opportunities, many Central American youth admired the Mara Salvatrucha deportees and wanted to learn more about their gang. One deportee reported that upon returning to his hometown, there were only he and two other MS-13 gang members. His said that the interest in MS-13 was so big, that over 40 kids asked to be initiated (which consists of a beating for 13 seconds) into the gang on one day alone.

The gang soon became the largest gang in El Salvador and soon spread to the Honduras and Guatemala. Their rivals, although much smaller in number, are known as 18th Street or MS-18, another American born gang.

Mara Salvatrucha has become Central America’s greatest problem. In addition to violent acts committed by the gang against citizens and gang rivalries, the gang has even engaged in organized violent acts against the government. In 1997 the son of Honduras President Ricardo Maduro was kidnapped and murdered by MS-13 members. MS-13 members have continued to taunt Central American government officials. Members also left a dismembered corpse with a note for the Honduras president that “more people will die… the next victims will be police and journalists.” In 2004, Guatemalan President Oscar Berger received a similar messages attached to the body of a dismembered man from MS-13 members.

In 2002 in the city of Tegucigalpa in the Honduras, MS-13 members boarded a public bus and immediately executed 28 people including 7 small children. Again, they left a message written on the front of the bus taunting government officials.

Honduras was the first Central American country to adopt strict anti-gang laws. As a result of MS-13, government officials enacted a law that makes it illegal to be an associate of a crime, in other words, if someone looked like a gang member, they were subject to arrest. El Salvador adopted a similar law calling it Mano Dura or Firm Hand. In 2004, El Salvador implemented Super Mano Dura, to strengthen elements of their existing laws. A suspect in violation of these laws could find themselves facing a 12-year prison sentence even if no crime had been committed. Having a gang tattoo was evidence enough.

Of the new laws, former Honduran police commissioner, Maria Luisa Borjas, said, “They grab three or four young people wandering around and present them as suspects… blaming them for every single crime without justification.”

After an increase in crime, Mexico began a campaign in 2004 to eradicate MS-13 when they arrested 300 members calling them a “threat to National security.”

Over the past few years there has been numerous speculation and discussion regarding Central America’s death squads. The existence of death squads for political purposes has been a frequent occurrence in history. In El Salvador in the 1980s a vigilante group was identified known as Sombra Negra, or Black Shadow. They were extremely active in attempting to remove criminal elements from their society. It is believed that this group felt their judicial system was not apt at dealing with the nation’s problems, so they became what some would call “Self-appointed executioners of justice.” Compared to similar groups of years past, Sombra Negra receives little attention or mention from the media. This may be in part because they do not engage in massive executions, but instead kill their victims individually or in small groups. In addition their victims are almost exclusively gang members and other criminals and many Salvadorians support the idea of removing this undesirable element from their country.

Although the El Salvadorian government officially denies all sponsorship and involvement in the activities of Sombra Negra, many civic rights groups have reported that the group is mostly comprised of off-duty police and military personnel who are attempting to cleanse their society of criminals and gang members.

Although death squads have been active in other Central American countries, they appear to be most prevalent in El Salvador.

However, in Honduras there have been incidents causing some to speculate that the government condones the random execution of gang members. Specifically, there have been two prisons which have caught fire which housed MS-13 gang members. The first killed over 61 inmates. In the last incident 103 MS-13 members were burned or died of smoke inhalation. Some survivors and human rights activist have blamed prison guards for the deaths stating most of the deaths could have been prevented. Many civic rights groups who monitor human rights in Central America have speculated possible government involvement in these incidents.

Currently El Salvador has a murder rate of approximately 54 per every 100,000 people, while the United States murder rate is approximately 6 per every 100,000.

With El Salvador’s high murder rate brings the speculation that most of their murders currently go unsolved and with little investigation. Coupled with the idea of death squads killing gang members would leave the assumption that El Salvadorian law enforcement officers would focus their resources towards the most serious of crimes—the killing of innocent persons, rather than the murders of hardened or speculated gang members. With this in mind, it would be common knowledge that individuals or groups could murder gang members or criminals with little chance of being identified by law enforcement.

One news media reporter stated that they know of an MS-13 gang member who was deported. The MS-13 member used a cheese grater to scrape off the tattoos from his skin so he would not be discovered should he be stopped by Sombra Negra.

In March of 2006 the United States Department of State found the El Salvadorian government generally respected the rights of its citizens, but human rights were undermined by widespread impunity, corruption among security forces and government authorities and a tremendous problem with gang violence. Some of the items mentioned include; excessive use of force and mistreatment of detainees, arbitrary arrest and detention, harsh prison conditions, inefficiency and corruption in the judicial system.

Although all recent information indicates Sombra Negra is still active in El Salvador, the government has begun taking a proactive approach at alternative programs, such as implementing Mano Amiga or Plan Friendly Hand. This is a program for young people giving them treatment for substance abuse and social reinsertion.

Many media groups have reported the case of Edward Guzman, an MS-13 member who left Guatemala to escape the gang lifestyle. Though only 14-years-old at the time, he was threatened with death by his fellow gang members if he attempted to quit the gang. He fled to the United States to escape the gang lifestyle. At the age of 16, on March 10, 2004, he was deported back to his home. He hid in his home for several days. His first day to venture out was March 20, 2004. He made it only 5 blocks where he was shot multiple times. It was believed he was killed as punishment for deserting the gang.

Deported MS-13 members have difficulty leaving the gang. When they do return to their country they are held in a prison exclusively for MS-13 gang members until their cases are reviewed. Upon release even if they have a family support system, MS-13 members are expected to continue their membership in the gang. Failure to do so could result in punishment from the gang ranging from being physically assaulted by other members of the gang or by death.

Despite death squads and increased laws pertaining to gang membership and activity, Central America is still seeing an increase in their gang population and problems.

Although Sombra Negra activities have seemed to diminish since the 1980s, all information indicates that members and sympathizers still actively murder criminals and gang members. It has been reported of widespread corruption in El Salvador which only increases the possibility of this group existing and operating with little fear of reprisal from the government.

As a result of the poor conditions in El Salvador, many MS-13 members have illegally immigrated to our nation where our law enforcement efforts and prisons seem tame when compared to their homeland.

MS-13 members in our country are known to be involved in all aspects of criminal activity. Some law enforcement sources have reported that because of their ties to their former homeland, MS-13 members have access to sophisticated weapons thus making firearms trafficking one of their many criminal enterprises.

Despite their access to weaponry, there have been many high-profile murders and assaults in which MS-13 have used machetes to attack their victims.

The federal government has increased efforts to locate and deport illegal MS-13 members living in our nation but with the lack of cooperation from many cities whom support sanctuaries policies, has made the government’s job an uphill battle.

America's Most Dangerous Gang

2008-03-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

by Shelly Feuer Domash

Spreading from El Salvador to L.A. and across the United States, Mara Salvatrucha 13 is increasingly well organized and deadly.

Within one hour, two people were found murdered miles apart in suburban Nassau County, N.Y. After an intensive investigation, police officials learned the murders were the work of the violent street gang Mara Salvatrucha 13. It also soon became apparent the gang was sending a bold message to its members and associates. That message: “If you are not loyal, you are dead.”

But there was another message in the brutal slayings for the people of Long Island. And that message was that gang violence had moved into the upper middle class enclaves of the Island, into the kinds of communities where the locals assume that crime is somebody else’s problem.

Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13) is unfortunately becoming everybody’s problem. This plague that came to Long Island from El Salvador by way of the streets of Los Angeles follows the same migratory patterns as the Salvadoran immigrant community that it preys upon, fanning out across the United States from ethnic enclaves in California.