Gang Information
Gangs are as diverse and different as the population itself. They date back hundreds of years and have permeated every level of society. The existence of a gang is usually to concentrate power in numbers when committing acts of crime for financial benefit. Gangs are organized worldwide and their membership continues to grow.
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History
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The Black Hand was one of the oldest known groups of organized crime, becoming established in the late 18th century. It frequently used its influence and intimidation to extort money from victims. They would send letters to individual's homes marked with a black handprint on the stationary, blackmailing the person for money. This was the basis for what later became the American Mafia.
Fictionalized in the film "Gangs of New York," the Dead Rabbits, an Irish street gang, and the Bowery Boys of New York fought a protracted gang war that spread into politics and the function and administration of law enforcement of the city during the late 1800s.
Also, around that time, hundreds of gangs operated in what became the Old West. Newly acquired lands from Mexico offered prosperity and fortune that attracted the more unlawful elements of American society.
The rise of the Mafia during the 1920s represented the first organized crime group to turn to more business-oriented operating procedures. Salvatore Marazano established a system of "families," with a chain of command and business plan. Al Capone, one of the more prominent criminals of the era, took control of Chicago and expanded his criminal enterprises from rackets, extortion, prostitution and alcohol trafficking into political gains by connecting to organized labor and controlling union bosses.
Types
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Many types of gangs make up the general structure of organized illegal activity. The complicated infrastructure of gangs ranges from simple schoolyard gangs to widely organized groups.
Street gangs are a social network with similar backgrounds and motivations. These usually involve a certain amount of territorial possession in which the gang operates its criminal enterprises.
Prison gangs are groups assembled in a prison or correctional institution for mutual protection and advancement. Gangs in prisons also control access to drugs, alcohol and tobacco within the facility, giving rise to an elaborate infrastructure of concentrated criminality.
The corporate gang is a highly organized conspiracy that works to control the supply of drugs or prostitution on a much larger scale. Examples of this are the American Mafia, Chinese triad, Japanese yakuza and the Russian mafia.
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Significance
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Two networks of street gangs rose in the late 20th century: Folk Nation and their rival, People Nation. Both descended from incarcerated gang members making contacts while serving prison time.
The Folk Nation is an alliance created by Larry Hoover in 1979. They identify themselves by adjusting clothing on the right side of the body, such as a roll of a pants leg or tilt of a hat to the right. The most prevalent symbol of the Folk Nation is the Star of David, worn on clothes and used in graffiti. Prominent members include the Gangster Disciples, the Spanish Cobras and the Crips.
Their rivals, the People Nation, was formed in response to the Folk Nation. They identify themselves on the left side of the body and are known for utilizing various Islamic imagery. Their main membership is from the Vice Lords, the Latin Kings and the Bloods.
Misconceptions
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Not all gangs are created by ethnic groups for traditional criminal enterprises. Many groups are spawned by ethnic and racial hatered. The Aryan Brotherhood was formed at San Quentin State Prison in California in 1964 as a way to intimidate the other ethnic groups in the correctional facility. They have turned into a murder-for-hire organization, making up merely one percent of the prison population but responsible for over a quarter of the deaths within the system. Outside, the Aryan Brotherhood is closely aligned with the Klu Klux Klan and the White Aryan Resistance organizations.
Considerations
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Gangs have infiltrated the U.S. military as well, with graffiti being found as far away as Iraq and Afghanistan. The recruiting department states that they have no way of denying the applications of gang members, due to their lack of knowledge of the situation. Most believe that gang members join to either escape retaliation from the gang or to learn the skills of military combat for when they return to the streets. Many soldiers have been caught attempting to steal weapons and ammunition for use in gangs, potentially creating a problem for the future of law enforcement when dealing with these organizations.
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