Transcript ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE CULTURAL DIVERSITY

ADMINISTRATION
OF
JUSTICE
STREET GANGS
I.
INTRODUCTION
A.
The increase in gang violence
and its deep - rooted social
problems pose a massive
challenge to law enforcement.
1.
In the combined jurisdictions
of Los Angeles County there
exists over 1300 street gangs
with an estimated membership
of 140,000 to 150,000.
2.
Studies have shown that in Los Angeles
County, a criminal incident involving a
gang member will occur approximately
every 35 minutes.
a.
These incidents range from petty theft
and public drunkenness to armed
robbery, felonious assault and murder.
(1)
In 2002 there were 592 gang related
murders in Los Angeles County
II.
DEFINITION
A.
A street gang is a group of youths
from the same neighborhood and
generally from the same race,
banded together for anti-social and
criminal activities. Gang members
vary in their affiliation with the gang.
1.
The most widely accepted definition of
the term "gang" is -- a group of similar
individuals sharing a number of
common interests.
a.
Expanded further, it usually
characterizes youth gang activities as,
at the least, not in the good interest
of the community and, at the most,
outright criminal.
b.
Tales of ancient gangs have existed for
ages in places like China (i.e., the Tongs),
and throughout medieval Europe.
c.
Gangs, even today, terrorize areas of
Great Britain in unorganized, but
army - like groups.
d.
Ku Klux Klan, Skinheads and other
similar groups are gangs bent on
terrorism and activist violence today.
2.
Society has had to contend with
various forms of gangs throughout
history.
B.
The classifications of gangs which
appear most relevant are:
1.
Hard - core members:
a.
The totally involved and unchanging.
b.
Generally the leaders, the most
violent and the most legal and
street wise.
c.
Those who need and thrive on any
and all activity by the gang.
2.
Affiliate or associate members:
a.
Those who socialize with the
gang for status, recognition
and protection.
3.
Peripheral members:
a.
Those who "back up" the
neighborhood but join and
leave as their need for the
gang arises.
III.
THE GANG MEMBER
A.
Acceptance into the gang
1.
Gang members share a common
motivation that leads to their
joining a neighborhood gang.
a.
A need to be accepted by
someone -- anyone.
b.
Primary reason street gangs exist
is they offer young individuals one
very important element which is
usually missing in their lives:
(1)
self - esteem -- results from a lack
of encouragement from friends
and family.
(2)
esteem is how one looks at one's
self.
2.
Peer pressure is another term we use
when discussing youthful behavior.
a.
When there is no self - esteem,
young people are easily pressured
by their peers (friends) into becoming
members of an organization that
offers esteem and recognition.
b.
To transform quickly from a
“nobody” to a “somebody” is
hard to ignore and easy to accept.
3.
The status as an appreciated and
recognizable member of a neighborhood
street gang attracts young individuals.
a.
The fact that gang members are
routinely wounded and often killed
does not deter the enthusiastic
"wannabe" (want-to-be) from the
desire to become a "Homeboy"
(a full - fledged street gangster).
IV.
STREET GANG INTIMIDATION AND
WARFARE
A.
Gang membership has
increased dramatically to
the point that many teachers
and parents are afraid.
1.
Some teachers have left the
profession entirely to seek
other options.
2.
Parents are distraught that otherwise
really nice children have become the
victims of this emerging element of
society.
a.
Today's youth are joining the ranks
of the “gang bangers” for the
sheer excitement offered by their
bizarre way of life.
3.
The adult population is at the
mercy of street gangs and the
gang mentality.
B.
Street gangs are a phenomena
that has evolved in part as the
result of the easy access to
illegal drugs and guns in the
metropolitan areas.
1.
The mobility resulting from the
availability of motor vehicles well as
the over - abundance of the amenities
that accompany gang activity, has led
to an alarming increase in total numbers
of gangs.
2.
The tremendous profit in the sale
of drugs and lack of gun control
allows gangs to arm themselves
with every type of weapon available.
3.
Hospital emergency rooms are filled
with the victims of gang violence and,
as a result, have increased security in
the emergency areas.
a.
In September 1992, a gang followed
their victims directly into the emergency
room of White Memorial Hospital,
located in a Southern California gang
neighborhood and a gun battle ensued.
b.
In March 1993, gang members, bent on
revenge, mistakenly murdered an entire
sleeping family of five in the notorious
gang-infested "Gardens" housing
complex in Watts, California.
(It was the wrong address.)
4.
The war is fought over "turf" claimed by
each gang in their own neighborhoods
and public streets.
a.
It is fought in the suburbs, prisons,
and school sporting events.
(1)
The school of one black high
school football team, was forced
to cancel a championship game
because of street gang gunfire.
V.
STREET GANG MENTALITY
A.
The main purpose of the street
gang is to gain status.
1.
Accomplished by waging war
against other neighborhood
gangs.
a.
Children and adults in these
communities become
innocent victims of this
warfare.
2.
Another war exists between street
gangs and law enforcement.
a.
Most metropolitan police
departments have gang units
and train officers to cope
with street gang activity.
b.
Increased numbers of officers
have been assigned to gang units
to combat the uprising of gangs.
c.
As the methods of operation by the
gangs change, the police response
is changing to meet them.
VI.
RACIAL MAKE-UP OF GANGS
A.
The racial make - up of the common
street gang differs according to the
specific area of the country.
1.
At one time gang activity in New
York City involved primarily Blacks
but included a large element of
Puerto Rican nationals.
a.
2.
The dominant Hispanic gangs
had not yet arrived.
Los Angeles, is called the "mother
of all gang cities."
3.
As gang activity has spread throughout
many regions, the ethnic make-up has
evolved from primarily Black in the
1980's, to now predominantly Hispanic
gang membership.
a.
The influx of native Mexicans
across the southern border
has magnified the size of present
Hispanic street gangs.
(1)
Although the vast majority of these
immigrants are honest people.
(2)
The Hispanic gangs have grown to
become veritable armies.
b.
Black gangs are second.
c.
Asian gangs and Skin Heads running
third and fourth.
4.
Few Caucasians are members of gangs
with the exception of organized crime,
outlaw bikers, Ku Klux Klan and the
neo - Nazis.
5.
Each gang considers themselves
to be the "soldiers of the hood."
a.
They look upon the police as
a referee in their war with rival
hood gangs.
(1)
Gangs commonly refer to their
neighborhood, turf, territory
or protected boundaries as
"the hood."
VII.
GANG IDENTIFICATION
A.
Being identified as a gang
member
1.
Members enjoy the ultimate
position in the most important
element of their community,
they are "in" and not "out."
2.
Recognition of this new status to their
peers is necessary and is achieved in
many ways and forms.
a.
Gang members identify
themselves to each other, and
to the community, through the
use of graffiti, attire, tattoos,
hand signals and "marked“
possessions.
3.
Eye contact also serves as
identification as signals are
flashed with meaningful stares.
B.
Tattoos
1.
Gang members are proud of their
association with the gang and
freely admit their membership in
the organization.
2.
They proudly display identification
tattoos openly, in addition to
dressing in the styles associated
with their particular street gang.
a.
Tattoos are a permanent form of
identification that will be the
possession of the gang banger
forever.
3.
The most important thing to gang
members is their "moniker"
(the term the gang members are
known by).
a.
It may often be tattooed on their
bodies, and their personal possessions.
b.
Often, a gang member is only known
by his moniker and members of his
group may never be aware of his true
name.
4.
Common areas for displaying a
tattoo are the neck, face, arms,
back and stomach.
a.
The palm of the hand also is often
a choice site for a tattoo.
b.
Many gang bangers tattoo letters
on all of their fingers, in the ring
area, to spell out messages.
c.
Even the web of skin between the
thumb and fingers is often tattooed.
d.
A teardrop tattooed at the outside corner
of the right eye may indicate that:
(1)
The gang member has spent
at least one year (one bullet)
in C.Y.A. or State prison.
(2)
The gang member has
committed a murder.
5.
Female gang members, as well as
males, are utilizing this body graffiti.
a.
The use of Old English style
lettering has become the mode of
expression for gangs.
C.
Hand signals
1.
There are hand signals
employed by each gang.
a.
Some are accomplished without
touching other gang members.
b.
These are unlike the elaborate
handshakes utilized by fraternal
organizations of the "straight"
community.
2.
The hand signal is visual and
meant only for rapid recognition
in the event the signaler is new
at the game.
3.
The use of hand signals by gang
members has practically become
another language with meanings
transmitted more rapidly than
with spoken words.
a. Gang members "shoot"
or "toss“ signs with their
fingers positioned in
gestures that identify the
particular neighborhood
gang with which they are
affiliated.
b.
When a gang member employs the
hand signal, it is called "flashing."
This is very important because the
lack of a proper "shoot", may result
in disastrous consequences.
(1)
Gang attacks and shootings
are often preceded by sign
flashing.
D.
Gang attire
1.
The early days of street
gang prominence.
a.
Clothing worn was the
primary, if not the sole,
method of identification.
b.
Gang attire eventually evolved into
two predominant colors that
represented the status quo of the
main gangs of each "hood":
(1)
Red meant you were a "Blood",
(2)
while blue indicated the
wearer was a "Crip."
c.
Time has not altered the mentality
of the street gang but it has
transformed the dress codes.
(1)
Today's gang world activists
all wear, interestingly, the
color of death -- black.
(2)
Bright colors are "out."
(3)
The Los Angeles Raiders' professional
football team emblems with the
fierce eye - patched pirate are “in.”
2.
While many young people on
school campuses all look like
gang members, a great number
are only wanting to be.
3.
Hand signals have replaced
clothing worn as the meaningful
form of street gang identification.
E.
Graffiti
1.
To the gang members, graffiti is the
clear marking of territorial limits,
pride in his associations with the
gang, and a warning to other gangs
to keep out “this territory is ours.”
2.
The turf boundaries are marked
by spray painting their personal
letters and numbers which dates
their organization.
3.
Graffiti also used as a temporarily
written history of the gangs and
their accomplishments.
a.
Young gang members see legendary
figures glorified and will be
motivated to emulate a fallen hero.
b.
Many deaths and injuries have
resulted from disputes over these
wall adornments.
4.
In many cases, the gang youth will
have minimal financial or worldly assets.
a.
His most important possession
becomes his reputation within his
own gang as well as other gangs.
(1)
He proudly and defiantly
writes his name and gang
association anywhere it can
be seen.
5.
A major insult by a rival gang directed at
a gang member is to "cross out his name"
a.
This act is one that must be avenged.
This threatens not only his own self
esteem but his standing within the
gang and by extension, his identity.
(1)
It is this attitude that results in
the blood baths often seen on
our city streets.
VIII. PRISON GANGS
A.
In the 1960's a new experience
was born in the Nation’s
prison system -- highly
organized prison gangs.
1.
These groups were so secret and well
organized that the prison system was
undermined and control was taken from
prison officials before the authorities
were aware of their existence.
a.
One factor that promoted the
growth and spread of such gangs
is the inbred violence that caged
men perpetrated on each other.
b.
Racial violence has always been a
serious problem within prisons, and
gang organizers encouraged racial
segregation to facilitate the growth of
gangs.
B.
The Mexican Mafia
1.
The first and most notorious
prison gang is the Mexican
Mafia (EME).
a.
Organized in the late 1950's by a
group of Mexican - Americans, its
purpose was to protect fellow
Hispanic prisoners from racial
violence within the prison system.
b.
They are responsible for the majority of
narcotics trafficking in the prisons they
control, and employ time - honored
racketeering techniques such as
protection and loan sharking to develop
its strength in the prison system.
c.
The Mexican Mafia also operates
outside prison walls, primarily in
the urban areas of the south
western United States.
(1)
born in California prisons
(2)
major distributor of heroin
(3)
will eliminate its competition in
any manner possible
C.
Nuestra Familia
1.
The Mexican Mafia's most
dreaded enemy.
a.
The Nuestra Familia
means ("OUR FAMILY")
2.
Born in the California prison system.
a.
Was organized in 1967 at
Soledad Prison.
b.
It began as a political organization
to push for prison reform.
3.
Unlike its mortal enemy the
Mexican Mafia, it has a written
constitution and an identified
rank structure.
4.
The Nuestra Familia openly wars
with the Mexican Mafia in and out
of the prison system.
a.
Violence has escalated to such a
degree that prison officials attempt to
segregate Nuestra Familia and Mexican
Mafia from one another by assigning
members to separate prisons.
5.
The majority of Nuestra Familia
recruits are prisoners committed
to the prison system from rural
areas.
a.
They tend to control the narcotics
and organized criminal activity in
the rural areas of California.
b.
Their counterparts in the Mexican Mafia
generally come from the urban areas
and control criminal activities in the
cities.
D.
The Black Guerilla Family (BGF)
1.
A gang whose beginnings in
prison were motivated by
political ideas.
a.
Inside the prison, the BGF is linked
to the Black Liberation Army (BLA)
which operates as a Communist
terrorist organization on the streets
of America.
2.
The BGF is responsible for most
of the assaults on prison officials,
and on several occasions has
murdered prison staff.
3.
Even though the BGF is very
strong inside prison, it is not
as well - organized on the outside.
4.
The organization is now almost
totally a criminal group trafficking
in narcotics both within and
outside prison walls.
E.
The Aryan Brotherhood (AB)
1.
The most important white
gang in the prison system.
2.
Originally it called itself the Blue Bird
Gang, later changing its name to Aryan
Brotherhood.
a.
The members can be identified by
a tattoo of the anti - Christ symbol
in the form of the triple six (666)
contained within a cloverleaf.
3.
Formed in the early 1960's as a
white supremacy group whose
purpose was to protect white inmates
from other racially - oriented, non - white
gangs.
4.
The feeling of the gang comes
from Nazi idealism which exists
among white power groups that
afflict certain segments of society.
5.
Composed primarily of individuals
who, on the outside, associate with
or belong to various white racist groups.
a.
Particularly violent and holds
a strong attraction for the
violence - prone individual.
6.
Many of the inter -- racial murders
committed in the prison system
are directly related to the Aryan
Brotherhood and the Mexican Mafia.
7.
The gang is not particularly strong
outside prison because upon release,
members to tend to rejoin their original
white power groups or resume former
criminal associations.
IX.
PRISON GANG PHILOSOPHY
A.
Prison gang philosophy is
very often directly opposed
to that of the street gang.
1.
Although loyalty is a prime value for
both groups disagreements among
prison gang members are many times
settled by the murder of the offending
member or members of his family.
a.
The killing of a "homeboy" on the other
hand is alien to most street gangs;
(1)
When a street gang makes raids
on rival gangs the intent is not to
commit murder per se but to
terrorize rivals.
(2)
If a street gang must kill to fulfill
its aims it will - but the killing itself
is secondary to the intent.
2.
In a prison gang the killing is of
primary importance, with the terror,
which the killing generates, an
added extra.
3.
The prison gang prefers to advance
its own goals.
a.
Turf and neighborhood are, for
obvious reasons of no concern.
b.
Unlike the prison gang member,
the street gang member forsakes
everything and places his own
interests second to the gang that
identifies with the neighborhood
from which he gains his identity.
(1)
For the street gang member, the
neighborhood and the gang which
protects it are entities from which
he draws substance.
4.
The prison gang is different than
the street gang:
a.
It is cold, calculating and
purposeful.
b.
Individuals who break prison
gang rules are punished
ruthlessly and swiftly.
c.
The street gang, on the other
hand, operates on pure emotion.
(1)
Its planning is usually simple, its
actions spontaneous.
(2)
There may not be a specific person
selected as a victim.
(3)
The strike will be against any member
of the opposing gang as the target is
not an individual but the gang itself.
(4)
An attack on any gang member,
therefore, is an attack on the gang
as a whole. Any member will do.
this concludes
Street Gangs