GANGS
Meredith Brunkow
Joanna Esker
Stephanie Popovich
What is a Gang?
A
gang is an organization of two or more
individuals who form an alliance for a
common purpose. The gang identifies
with and claims territory in the community
and engages individually or collectively in
violence and other criminal activity.
Hidden America: Children
caught in Chicago Gang War
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxjkBI
_EwUQ
History of Gangs
 The
exact origin and date of when street
gangs are unknown.
 Immigration starts migration of gangs.
 The history of street gangs in the United
States estimated to begin on the East
Coast around 1783.
History
 New
York: Street gangs on the East Coast
developed in three phases .
 Chicago:
Chicago emerged between the
Civil War and the end of the 19th century.
 Gangs flourished in Chicago in the early
part of the 1900s.
History
 Gangs
grow in the West.
 The existence of the Mexican population
in the United States dates back to the
16th century.
 Often were treated as second-class
citizens and were told to go back to their
home, Mexico.
Why do teens join gangs?
 Safety
 Friendship
 Tradition
 Recognition
 Peer
pressure
10 Most Dangerous Gangs in
the World
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Mara Salvatrucha (United States)
Latin Kings (United States)
Aryan Brotherhood (United States)
Los Zetas (Mexico)
18th Street Gang (United States)
Bloods (United States)
Yakuza (Japan)
Wah Ching (United States)
Crips (United States)
Cosa Nostra (United States)
Latin Kings
 Best
organized Latin gang in the world
 Formed in Chicago in the 1940s
 18,000 members in Chicago alone
 Mexican-dominated gang
 Illegal money making, contract killing
 Colors = Black & Gold
 Symbol = Crown
Latin King Statistics
 Average
age of first firing a pistol – 11.0
 Average age of seeing someone killed by
gang violence – 11.5
 Average age of joining the gang – 12.3
 Average age expected to quit the gang
– 25.1
 Average age of expected death – 57.8
Bloods
 Founded
in 1972 in Los Angeles
 African-American males
 Between 15,000 and 20,000 members
 Known for red clothing and bandanas
 Street-level distribution of crack cocaine
and marijuana
 Auto theft, drive-by-shooting, extortion,
homicide, identification fraud, and
robbery
 Symbol = 5-pointed star
Crips
 Founded
in Los Angeles in 1969
 One of the biggest crime groups in the
world
 Bloods’ biggest rival
 African-American gang
 30,000-35,000 members
 Blue clothes & blue bandanas
 Symbol: Six-point star and six-point crown
 Murders, robberies, drug dealings
Bloods vs. Crips
 Two
of the most violent gangs in U.S. history
 Crips formed in response to the Bloods
 South Central, Los Angeles
 Territory war
 “Vicious and never-ending”
 Battles were common on the streets, county jails,
& prisons
Criminology Theories
 Social
Disorganization Theory
 Differential
 Labeling
Association Theory
Theory
Race and Ethnicity
 Risk
Factors—cut across racial and ethnic
lines, including the negative
consequences.
 Media representation
 Difficulties of assimilating
 Juvenile
Delinquent vs. Youth at Risk
46 percent Hispanic/Latino, 35 percent African-American
gang members, 11 percent white gang members, and 7
percent other race/ethnicity gang members.
Community Involvement
 Cease
Fire/Cure Violence —Violence
Interrupters
 Chicago Area Project [CAP]
 Al
Reyes
Sources





http://www.ngcrc.com/ngcrc/page15.htm
http://www.themost10.com/10-most-dangerous-gangsin-the-world/
http://cryptome.org/gangs/bloods.pdf
http://www.gapgangs.com/resources/Gangs+Crips+$26
+Bloods.pdf
Porter P, Matter R. Review of 'Gangs of America: The rise
of corporate power and the disabling of democracy'.
The Academy Of Management Review [serial online].
October 2004;29(4):689-691. Available from: PsycINFO,
Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 11, 2013
Sources



Changing Course: Preventing Gang Membership.
http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/prev
entgangmembership/gangs-book_ch10-508.pdf
Gangs 101: Understanding the Culture of Youth
Violence.
http://gangs.umd.edu/Downloads/Prevention/Gan
gs%20101%20%20Understanding%20the%20Culture%20of%20Yout
h%20Violence.pdf
Juvenile Justice Bulletin: Gang Prevention.
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/231116.pdf