How Street Gangs Work

Criminal gangs have certainly been around as long as crime itself — it doesn't take a criminal mastermind to realize there is strength in numbers. The urbanization that accompanied the Industrial Revolution gave rise to the modern street gang.

New York City was the epicenter of gang activity in America in the 19th century. Poor sections of the city, such as the Five Points, provided a fertile ground for gangs with strong ethnic identities, usually Irish. Gangs based on Polish, Italian or other ethnicities were also common. The Forty Thieves, Shirt Tails and Plug Uglies fought over territory, robbed and mugged people and sometimes united to fight against gangs from other areas of the city, such as the waterfront and the Bowery district.

Gang activity gradually increased in the 20th century. Through the 1950s and 60s, most gangs were in large cities, although nearby towns and suburbs might have hosted offshoot gangs if they were connected via major highways. Gangs with European ethnicity had all but disappeared, and gangs became almost exclusively black or Hispanic in their membership [ref].

In the 1970s and '80s, narcotic drugs became more prevalent on the streets. Firearms also became easier to buy illegally. This combination made joining a street gang both more lucrative and more violent. Overall, gang activity peaked in the mid-1990s [ref].

Some of the most notorious gangs in the United States are the Crips and the Bloods. The Crips began in Los Angeles in the late 60s, partially in response to the activities of other gangs in their East L.A. neighborhood. As the gang grew in power, smaller gangs joined them until Crips-affiliated gangs dominated the city. The Bloods formed in response, as the smaller non-Crip gangs sought their own power base. The Crip-Blood rivalry is vicious and never-ending, but internal strife between different "sets" within each gang has probably resulted in more murders that the feud itself [ref]. Today, both gangs have "franchise" gangs operating out of cities across the country.

The history of the Vice Lords and Gangster Disciples in Chicago follows a similar pattern. Starting out as smaller gangs, each attracted members, established control over large sections of the city and developed a fierce rivalry. The Lords and the Disciples are part of larger gang coalitions known as the People Nation and the Folk Nation, respectively. The influence of both gangs has spread to nearby cities.

There are three major types of street gangs, each defined by factors such as prerequisites for inclusion, location or gang activities:

Most gang members are exposed to gangs at a young age. The money and respect that older gang members earn impresses them. They may begin hanging around gang members, finding out who is important and learning what the gang does. This can happen as early as age 10 or 11. Gangs intentionally recruit children and use them to carry weapons and drugs or commit other crimes because they tend to attract less attention from police. If caught they serve shorter sentences in juvenile detention centers than an adult gang member would serve in prison.

When a new member joins a gang, he must usually go through an initiation. Initiations don't usually involve elaborate ceremonies or formalities, but the initiate will have to endure certain rites. The most common is "jumping in," a beating issued by all the gang members. Gangs that accept female gang members sometimes rape them as their initiation. Instead of a "jumping in," or sometimes following it, the new gang member must participate in a mission. This can be anything from stealing a car to engaging in a firefight with a rival gang. Some gangs don't consider anyone a full member until they have shot or killed someone. Getting a tattoo with gang symbols may be another part of the initiation.

Daily gang life is generally not very exciting. Gang members sleep late, sit around the neighborhood, drink and do drugs and possibly go to a meeting place in the evening, such as a pool hall or roller rink. They may work a street corner selling drugs or commit petty crimes like vandalism or theft. The notion of respect drives gang life almost completely, and for many gang members, gaining respect means committing violent crimes. While it is relatively rare compared to their other activities, gangs do assault, shoot and assassinate people for money, turf, pride or revenge.

Gangs are careful to identify themselves to each other and to others in their community. Members may dress similarly or wear the gang's colors. The Vice Lords wear black and gold, while the Crips vs. Blood feud is often called "Blue vs. Red." Gangs mark their turf with graffiti in their colors, displaying gang symbols. Gangs considering marking another gang's territory with their symbol, or defacing their symbol, an act of war, and this can easily lead to violent retribution.

Gang signs are elaborate hand signals that indicate gang membership. Gangs also explore other ways of displaying gang loyalty, such as the "C-Walk," a sort of dance-like walking pattern used by members of the Crips gang.

Only a few gangs have far-reaching influences and run like a business. These are sometimes called "supergangs." For the most part, a street gang has a rough hierarchy based on experience — members who have spent time in jail or have participated in serious crimes get the most respect. However, age often divides gangs into groups, with senior groups, junior groups and younger initiates. Senior members do not always have leadership over the younger groups, though — it all depends on street status.

Female gangs were once rare and existed mainly as offshoots of other gangs. For example, the girlfriends of gang members form their own group to show loyalty to the original gang. However, female gang membership is rising, with all-female gangs forming and fighting male gangs for turf and respect. Some gangs accept members regardless of race or gender.

There is no easy way to stop gangs, because the underlying conditions that lead to gangs are complex. Police crackdowns can temporarily lower gang influence in a specific area. However, when poverty and despair remain, gangs will inevitably recruit new gang members to replace those who go to prison [ref].

Extra police enforcement in one area can simply drive the gang activity to another nearby area. As the head of a Buffalo community center said in a Buffalo News article, "The problem we have in this part of the community is that when they shut down a drug house, it just moves down the street."

Furthermore, a police crackdown can help unify what was otherwise a loose, non-cohesive gang. Under outside pressure, the gang members turn to each other, take more pride in their gang affiliation and become capable of greater acts of violence. While police presence is vital in keeping neighborhoods safe, a more successful long-term approach requires multiple tactics that all boil down to one thing: give people something to live for other than a gang. This can include helping at-risk youth or current gang members find decent jobs or obtain an education. Block clubs and community centers bring the non-gang members (the majority of people) together to clean and maintain their streets, get rid of graffiti and otherwise show pride in where they live. Community events such as dances, football games and game nights give youth something to do other than hang out on porches with gang members. If held outdoors, they make those areas less attractive for gang activity because of all the non-gang members around.

The preferred method of gang suppression today is the Department of Justice's "Weed and Seed" program. This combines police enforcement (weeding out the worst gang members) with community activism and economic opportunities (seeding the neighborhood with the means to overcome negative conditions). More than 3,000 Weed and Seed programs are active in the United States. Each site can receive up to $1 million to help fund "law enforcement; community policing; prevention, intervention, and treatment; and neighborhood restoration" [ref].

In the words of former Crip gang member Kody Scott (who had the gang name Monster), "When gang members stop their wars and find that there is no longer a need for their sets to exist, banging will cease. But until then, all attempts by law enforcement to seriously curtail its forward motion will be in vain" [ref].

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