Street gangs have existed in the United States for years and their origins can be traced back to many large metropolitan areas. Many gangs originally formed as a means of self-protection for family and friends within their neighborhood, but eventually their activities led to criminal activity as a source of income.
Street gang members, when confined, frequently carry their gang affiliation to the prison where members of the same gang will band together or they may join a larger, more powerful gang, to include the traditional prison gangs.
Inmates who maintain their street gang affiliations pose many security problems for the prison staff, due to their general lack of leadership and discipline.
Generally speaking, gangs, as we see them today, were formed for the most part in the Chicago area or areas of California, primarily, Southern California. Many of the hundreds of copy-cat gangs that have formed throughout the United States are based on the Chicago and California gangs.
WHY KIDS JOIN GANGS
Youth will join a gang for various reasons. The overwhelming reason for
kids to join is to meet a need that is not being fulfilled by their
family, school, or environment. The following are some of the reasons
why youth decide to become involved with gangs.
Naivety
Attention
Low self-esteem
Desire for friendship and a sense of belonging
Love
Peer pressure
Respect
Fear/
Need for protection
Sense of power
Victim of poverty or inequality
Family tradition
Excitement
Access to drugs, guns, sex, and money
A belief that gang life will make them superior
Family problems/lack of positive communication
None or little adult supervision - no role model
Glamorization of gangster life by media (movie, TV, music
industries)
For detailed identifiers and other information on many well-known street gangs, please click onto the web sites below.
In the early sixties, two west coast Hispanic gang alliances emerged; the Sureños, representing Southern California gangs and the Norteños, representing Northern California. Most Hispanic gangs align themselves with one of these two alliances, depending on their geographic location. Both the Sureños and the Norteños have now spread to many parts of the United States.
Following the emergence of the Sureños and the Norteños, two other alliances were formed. In the early 1980's The
Folk Nation was formed in the Illinois Prison system. This formation was an attempt to bring all Chicago street gangs under one umbrella. The attempt failed and as a result the People Nation was formed. Many gangs align or claim allegiance to one of the two
nations and the nations are now established in most states.
There are many rivalries in the gang culture. Even among gangs or sets with the same name or gangs with the same ethnicity and culture. This has been demonstrated through the violence and bitter rivalry between the Sureños and Norteños.
As a result of these often predictable rivalries, two recently formed Hispanic alliances have now appeared on the scene on the east coast of the United States; La Gran Raza (The Great Race) and La Gran Familia (The Great Family.)
Although they have only existed since the 1990's, these alliances have already shown their propensity for major criminal activity.
Originally they were primarily located in the Northeastern United States, but they are spreading rapidly and have reached as far south as Georgia. In December, 2002, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta) indicted 51 gang members who alledgedly were members of five gangs aligned with La Gran Familia.
The suspects were members of:
Brown Side Locos
Latin Kings
Malditos-13
Pachuco-21
Riverside Locos
These gang members were reportedly indicted for a variety of crimes including at least five murders.
Please note that newly formed gangs or gangs that have formed in your area, frequently assume a gang name that may be only known locally. However, they may adopt signs, colors, symbols, or other identifiers of a nationally known gang.
Supremacists, Cults, Other Groups
There are many groups that do not fall into the categories of either a "street" or a "prison" gang. Due to the many inquiries to Gangs OR Us for groups of this type, the page below has been added for information only.
