Street Gangs: The New Urban Insurgency
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| Figure 6 illustrates the percentage of youth gangs involved in the street sale of drugs for each region of the country. The Northeast had the highest percentage (50 percent) of youth gangs involved in street sales, followed by 45 percent for the Midwest, 38 percent for the South, and 30 percent for the West. The differences in street sales by region were found to be statistically significant. 1997 National Youth Gang Survey |
| Table 20 compares the weighted and unweighted averages of the percentage of youth gangs involved in the street sale of drugs, by area type. Unlike weighted averages, unweighted averages do not account for the number of gangs in each jurisdiction, but they do allow for the comparison of averages across jurisdictions. Using unweighted averages, the average proportion of youth gangs involved in the street sale of drugs ranged from 42 percent in suburban counties to 26 percent in small cities. Weighted averages were higher than unweighted averages, because jurisdictions with a high number of youth gangs generally reported a higher average percentage of youth gangs involved in the street sale of drugs than did jurisdictions with a relatively low number of youth gangs. The other analyses for street sales of drugs presented below use only unweighted averages so that trends across jurisdictions are more readily apparent. 1997 National Youth Gang Survey |
| Street Gangs: The New Urban Insurgency Authored by Dr. Max G. Manwaring. The Strategic Studies Institute of the US Army War College March 01, 2005 The primary thrust of this monograph is to explain the linkage of contemporary criminal street gangs (that is, the gang phenomenon or third generation gangs) to insurgency in terms of the instability it wreaks upon government and the concomitant challenge to state sovereignty. Although there are differences between gangs and insurgents regarding motives and modes of operations, this linkage infers that gang phenomena are mutated forms of urban insurgency. In these terms, these "new" nonstate actors must eventually seize political power in order to guarantee the freedom of action and the commercial environment they want. The common denominator that clearly links the gang phenomenon to insurgency is that the third generation gangs' and insurgents' ultimate objective is to depose or control the governments of targeted countries. As a consequence, the "Duck Analogy" applies. Third generation gangs look like ducks, walk like ducks, and act like ducks—a peculiar breed, but ducks nevertheless! This monograph concludes with recommendations for the United States and other countries to focus security and assistance responses at the strategic level. The intent is to help leaders achieve strategic clarity and operate more effectively in the complex politically dominated, contemporary global security arena. |
| Resources & Publications U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION www.ed.gov • Archive of ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education Publications http://iume.tc.columbia.edu/eric_archive.asp One of 16 ERIC Clearinghouses that collects abstracts and indexes materials related to education and teaching. This site provides access to a variety of publications to help prevent youth violence, including: "Gang Activity at School: Prevention Strategies" by Shirley Lal; and "Gangs in the Schools" (1994), by Garry Walz. • Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osdfs/index.html The Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools is the Federal government's primary vehicle for reducing drug, alcohol and tobacco use, and violence, through education and prevention activities in our nation's schools. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES • Center for Substance Abuse Prevention http://prevention.samhsa.gov Produces the Substance Abuse Resource Guide "Gangs." For an updated copy, contact: SAMHSA National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI), P.O. Box 2345, Rockville, MD 20847-2345 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE www.usdoj.gov • Bureau of Justice Statistics www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/welcome.html Collects, analyzes, publishes, and disseminates information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. These data are critical to Federal, State, and local policymakers in combating crime and ensuring that justice is both efficient and evenhanded. Of particular interest is the Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2003 is a joint report prepared by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice. • National Youth Gang Center www.iir.com/nygc Assists state and local jurisdictions in the collection, analysis, and exchange of information on gang-related demographics, legislation, literature, research, and promising program strategies. NYGC coordinates activities of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Gang Consortium, and provides training and technical assistance for OJJDP's Rural Gang, Gang-Free Schools, and Gang-Free Communities Initiatives. This site includes access to studies, analysis, and reports, including information about successful prevention programs involving youth, strategies for gang prevention and intervention, and documents to assist law enforcement. Individuals may also sign onto the Youth Gang Consortium's listserv to receive regular updates. See: GANGINFO on the NYGC Web site. • Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org Comprehensive gateway site for programs, funding, and publications related to juvenile justice. Recommended publications: "Highlights of the 1999 National Youth Gang Survey" and "Preventing Adolescent Gang Involvement," a well-documented 11- page report detailing the characteristics of and responses to America's youth gang problem. Analyzes risk factors for gang involvement as well as effective prevention and intervention strategies. The publications used to research this fact sheet can be obtained from the Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention index • Crime by Youth Gangs and Groups in the United States • Gang Membership, Delinquent Peers and Delinquent Behavior, 1998 • Highlights of the National Youth Gang Survey, years 1996-1999 • Preventing Adolescent Gang Involvement • The Youth Gangs, Drugs and Violence Connection • Youth Gangs: An Overview • Youth Gangs in Schools Gang Prevention/Intervention Through Targeted Outreach In response to the number of youth gangs growing in cities and expanding to suburban and rural communities, Boys and Girls Clubs of America with the assistance of OJJDP has developed special gang prevention and intervention initiative targeting youth ages 6-18. Through referrals from schools, courts, law enforcement and community youth service agencies, the tested and proven Targeted Outreach program identifies and recruits delinquent youth, or those "at risk" of delinquency, into ongoing Club programs and activities. |
| What is a gang? A gang is defined as three or more individuals that hang together on a continuing basis,during both criminal and non-criminal activity. They distinguish themselves apart from the rest of society in some manner, which could be clothing, hairstyles, communication or any other means. A gang may or may not claim turf. However, one of the simplest and most functional definitions is that a gang is a group of people who form an allegiance for a common purpose and engage in violent, unlawful, or criminal activity. Street gangs Gangs are predominately territory oriented. Each gang has its own turf and graffiti mark sits boundaries. Anyone who does not belong in the area and resembles a rival gang member may become the subject of attack. Gang names Many gangs adopt names that have significance when related to their neighborhood(streets, parks, hills, valleys or housing projects). Nicknames Many gang members adopt nicknames when recruited into the group if they do not already have one. The gang tends to select a name that fits the individual's physical or psychological characteristics. Leadership Gang members do not fit the movie image in which they are portrayed fulfilling specific roles in the gangs such as president or enforcer and wearing gang jackets similar to those worn by many car clubs having rigid structures. Rather, leadership roles in street gangs are usually not formally recognized positions. They are assumed by a member who demonstrates or asserts dominant control at a particular time. His leadership may continue for the particular incident or a limited time thereafter. With smaller gangs, however, it is more likely that a single individual will become a recognized leader. Cliques and sets Many gangs are subdivided into sets or cliques. A clique or set will usually have its own name. Sets usually apply to black gangs and cliques to Hispanic gangs. |
| Why do young people join gangs? There are variety of reasons, including the excitement of gang activity, peer pressure,attention, protection, financial benefit, family tradition, and lack of realization of the hazards involved. In many cases, young people are not actively discouraged from gang involvement by their parents. Often, parents don't realize that their children are engaged in gang activity. Effects of gang involvement Gang membership extracts a terrible toll from the Lives of all who contact the members. Parents and relatives of gang members live in a double fear; one for their families safety and that of their gang related child. Non-gang member friends are cast aside and soon the youth's only friends are gang members. Gang membership, although a temporary phase for some youth, will shape the individual's future. ALL levels of formal education are discarded because they differ from the gangs' objectives. Gang members not killed or seriously injured often develop patterns of alcohol and narcotics abuse, as well as extensive police records that will limit their employment opportunities. |
| GANGS "MOVE 'EM OUT OF YOUR LIFE!" THE CHOICE IS YOURS. |
| INDICATORS OF GANG INVOLVEMENT The first and most important step is to become aware of gangs, gang members, and their activities. As a parent or concerned citizen, you need to know that prevention is the key to controlling gang activity. Learning the warning signs of gang membership will prepare you to better direct your children away from gang involvement. *While many of these indicators, viewed separately, are not signs of gang involvement,viewed together they may indicate gang involvement. 1. Associating with a new set of friends while ignoring old friends. Usually will not talk about new friends, who they are or what they do together. This would also include a change in places that your child frequents, such as going to public parks or different clubs, or just wanting to "cruise" with friends in vehicles not going anywhere specific. 2. Change of hair style and/or clothing or associating with other youths who have the same hair style and/or clothing. Usually some of the clothing, such as a hat or jacket, will have the gangs initials, and/or the youths "street" name on it. 3. Increase in amount of money they have, without explanation where it came from, or other possessions that youth could not have bought themselves. 4. Indications of drug, alcohol or inhalant abuse. Signs of inhalant abuse will sometimes be paint or "white-out" found on the youths clothes, or the smell of chemicals on their clothes. 5. Change in attitude about things the youth used to enjoy such as sports, scouts, or church. Youth becomes a discipline problem at school, in public, or in the home. Youth no longer accepts parents authority and challenges it frequently. 6. Problems at school, such as failing classes, "skipping" school, causing problems in class, or being disrespectful to teachers. 7. Usually will show fear or disrespect of the police. 8. Signs that youth has been in a fight, such as cuts and bruises or complaints of pain, but youth won't explain what happened. 9. Graffiti is present on or around the youth's residence, or on notebooks or other possessions of the youth. 10. Sometimes the family will be threatened by rival gang members, or more tragic, the family will be a victim of a drive-by shooting before they realize their youth is in a gang. If several of the indicators above are found in your youth, then there is an indication your youth may be involved in a gang. As a parent, you may wish to search your youth's room or vehicle for weapons or drugs. This is not a violation of your child's privacy; it is an act that may protect your child as well as the rest of the family. |
| FBI: About 30,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs with approximately 800,000 members operate in the U.S. today. Many are sophisticated and well organized; all use violence to control neighborhoods and boost their illegal money- making activities, which include drug trafficking, robbery, theft, fraud, extortion, prostitution rings, and gun trafficking. Here, you’ll find more on the threats posed by gangs, on how you can help spot and prevent gang activity, and on how we’re redoubling our efforts to disrupt and dismantle them through intelligence-driven investigations and new initiatives and partnerships. |
| What is the relation between drugs and gangs? Street gangs, outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs), and prison gangs are the primary distributors of illegal drugs on the streets of the United States. Gangs also smuggle drugs into the United States and produce and transport drugs within the country. Street gang members convert powdered cocaine into crack cocaine and produce most of the PCP available in the United States. Gangs, primarily OMGs, also produce marijuana and methamphetamine. In addition, gangs increasingly are involved in smuggling large quantities of cocaine and marijuana and lesser quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, and MDMA (also known as ecstasy) into the United States from foreign sources of supply. Gangs primarily transport and distribute powdered cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, MDMA, and PCP in the United States. Located throughout the country, street gangs vary in size, composition, and structure. Large, nationally affiliated street gangs pose the greatest threat because they smuggle, produce, transport, and distribute large quantities of illicit drugs throughout the country and are extremely violent. Local street gangs in rural, suburban, and urban areas pose a low but growing threat. Local street gangs transport and distribute drugs within very specific areas. These gangs often imitate the larger, more powerful national gangs in order to gain respect from rivals. Some gangs collect millions of dollars per month selling illegal drugs, trafficking weapons, operating prostitution rings, and selling stolen property. Gangs launder proceeds by investing in real estate, recording studios, motorcycle shops, and construction companies. They also operate various cash-based businesses, such as barbershops, music stores, restaurants, catering services, tattoo parlors, and strip clubs, in order to commingle drug proceeds with funds generated through legitimate commerce. What is the extent of gang operation and crime in the United States? There are at least 21,500 gangs and more than 731,000 active gang members in the United States. Gangs conduct criminal activity in all 50 states and U.S. territories. Although most gang activity is concentrated in major urban areas, gangs also are proliferating in rural and suburban areas of the country as gang members flee increasing law enforcement pressure in urban areas or seek more lucrative drug markets. This proliferation in nonurban areas increasingly is accompanied by violence and is threatening society in general. According to a 2001 Department of Justice survey, 20 percent of students aged 12 through 18 reported that street gangs had been present at their school during the previous 6 months. More than a quarter (28%) of students in urban schools reported a street gang presence, and 18 percent of students in suburban schools and 13 percent in rural schools reported the presence of street gangs. Public schools reported a much higher percentage of gang presence than private schools. |
| National Drug Intelligence Center 319 Washington Street, 5th Floor Johnstown, PA 15901-1622 Telephone: 814-532-4601 FAX: 814-532-4690 NDIC Washington Liaison Office 8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 1001 McLean, VA 22102-3840 Telephone: 703-556-8970 FAX: 703-556-7807 NDIC publications are available on the following web sites: ADNET: http://ndicosa LEO: home.leo.gov/lesig/ndic RISS: ndic.riss.net INTERNET: www.usdoj.gov/ndic |
| Preteen Gangbangers Go Digital With a membership of 700,000 strong in the United States, thugs are using the online recruiting process, known as "net banging," to glorify their lifestyle, according to a survey by the Justice Department. According to a recent survey by the Justice Department, there are currently more than 21,000 gangs in the United States. Their membership is 700,000 strong and growing, and they're using the Internet to recruit members. By posting online content that glorifies the thug lifestyle, gangs are using the Web to recruit — some using children as young as 8 years old as part of the online recruiting process, known as "Net Banging." They sell drugs and guns, run car theft and prostitution rings, and use "bling" — money, cars, and jewelry — to entice troubled teens from poor neighborhoods, many with little or no family to speak of. And the types of gangs fueling the country's surge in violence run the gamut: international gangs like MS-13, the Bloods and Crips, motorcycle gangs and local street gangs. An Inside Look at Gang Initiation Undercover FBI video released to ABC News reveals footage from one gang initiation: a group of Bloods gathering with potential recruits in East Orange, N.J. As their meeting began, the gang's leader, Tewhan Massacre Butler, preached to new recruits. "I put my life on the line for y'all every day, every day," Butler says. "I am facing the rest of my life in prison for every one of y'all." Some of the recruits in the video — many who appear to be teenagers — are eager to "bang," or join the Bloods. "I am ready to bang it official," one recruit says. "Ready to bang for the Blood here," says another. To join, the initiates must endure an intense beating for at least 31 seconds. The FBI says the Bloods in the video, known as the "Double II Set," were a particularly violent subset of the gang, murdering more than two dozen people over a three-year period. |
MS-13 Gang Member
Self Identity development in 2007 is just as fragile as it was in the mid-19th century.
| Information on Gang Structure |
| History Gangs have existed in the United States for over 200 years. It all started when the first immigrants came to the U.S.A. Most of them came for a better life but many of them ended up in poverty. The first gangs were formed among poor adolescents who grouped together for the sake of socialisation and protection. They were of the same race or the same ethnic background. The first known gang specialized in crimes was called “The Five Points”. It consisted of Irish immigrants and was established in New York City. They dressed in a specific way and used monikers or nicknames. Another early gang were the “Forty Thieves”. Their gang leader was Edward Coleman and they formed in 1826. New York City’s early gangs had an easy time of it because of the government corruption. They plundered stores and private homes without being charged by the police. Gangs formed around similar ethnic backgrounds. After The Civil War there were Jewish, African American, Italian and Irish gangs in New York. Chinese gangs appeared in California in the mid 1800s. Philadelphia reported gangs as early as 1840. Between then and 1870 Philadelphia became home to over 100 street gangs. This is also the time when gangs started to use clothing for the sake of distinctiveness. Chicago became a type of gang capital during the 1920s, with a total of about 1,300 gangs and about 25,000 gang members. Immigration of Mexicans into California grew rapidly in this period. Many youngsters of the second generation didn’t fit in the American society. They started wearing fancy and distinctive clothes called “Zoot Suits”. Serious problems with sailors (it was the time of WW II) caused the “Zoot Suit Riots”. Between 1941 and 1945 over half a million Puerto Ricans arrived in the United States. Most settled in New York City, which led to the formation of new gangs. Also during the 1920's the African American populations migrated from the south to northern cities and established gangs there. Dressing, body language, hand signs, tattoos and certain styles of talking became important means of identification. The reason for gang wars was mostly the violation of territory borders or fighting over girls. The fighting became more violent when gangs got better access to firearms in the 1970s. Hierarchies were built and minors sent to commit crimes because of the lower sentences they would get in case of an arrest. As the number of gangs increased, the territories often were just a single corner or just one block. Gang war was fought guerrilla-like including rooftop sniping and drive-by shootings. Enhanced by the media the next step could be that gangs form small, home-grown cells of terrorists. |
| Gangs will send members into the military to gain training and skills they can use to advance their Urban Insurgency |
| Risk Factors for Gang Membership in Urban Areas and Potential Preventative Measures by Samuel Portnow Adolescent Development NYU Spring 2007 |
| The word "gang" comes from "gonge," a term originally meaning a journey, but later referring to a "gonge" of sailors in the fifteenth century. "Gangs" of outlaws or wild young men came into common usage by Shakespeare's time. The "Father of Gang Research," Frederic Thrasher, gave the word its industrial-era meaning in the 1920s and made “gang” into a term which meant kids of the street. But US gangs had other predecessors than unsupervised street urchins. There are four kinds of "gangs" which were predecessors of the street gangs of today. 1. Secret Societies; 2. Gangs of Outlaws in the Wild West; 3.Racist gangs like the Klu Klux Klan; and 4. "Voting Gangs" tied mainly to the Democratic Party in large cities. |
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