...Project Gangs David Vary Bryant & Stratton College CRJU102 W. Verna 25 July 2013 Introduction This paper is on Gangs. It will include the meaning of gangs both the Federal and State definition. The others areas it will cover will be the History of Gangs, The impact of Gangs, Gang Problems, Drugs and Trafficking, Guns and Violence, and Special gang Units. Federal Definition The federal definition of gangs as used by the DOJ, DHS, and ICE is an association of three or more individuals; whose members collectively identify themselves by adopting a group identity, which they use to create an atmosphere of fear or intimidation, frequently by employing one or more of the following: a common name, slogan, identifying sign, symbol, tattoo, or other physical markings, style or clothing, hairstyle, hand sign, or graffiti; whose purpose is to engage in criminal activity and which uses violence or intimidation to further its criminal objectives. Whose members engage in criminal activity or acts of juvenile delinquency that if committed by an adult would be crimes with the intent to enhance or preserve the association’s power, reputation or economic resources? The association may also possess some of the following characteristics: The members may employ rules for joining and operating within the association. The member may have to meet on a recurring basis. The association may provide physical protection of its member from others. The association may seek to exercise...
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...Prison Gangs Prison gangs are criminal organizations that originated within the penal system. The first known American prison gang was the Gypsy Jokers. The Gypsy Jokers formed in the 1950’s in Washington state prisons. The first gang with nationwide ties was the Mexican Mafia, which formed in 1957 in the California Department of Corrections. According to statistics, gang activity in prisons has increased from only 9.4% in 1991 to 24.7% in 1999 and is even higher now. Today there are five original major prison gangs known as “Traditional Prison Gangs.” These prison gangs formed in the 1960’s and 1970’s in the California corrections system. A prison gang consists of a select group of inmates who have an organized hierarchy and who are governed by an established code of conduct. In addition to committing criminal acts in the prison, a prison gang also shares the following characteristics: * Formal membership with a required initiation or rules for members * A recognized leader or certain members whom others follow * Common clothing (such as jackets, caps, scarves or bandannas), or group colors, symbols, tattoos, or special language * A group name * Members from the same neighborhood, street, or school * Turf or territory where the group is known and where group activities usually take place. Prison gangs vary in both organization and composition, from highly structured gangs such as the Aryan Brotherhood to gangs with a less formalized structure...
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...Puerto Rican males in the 1950s, is now the largest Hispanic street gang in the city. A man known as Papa King and his partners Jose Rivera (Cadillac Joe), Eddie Rodriguez (Tiger), Joe Gunn, and Fast Eddie, formed the gang. These five men are known as the King of Kings because they are the original Latin Kings of Chicago. They created the organization with the intention of protecting Puerto Ricans from the discrimination they faced throughout the city. Eventually, though, the gangs original purpose of protecting their people changed and they become the dangerous gang they are today. Papa King, the original “Corona” or Crown, lead the Latin Kings until his death...
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...human trafficking, drug trafficking, and many of gangs. The many trends that police are dealing with are getting worst by the minute. Trends that are currently affecting policing are human trafficking, gangs, illegal migrations and drug trafficking. Sex trafficking, labor trafficking, and unknown labor all fall under human trafficking. Federally funded human trafficking task forces opened a total of 2,515 suspected incidents of human trafficking for investigation between January 1, 2008, and June 30, 2010 (BJS, 2013). Out of the 2,515 of human trafficking sex trafficking had the most incident totaling at 2,065. Sex trafficking has become a trend that the police cannot stop. There are so many people out there kidnapping runaway victim to make money. They are having young runaway victim sell their body for their personal gain. In the street police officer like to call them pimps or madams. Pimp is a man who solicits for a prostitute or brothel and lives off the earnings. Madam is a woman who runs a brothel. Labor trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which individuals perform labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Labor trafficking includes situations of debt bondage, forced labor, and involuntary child labor. 350 were labor trafficking cases out of the 2,515. Unknown human trafficking could not be defined as labor or trafficking but as child selling, mail order brides and unspecified internet solicitations. 172 were unknown trafficking case out...
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...like human trafficking, drug trafficking, and many of gangs. The many trends that police are dealing with are getting worst by the minute. Trends that are currently affecting policing are human trafficking, gangs, illegal migrations and drug trafficking. Sex trafficking, labor trafficking, and unknown labor all fall under human trafficking. Federally funded human trafficking task forces opened a total of 2,515 suspected incidents of human trafficking for investigation between January 1, 2008, and June 30, 2010 (BJS, 2011). Out of the 2,515 of human trafficking sex trafficking had the most incident totaling at 2,065. Sex trafficking has become a trend that the police cannot stop. There are so many people out there kidnapping runaway victim to make money. They are having young runaway victim sell their body for their personal gain. In the street police officer like to call them pimps or madams. Pimp is a man who solicits for a prostitute or brothel and lives off the earnings. Madam is a woman who runs a brothel. Labor trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which individuals perform labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Labor trafficking includes situations of debt bondage, forced labor, and involuntary child labor. 350 were labor trafficking case out of the 2,515. Unknown human trafficking could not be defined as labor or trafficking but as child selling, mail order brides and unspecified internet solicitations. 172 were unknown trafficking case out...
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...In the Florida prison system there are six major gangs. They are known for their violence, drug trafficking, and other forms of organized crime. Some of the major gangs tend to run with a paramilitary chain of command, this tends to be similar to Correctional Officers and the military. The chain of command is as follows; Majors, Captains, Lieutenants, Sargent’s, and foot soldiers. Among other reasons prisoners join gangs for a since of security and protection. The group known as Neta was originated in 1970 in Rip Pedras Prison, Puerto Rico. The race of this gaing is Puerto Rican-American/ Hispanic. It is said that it was formed to stop the violence between inmates to protect weaker inmates that were being preyed upon by a group names G’27. They are most dangerous in their drug activity, extortion, and gang-related violence. They do not hesitate to attack or kill if they feel it is necessary. Like most gangs they have their gang colors. Red which represents blood that has been shed and that will be shed. White for peace, harmony, and tranquility. Blue that is sometimes replaced with black that is in honor of past member that have lost their lives. Established in 1964 in San Quentin state prison by Irish-American bikers the founder was Barry Mills and Tyler Bingham. The Aryan brotherhood was founded by white supremacists to protect white inmates from predatory black inmates. Known for being one of the most violent white supremacist groups they are accountable for over 100 bloody...
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...The Drug Business Tawni Masters CJA 384 January 30, 2012 Sherryl Roten-West The Drug Business The illegal drug business in the United States is not a new business. This business has been around for quite some time. In this paper I will discuss the history of illegal drug business in the United States including the types of drugs that involved in the illegal drug business. I will also be discussing illegal drug syndicates and cartels a long with their structures and operational methods. Also I will be talking about some of the modern trends of organized drug trafficking. Finally I will answer, explain, and provide recommendations to the question, is there is a better solution to the ways in which we combat the drug business in the United States. The illegal drug business in the United States consists of all different types of activities from drug use to drug sales to producing and manufacturing to trafficking. Until the 1940’s most Italian Mafia leaders were strict with their rules telling their outfits that they were to avoid dealing drugs. A few leaders, notably Charles “Lucky” Luciano, broke that rule and used their organizations to push other gangs out of the drug trade and developed sophisticated networks for importing and selling illegal drugs in the United States (Mazzeno, 2011). During World War II illegal drugs were becoming less available in the U.S. because traffickers had a difficult time importing the drugs from overseas areas that were already in a conflict...
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...Gangs throughout American have been around for more then a hundred years. Gangs really started when immigration in America was increasing as well as the criminal behavior. The Prohibition is a time when gangs rose to power by selling illegal alcohol and also paying off corrupt cops. The leaders of the gangs were considered lords and they had control of the city. In the later 20th century gangs began to change and focus more on drugs and violence. Gangs were focused more on the media and controversies between different coasts in America. They were fueled by hatred and explicit music. Also adolescents in gangs started to increase sufficiently over time. With the growing presence of criminal street gang members in the United States, communities everywhere are experiencing the damaging impact of their criminal behavior. A 2011 report by the National Gang Intelligence Center reported the number of gang members in the United States was conservatively estimated at 1.4 million. As these gang members evolve, are they using our nation’s colleges and universities to educate themselves? How will that affect our communities? A survey conducted by college students and campus police showed that less than one in four students agreed there was a gang problem in the community around their campus, while two of three of the police respondents agreed with the statement. Students and police agreed in similar percentages that there was a gang problem within the campus community. At least half of both...
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...The Sureňos Trecè Gang Global Crime and Criminal Justice Abstract Gang killings are results of drug wars have been refuted by the authorities since blotters report that these homicides are conflicts over territory, status and revenge. Gang wars are not only “inner city” problems but all over as well. Almost every city around the world claims to be gang capitals, like New York or London. Other major cities in the US have also been known to be havens for gang wars such as Houston and Chicago. Youth join gangs, and these young members are not heavily into committing crimes or using drugs but they just want to belong to a specific group for personal purposes and a feeling of belonging. Majority of gangs are not tightly organized. Most of the members have different degrees of loyalty to their gangs. Their cohesiveness increases when they are challenged by other groups. In the LA area, for example, gang violence has lessened in the last fifteen years but has been on the rise again in the last few years. Most law enforcement officials agree that gangs are a community problem that must be dealt with in a variety of approaches implemented by police, schools, community-based organizations, public health professionals and others in an interactive and cooperative approach to gang prevention and intervention. Historical Background Sureños is a union of hundreds of individual Mexican American street gangs that started in the southern part of California. These people are found in...
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...choice like lead pipes and bike chains. A simple gang has not been their true nature from early on. According to a Time Magazine article published in 1979, the Hell’s Angels had turned into a business conglomerate when it came to drugs and weapons smuggling. These illicit activities of the past have continued with not much change. They grew in infamy starting in San Francisco, when eighteen members were indicted on a series of charges. The gang was charged with the trafficking an extensive amount of illegal drugs to include heroin, cocaine, LSD and speed. The practices of the gang members protecting their share of this lucrative criminal market by murdering and threatening to commit murder of anyone that interfered with their business practices were also brought to light through these charges. The indictment was a result of a two year probe into the San Francisco charters. With the gang having charters all over the country let alone transnational charters it can only be imagined how far their illicit business extends. Drug trafficking remains the primary source of illicit income for the Hells Angels to date. Along with the other illicit activities the group is involved in, such as prostitution, fraud and extortion. The Hells Angels are known to traffic numerous drugs, including LSD, PCP, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine (Abadinsky, 2007). While cocaine was once a big product for the group, they have changed with the drug market and now have been in control of the methamphetamine...
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...Life Inside of the Mexican Cartel Christian Thomasson American Public University System Life Inside of the Mexican Cartel The Mexican Drug War has been an ongoing armed conflict that is taking place among cartels that are feuding with one another for control of a specific region or regions. With the Mexican government seeking ways to combat the drug trafficking, more violence and rage is erupting among these groups who continue to fight for turf. Although United States military forces have attempted to intervene, new technology and communication devices gives these groups an edge on law enforcement. They are now able to communicate with their substations and various groups throughout the U.S. while their traffic goes undetected. This student will be discussing the various groups, their activities, and their communication tactics. Sinaloa Cartel The Sinaloa Cartel often described as the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the Western Hemisphere, is an alliance of some of Mexico’s top capos (McDermott et. al, 2011). The members of the coalition have been known to operate in concert to protect themselves, they also rely on high connections and corrupt law enforcement to keep the upper hand against rivals or those that attempt to infiltrate their operations. The state of Sinaloa has been named the center for contraband in Mexico, as well as the home for marijuana and poppy cultivation (McDermott...
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...and through gambling, drug trafficking, and other criminal ventures. Organized crime groups have infiltrated into legitimate businesses as well to gain the biggest profit in the fastest way possible. The Armenian Power is prevalent in the Los Angeles area participating in mostly white collar-crime. This organized crime group is involved with kidnapping, bank fraud, credit card theft, and numerous other technology criminal acts. This group has proven to be a powerful and dangerous group, stopping at nothing to reach the goal they set out to obtain. Determine the group’s national and multination structure and operation methods, pertaining to the drug business. The organized crime group known as the Armenian Power or AP was “formed in the 1980s by Armenian immigrants and others from former Soviet-bloc countries as protections against other ethnic gangs in the neighborhood” (Kandel, 2011, para. 3). The AP crime organization began as a gang and still has gang affiliations that include individuals classified as Armenian Power Associates and not members. The criminal enterprise consists of approximately 200 members who include Armenian Americans, Armenian immigrants, Soviet-bloc immigrants, and Hispanic members. The AP’s list of criminal activities include; defrauding “patrons of 99 Cents Only stores out of millions of dollars (credit and debit card fraud), kidnapping, identity theft, mortgage fraud, gun violations, extortion, gambling, and drug trafficking” (Kandel, 2011, para...
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...Since the 1960’s organized gangs in the American Justice System have been a growing problem. Drug trafficking, continued violence, and overrunning prisons are a few of the main challenges that the justice system faces when trying to control these gangs. Based usually on race, these gangs are believed to be some of the most dangerous in the world and are only getting larger. Even though measures are being taken to try and prevent these gangs from growing in size, most attempts fail as the gangs are becoming too prominent and too powerful. Prison gangs by definition are criminal organizations that originated within the penal system and they have continued to operate within correctional facilities throughout the United States. They[Prison gangs] are also considered self-perpetuating criminal entities that can continue their operations outside the confines of the penal system. Typically, a prison gang consists of a select group of inmates who have an organized hierarchy and who are governed by an established code of conduct. These gangs vary in both organization and composition, from highly structured gangs such as the Aryan Brotherhood and Nuestra Familia to gangs with less formalized structure such as the Mexican Mafia. Prison gangs are usually more powerful within state correctional facilities compared to the federal penal system (Trusty). The first recognized prison gang was originated at the Duel Vocational Institution in Tracy, California. It was originally founded by thirteen...
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...Social Problems Associated with Street Gangs Gangs are becoming prevalent in today’s society and within our schools. More and more young people are turning to gangs in an attempt to escape their everyday lives and the future, which they perceive as dismal and bleak. They are initially attracted to the prestige and cash flow, which is glamorized by the street gang. Many gangs are actively involved in criminal misconduct, such as drug and gun trafficking, burglaries and homicides. However, street gangs are not just a criminal justice issue, but a social problem, which is triggered by poverty, peer pressure, boredom, despair and lacking a sense of belonging. A street gang can be defined as “an organized social system that is both quasi-private (not fully open to the public) and quasi-secretive (much of the information concerning its business remains confined with the group) and one whose size and goals have necessitated that social interaction be governed by a leadership structure that has defined roles; where the authority associated with these roles has been legitimized to the extent that social codes are operational to regulate the behavior of both the leadership and the rank and file; that plans and provides not only for the social and economic services of its members, but also for its own maintenance as an organization; that pursues such goals irrespective of whether the action is legal or not; and that lacks a bureaucracy (i.e., an administrative staff that is hierarchically...
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