Article: Gang

For other uses of the word, see Gang (disambiguation).

A gang is a group of individuals who share a common identity and, in current usage, engage in illegal activities. Historically the term referred to both criminal groups and ordinary groups of friends, such as Our Gang. Some anthropologists believe that the gang structure is one of the most ancient forms of human organizations.

Some commentators use "gang" to refer to small, informal, and disorganized "street gangs", while "syndicate" or "organized crime" are used to refer to larger, more powerful organizations, such as the Italian-American Mafia, which may control entire legitimate businesses as "fronts" for their illegal operations, bringing in millions of dollars per year.

The word "gang" generally appears in a pejorative context, though within "the gang" itself members may adopt the phrase in proud identity or defiance.

Gang activities

Most commonly, the word "gang" refers to street gangs or sometimes "youth gangs", groups who take over territory or "turf" in a particular city and are often involved in "providing protection", often a thin cover for extortion, as the "protection" is usually from the gang itself, or in other criminal activity. Since roughly the 1970s, street gangs have been strongly connected with drug sales (especially crack cocaine). Some commit burglaries, car theft, and armed robbery. Most members retain their gang affiliations when sent to prison (see prison gang). Many gangs use fronts to demonstrate influence and gain revenue in a particular area. These clandestine bases may include restaurants, bars, casinos, race tracks, strip clubs, or other business.

Gangs often spread by a parent or family moving out of the gang neighborhood, and the children taking the gang culture and lore with them to a new area and recruiting new members for their old gang. This concept has been referred to as satellite gangs. Some very well known gangs are the California-based Crips and Bloods, or the Sureños and Norteños. Other large gangs include the white power gang Nazi Low Riders, or NLR, the Latin Kings, the Gangster Disciples(sons or daughters of gang members) of Chicago, the Vice Lords, the Los Angeles-based 18th Street gang, and the Jamaican Posses. In the 1980s, other gangs, such as the Central American gang named Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), the Miami based International Posse or In/p and the Cambodian/Asian gangs Long Beach Tiny Raskal Gang (TRG) which is the largest, most dangerous Asian gang in the country,^{[citation needed]} and Asian Boyz (ABZ) emerged. Gangs have also shown up in Virginia with Roanoke, Virginia being a main starting ground for young suburban white males.^{[citation needed]}

Motorcycle gangs or "criminal biker gangs" (as prosecutors call them) are, above all, groups who ride their motorcycles together; however, they are also involved in criminal enterprises. The largest is Hells Angels with 227 chapters in the United States and 29 foreign countries and 2,500 members; another of the largest is the Bandidos with "possibly 600" members.^[1]

Gang members

Individual members of gangs may be referred to as gangsters, gangstas, or "gangbangers". Frequently, the members of a street gang are only in their teens, a result of early exposure to drugs and violence, and the short life expectancy associated with a "gang-banging" lifestyle. Entry into a gang often entails being "jumped in", where other members beat up the recruit in order to test his dedication. Sometimes the recruit may be given a crime to commit (robbery, rape, or murder) as another route of entry. Often, the decision to join a gang is purely practical, where the danger of being unaffiliated, and thus unprotected, outweighs the risks of gangbanging. Unfortunately, this perpetuates a vicious cycle, only contributing to the violence and corruption of a neighborhood. Other temptations to join a gang also exist: money, drugs, power, and pride for the neighborhood. Although the gang's very existence harms the community, members take great pride in "defending" their local turf.

Once in the gang, the recruit is now a member of the street family, and any offense towards him or any of his brethren will be retaliated against strongly by the gang. They are often given nicknames, partially to prevent their identity from being revealed to law enforcement, but also to denote their rank within the gang. Younger members may start out performing minor crimes, working their way up within the organization, building their reputation through criminal acts. Common gang activities include dealing drugs, extortion, robbery, and war with rival gangs. Because of these "do or die" situations, morality is almost always pushed onto the back burner. Murder is not taboo, and is in fact lauded by fellow gang members, adding to the reputation. Usually the member is affiliated for life, with two unfavorable options for exiting the gang: one, he may be killed; two, he may desert the gang, essentially forfeiting his life if any of the gang should see him again.

Gang warfare

Gang warfare is the conflict between opposing gangs.

Gang warfare is commonly held over turf boundary disputes, the takeover of an area in order to bring in narcotics to push on the streets, personal rivalries, or simply the fact that the opposing group is different in some way. Gang warfare takes a huge toll on cities, families, and communities involved, especially many cities in South/Central America and South Africa where the levels of gang violence have long since dwarfed even American cities.

Notes

1. ^ Rick Anderson, Bad Boys, Seattle Weekly, July 12, 2006. Accessed online 17 July 2006.