Prison gang
Encyclopedia
Prison gang is a term used to denote any type of gang
activity in prisons and correctional facilities. Prison officials and others in law enforcement use the term security threat group or STG. The concept for this name is to take away the recognition and publicity that the term "gang" connotates when referring to people who have an interest in undermining the system.
Most prison gangs do more than offer simple protection for their members. Most often, prison
gangs are responsible for any drug
, tobacco
or alcohol
handling inside correctional facilities. Furthermore, many prison gangs involve themselves in prostitution
, assault
s, kidnapping
s and murder
s. Prison gangs often seek to intimidate other inmates (pressuring them to relinquish their food and other resources) and bribe or intimidate prison staff (to ensure they can go about their activities without interference, and to create links to the outside).
In addition, prison gangs often exercise a large degree of influence over organized crime
in the "free world", larger than their isolation in prison might lead one to expect. Since the 1980s, larger prison gangs have consciously worked to leverage their influence inside prison systems to control and profit from drug
trafficking on the street. This is made possible based upon the logic that individuals involved in selling illegal
drugs face a high likelihood of serving a prison term at some point or in having a friend or family member in prison. The cooperation of drug dealers and other criminals can be secured due to the credible threat of violence
upon incarceration if it is not provided. Prison gang members and associates who are released are usually expected to further the gang's activities after their release and may face danger if they refuse and are returned to prison, such as on a parole
violation. The War on Drugs
also led to large numbers of drug addicts serving prison terms, providing gangs with a significant method of asserting control within prisons, by controlling the drug trade.
Prison gangs can also be responsible for laundering money
from outside gangs, usually the free world branches of the same gangs "on the inside."
Most correctional facilities have policies prohibiting the formation of prison gangs. However, many prison gangs continue to operate with impunity. As these gang members are already in prison, and often serving long sentences, any punishment incentive to leave a gang or to integrate with the general prison population is reduced.
Prison gangs often have several "affiliates" or "chapters" in different state prison systems that branch out due to the movement or transfer of their members. Smaller prison gangs may associate with or declare allegiance to larger ones. In addition, some prison gang "chapters" may split into antagonistic groups that become rivals, as the Mexican Mafia did in Arizona (into the "Old" or "Original" Mexican Mafia associated with the original California gang and the "New Mexican Mafia", a rival group).
- Founded in the early 20th century by a group of bandits in South Africa. The numbers consist of three sections - the 26s, 27s and 28s.
argues in his book Lockdown America that prison gangs serve a convenient function for the prison establishment and officers. They help regulate rogue and rebellious elements within the prison population without intervention from prison authorities. Parenti sees the repression dished out by gangs on non-affiliated prisoners as a latent function of prison gangs. Thus, gangs are often more-or-less tolerated by prison administrators due to the side-benefits they afford.
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
activity in prisons and correctional facilities. Prison officials and others in law enforcement use the term security threat group or STG. The concept for this name is to take away the recognition and publicity that the term "gang" connotates when referring to people who have an interest in undermining the system.
Most prison gangs do more than offer simple protection for their members. Most often, prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
gangs are responsible for any drug
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
, tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
or alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
handling inside correctional facilities. Furthermore, many prison gangs involve themselves in prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
, assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
s, kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
s and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
s. Prison gangs often seek to intimidate other inmates (pressuring them to relinquish their food and other resources) and bribe or intimidate prison staff (to ensure they can go about their activities without interference, and to create links to the outside).
In addition, prison gangs often exercise a large degree of influence over organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
in the "free world", larger than their isolation in prison might lead one to expect. Since the 1980s, larger prison gangs have consciously worked to leverage their influence inside prison systems to control and profit from drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
trafficking on the street. This is made possible based upon the logic that individuals involved in selling illegal
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
drugs face a high likelihood of serving a prison term at some point or in having a friend or family member in prison. The cooperation of drug dealers and other criminals can be secured due to the credible threat of violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
upon incarceration if it is not provided. Prison gang members and associates who are released are usually expected to further the gang's activities after their release and may face danger if they refuse and are returned to prison, such as on a parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
violation. The War on Drugs
War on Drugs
The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
also led to large numbers of drug addicts serving prison terms, providing gangs with a significant method of asserting control within prisons, by controlling the drug trade.
Prison gangs can also be responsible for laundering money
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
from outside gangs, usually the free world branches of the same gangs "on the inside."
Most correctional facilities have policies prohibiting the formation of prison gangs. However, many prison gangs continue to operate with impunity. As these gang members are already in prison, and often serving long sentences, any punishment incentive to leave a gang or to integrate with the general prison population is reduced.
Prison gangs often have several "affiliates" or "chapters" in different state prison systems that branch out due to the movement or transfer of their members. Smaller prison gangs may associate with or declare allegiance to larger ones. In addition, some prison gang "chapters" may split into antagonistic groups that become rivals, as the Mexican Mafia did in Arizona (into the "Old" or "Original" Mexican Mafia associated with the original California gang and the "New Mexican Mafia", a rival group).
In the United States
- Aryan BrotherhoodAryan BrotherhoodThe Aryan Brotherhood, also known as The Brand, the AB, or the One-Two, is a white supremacist prison gang and organized crime syndicate in the United States with about 20,000 members in and out of prison...
: A white prison gang that originated in California's San Quentin Prison, amongst Irish-American prisoners, in 1964 (their emblem, "the brand", consists of a Shamrock, a swastika and the number 666). Perhaps out of their ideology and the necessity of establishing a presence among the more numerous Black and Hispanic gang members, the AB has a particular reputation for ruthlessness and violence. Since the 1990s, in part because of this reputation, the AB has been targeted heavily by state and federal authorities. Many key AB members have been moved to "supermax" control-unit prisons at both the federal and state level or are under federal indictment. - Nazi LowridersNazi LowridersThe Nazi Lowriders or NLR or "The Ride" are a white supremacist criminal organization primarily based in southern California, although it is believed to have spread to other states. They are allies of the larger and more notorious gang, the Aryan Brotherhood. Their main rivals are the Bloods, the...
: A newer white prison gang that emerged after many Aryan Brotherhood members were sent to the Security Housing Unit at Pelican BayPelican Bay State PrisonPelican Bay State Prison is a supermax California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison near Crescent City in unincorporated Del Norte County, California. The facility is explicitly designed to keep California’s alleged “worst of the worst” prisoners in long-term solitary...
or transferred to federal prisons. NLR is associated with members originally from the Antelope Valley and is known to accept some light-skinned or Caucasian-identified Hispanic members. - La Eme or the Mexican MafiaMexican MafiaThe Mexican Mafia , also known as La Eme , 13 is a Mexican American criminal organization, and is one of the oldest and most powerful prison gangs in the United States.-Foundation:...
: "Eme" is the Spanish name of the letter "M" and it is the 13th letter in the alphabet. The Mexican mafia are composed mostly of Hispanics, although some Caucasian members exist. The Mexican Mafia and the Aryan Brotherhood are allies and work together to control prostitution, drug running, weapons and "hitsAssassinationTo carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
" or murders. Originally formed in the 1950s in California prisons by Hispanic prisoners from the southern part of that state, Eme has traditionally been composed of US-born or raised Hispanics and has retained ties to the Southern California-based "Sureños". During the 1970s and 1980s, Eme in California established the model of leveraging their power in prison to control and profit from criminal activity on the street. - Nuestra FamiliaNuestra FamiliaNuestra Familia is a criminal organization of Mexican American prison gangs with origins in Northern California. While members of the Norteños gang are considered to be affiliated with Nuestra Familia, being a member of Nuestra Familia itself does not signify association as a Norteño...
("our family" in Spanish): The "N" is the 14th letter in the alphabet which is used as their symbol along with the Roman numeral "XIV" to represent their gang, another mostly Hispanic prison gang that is constantly at war with La Eme and was originally formed from Northern-California or rural-based Hispanic prisoners opposing the domination by La Eme, which was started by and associated with Los Angeles gang members. - The Texas SyndicateTexas SyndicateThe Texas Syndicate is a mostly Texas-based prison gang that includes Hispanic and at one time, White members...
: A mostly Texas-based prison gang that includes mostly Hispanic members and does (albeit rarely) allow Caucasian members. The Texas Syndicate, more than La Eme or Nuestra Familia, has been associated or allied with Mexican immigrant prisoners, such as the "Border Brothers", while Eme and Familia tend to be composed of and associate with US-born or raised Hispanics. - Most African-American prison gangs retain their street gang names and associations. These commonly include Rollin' sets (named after streets, i.e. Rollin' 30's, Rollin' 40's etc.) that can identify with either Blood or Crip affiliations. The Black Guerilla Family represents an exception, as an originally politically-based group that has a significant presence in prisons and prison politics.
- NetasÑetasThe Ñeta Association is the name of a Puerto Rican gang that began in the Puerto Rico prison system and spread to the United States...
: a Hispanic (mainly Puerto RicanPuerto Rican peopleA Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
) gang, found on Puerto Rico and on the eastern coast of the US. - United Blood NationUnited Blood NationThe United Blood Nation, simply called the East Coast Bloods is primarily a street gang formed in 1993 within the New York City jail system on Rikers Island's George Mochen Detention Center. GMDC was used to segregate problem inmates from the rest of the detention center. Prior to this time period,...
: an African-American prison gang found on the east coast. They are rivals with the Netas and have ties with the Black Guerilla Family. - Folk NationFolk NationThe Folk Nation is an alliance of street gangs, based in the Chicago area, which has since spread throughout the United States, specifically in the Midwest and the South. They are rivals to the People Nation....
: Found in Midwestern and Southern states, allied with CripsCripsThe Crips are a primarily, but not exclusively, African American gang. They were founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969 mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams...
, bitter rivals with the People Nation. - People NationPeople NationPeople Nation is an alliance of street gangs generally associated with the Chicago area. They are rivals to the Folk Nation.The People Nation were formed much in the same way as the Folk Nation. In 1978, the El Rukns People Nation is an alliance of street gangs generally associated with the Chicago...
: Found in Midwestern and Southern state, allied with BloodsBloodsThe Bloods are a street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. They are identified by the red color worn by their members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs...
, bitter rivals with the Folk Nation. - D.C. BlacksD.C. BlacksThe D.C. Blacks is an African-American prison gang in the United States whose members are from Washington D.C.. They are allied with the Black Guerrilla Family and some other black prison gangs. The Aryan Brotherhood is one of their main enemies....
: Found in Washington D.C. by African-American inmates, are alliged with the BGF and UBN and enemies to AB and MM. - European Kindred: a white supremacist prison gang founded in Oregon that is affiliated with the Aryan BrotherhoodAryan BrotherhoodThe Aryan Brotherhood, also known as The Brand, the AB, or the One-Two, is a white supremacist prison gang and organized crime syndicate in the United States with about 20,000 members in and out of prison...
and the Ku Klux KlanKu Klux KlanKu Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. - Confederate Knights of America: a white supremacist prison gang in Texas that is affiliated with the KKK and AB.
- Aryan Circle - a white supremacist prison gang affiliated with the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas and the KKK.
- Dead Man IncorporatedDead Man IncorporatedDead Man Inc. or DMI is a predominantly white prison gang with branches in many correctional facilities throughout the U.S.-Origins:DMI was founded by Perry Roarke and James Sweeney in the late 2001-2002 in the Maryland Correctional System...
(DMI): a predominately white prison gang founded in the Maryland Correctional System with branches in many other correctional facilities throughout the U.S. - Conservative Vice Lords (CVL): A primarily African American gang that originated in the St. Charles Illinois Youth Center outside Chicago. In Chicago, CVL operated primarily in the LawndaleNorth Lawndale, ChicagoNorth Lawndale located on the west side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of the well-defined community areas in the city of Chicago.-History:...
section and used drug sales profits to continue operation and used prisons to train and recruit new members. - Aryan Brotherhood of Texas: a white supremacist prison gang affiliated with the AB and the KKK.
In other countries
The Numbers GangThe Numbers Gang
The Numbers Gang are a well known prison gang with one of the most fearsome reputations in South Africa if not the world. They are known to operate primarily in the Western Cape prison of Pollsmoor, however it is thought that they control most of the South African prisons.-Origin:Although the...
- Founded in the early 20th century by a group of bandits in South Africa. The numbers consist of three sections - the 26s, 27s and 28s.
Latent function
Christian ParentiChristian Parenti
Christian Parenti is an American investigative journalist and author. His books include: Lockdown America: Police and Prisons in the Age of Crisis , a survey of the rise of the prison industrial complex from the Nixon through Reagan Eras and into the present; The Soft Cage: Surveillance in America...
argues in his book Lockdown America that prison gangs serve a convenient function for the prison establishment and officers. They help regulate rogue and rebellious elements within the prison population without intervention from prison authorities. Parenti sees the repression dished out by gangs on non-affiliated prisoners as a latent function of prison gangs. Thus, gangs are often more-or-less tolerated by prison administrators due to the side-benefits they afford.
Prison gangs in fiction
- OzOz (TV series)Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
- Blood in Blood outBlood in Blood outBlood In Blood Out is a 1993 crime-drama film directed by Taylor Hackford. It follows the intertwining lives of the three Chicano relatives, Miklo , Cruz and Paco from 1972 to the mid 1980s...
- American MeAmerican MeAmerican Me is a 1992 biographical crime drama film produced and directed by Edward James Olmos, his first film as a director, and written by Floyd Mutrux and Desmond Nakano. Olmos also stars as the film's protagonist, Montoya Santana...
- American History XAmerican History XAmerican History X is a 1998 American drama film directed by Tony Kaye and starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong. It was distributed by New Line Cinema....
- FelonFelon (film)Felon is a 2008 American drama film about a family man who ends up in state prison after he kills an intruder. The film was written and directed by Ric Roman Waugh, and stars Stephen Dorff, Val Kilmer and Harold Perrineau...