Gangs seem to serve a purpose and function for its members as they “derive psychological benefits of recognition and respect” and they feel being part of a gang improves their self esteem and social status. There are many stories as to how the street gang Crips was formed in the late 1960’s. The first story states the Stanley “Tookie” Williams and Raymond Washington started the gang. Raymond Washington was the leader of a gang called “Baby Avenues” that was later called “Avenue Cribs”. It was believed that the newspaper misprinted the name of “Crib” to “Crip” and the name stuck. Another theory suggested that the name came from a man being quoted as saying he was assaulted by a “crip”, meaning a crippled person. Washington’s brother had a leg
The documentary Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2008) focuses on conditions and causes of gang violence in Los Angeles, California, as well as the history and background of the main gangs that reside there. The information in the film is compiled from interviews of past and present members of the Crips and Bloods, which are the two main gangs that contribute to the violence in the area. The interviewees explain how the gangs work and the conditions under which these people live daily. There can be parallels drawn from the film to Elijah Anderson’s article titled “The Code of the Streets”, published in 1994, that discusses violence in terms of gang and criminal activity.
The Crips started when the Baby Avenues were formed by Ray Washington in 1969. Tookie joined him in 1971 and formed the West side portion of what is now known as the Crips. The Crips were initially started to eliminate all street gangs and create a strong neighborhood watch. Tookie said "we started out to, in a senseaddress all of the so-called neighboring gangs in the area and I thought I could cleanse the
Kody Scott grew up in South Central L.A. during the nineteen-sixties and seventies, soon after the creation of the Crips. Raised in poverty without a father, and a full family raised solely by his mother, Kody Scott led the stereotypical “ghetto” life, a poor and broken home. However he does not blame this on his own personal decision to join the Crips while only eleven year’s old. The allure of the respect and “glory” that “bangers” got, along with the unity of the “set”(name for the specific gang) is what drew him into the gang. Once joined, he vowed to stay in the “set” for life, and claimed that banging was his life. After many years of still believing this, he eventually realized that the
. The shutting down of factories in South Central Los Angeles contributed to a number of gangs forming. Many African Americans moved to that particular part of the city because of how well the factories. The city also grew in population because of all the jobs that were available. When the jobs were gone and the factories shut down and move to other states the youth were left without role models. A fifteen year old boy named Raymond Washington started the gang which eventually became known as the Crips. Furthermore, with all of the other young people without jobs and role models they pulled together and started another gang of people that were not a part of the Crips. This gang will also change names a couple of times and become the Bloods.
The Crips are one of the largest and most violent associations of street gangs in the United States. They have been involved in many gang wars. They have grown from a few high school kids to one of the biggest gangs in America. There are rumors that say that Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, Afroman, Schoolboy Q, Aaron Hernandez, and Paul Pierce are all Crips. The Crips have had the greatest gang evolution known to man. From 2 people to 35,000 people in 30 years. They started in Los Angeles California and currently are all over the USA. Many things have changed since the beginning such as the way they are run and who leads them. They have grown from a small number to a bigger number because of drugs, guns, and other harmful things. They have one of the most
The 1960’s or 1970’s is when gangs were originated. Gangs became a formation of protection against racial crimes being committed by whites. There were quite a few popular gangs such as the Slausons,
Crips stood for Community Resources for Independent People. It was modeled after the Black Panther Party, which was formed three years earlier, by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale,
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". They 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
Gangs come into existence and flourish because the needs of the young people in a neighborhood or culture or family are not being met. The gang, in essence, fills the void, there are several gangs in the south, west and east sides of Chicago, with gang wars over territories that become disastrous. The gangs known in Chicago are the Latin Kings, Maniac Latin Disciples, King Cobras, Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords, Black Disciples, but there are up to hundred or more street/folk gangs in the different neighborhoods of the sides of Chicago. Many consist of young children that may have dropped out of school or have family members affiliated with gangs, they are easier to persuade and control, they are more likely to search for somewhere where they could feel needed or apart of something, and that’s how gangs grow and recruit new
Abstract: This review studies in depth research done on street gangs. Social issues have social scientists turning away from including this in their research around this time. Sociological views have been changed dramatically in the past 40 years due to gender and racial studies. Also, women have started to join gangs since America has been changed with woman equality laws passing.
Qualitative descriptions suggest that, for many, gang membership represents 104 Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice / May 2005an opportunity to enhance social capital as a means to cope with a multitude of problems. Although on balance gang life appears to be neither very rewarding nor satisfying (Hagedorn, 1988), identification with the gang is solidified in response to conflict—often with other gangs—as members pursue their individual and collective interests.
Street gangs in this country can probably be traced back to the first wave of Europeans who migrated to the colonies for a better life for themselves and their families. Many of the first gangs were formed as a means of self protection, with the thinking that there is simply strength in numbers. The missions of gangs in today’s society have grown and emerged to include many violent criminal avenues, including drug trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, and extortion but the original thinking that there is strength in numbers remains true. Criminology experts believe that the number of teens involved in gangs or gang activity may be as high as 1 in every 5 people in most urban areas. Those number jump to 1 in every 3 people in
Gang involvement and its associated violent crime have become a rapidly growing problem for the United States. Generally, gangs consist of young people of the same ethnic, racial, and economic background. Usually of a low socio-economic status, these gangs engage in illegal money making activities and intimidate their neighborhoods and rival gangs with violent crimes and victimization. Gang members exemplify a high value for group loyalty and sacrifice.
The history of gang violence is a topic that I am dearly interested in because I have a
Gangs originated naturally during the adolescent years of a child. They started from small play groups that eventually found themselves in conflict with other small groups of youth. Due to the conflict between the two small groups of youth it became a part of a child’s mind set to come together as a gang and protect their rights and satisfy the needs that their environment and families couldn’t provide. There are about 24,500 gangs in the U.S and out of those gangs 40% of them are juveniles (Hess, Orthmann, Wright, 2013). There are numerous reason why a child would join a gang, and the