Prison Gangs: A Serious Risk

A gang is a group of persons associated for some criminal or other antisocial purposes. As of late, the number of gangs in North America has been increasing drastically. Gang-related crimes occur under all circumstances, whether it is in a minimum or maximum security prison. Most of the time, they are formed based on similarities. People who do not know where they belong naturally approach others that are like them. Therefore, gangs are organized based on ethnicity, religion, race, sexual orientation, etc. Many people overlook the seriousness in prison gangs, often thinking they are not dangerous because they are behind bars. In reality, they play a big part in everyday crime in the streets and in prison. The crews keep their wheels rolling by creating and maintaining links with individuals outside of prison walls, by growing as a gang and strengthening through tools called principles and values, and by merging itself comfortably and safely within other gangs throughout the entire prison demographic. Namely, gangs are a serious risk. 

First off, a close look at street-to-prison activity. Although it is not very obvious, crime in the streets and crime in prisons, jails and correctional facilities are strongly connected. In a situation where a trade is being made between a prison gang and a civilian, there are two major players. One end of the trade will be the convict and the other end will be the civilian. Both ends are in need of something and both ends are willing to give something up to obtain it. In most cases, the civilian who is involved in the trade will be an ex-partner with remaining ties to the prisoner. The trades will almost always consist of drugs or cigarettes, considering their high popularity levels in prisons due to their high value, strong effects and of course, addictions. According to an Internal Corrections Canada memo obtained by Cancrime, one marijuana joint now costs $50 inside a federal prison, roughly 10 times the price on the street(1). These will be brought in by the civilian and will be traded for money. For example, a situation where a prisoner trades with his ex-wife will often involve blackmail. Once the trading begins, it is extremely difficult to drop out of it. The prisoner often needs drugs due to his addiction, to pay off debts to other prisoners (maybe even his gang boss), or simply to conserve his status within the facility. The ex-wife will be struggling now that she was thrown into a single-life, possibly making every effort to take care of a child and paying off debts such as mortgages and insurance. The trades take place during visiting hours or through corrupt prison guards. No matter how sophisticated the security is, the dyad will always find a way to smuggle something (this is done through handshakes, kissing, touching, sharing a coffee, etc.) 

Next, gang classification and methods used to stay together and grow together. What separates one gang and makes it unique from all the other ones is their date and place of origin, their reputation, their joining restrictions, their allies and their rivals. Many of them have sub-gangs depending on the population and location of the gang. Fundamentally, there are 4 main categories of prison gangs: Whites, Blacks, Hispanics and other. The aforementioned are primarily based on racism and stick together as a group for protection purposes. A prominent white gang is the Aryan Brotherhood. 

They have multiple nicknames such as Alice Baker, The A.B., Aryan Resistance, etc. Their main territory is federal prisons. According to Matthew Duersten from LAWEEKLY, this gang makes up 1% of the prison population yet are responsible for 18% of the crimes. They are well-known throughout North America in and out of prison for murder, conspiracy, drug and arms trafficking, racketeering and more(2). The list of crimes they have committed is practically endless and unfortunately ongoing. A noteworthy ally would be Hell’s Angels, and a rival would be the Black Guerilla Family (B.G.F). Speaking of the BGF, they are the main Black gang in North America and present in most US prisons. Created in the late 1960s, there was a necessity for Blacks to be able to stick together due to other overpowering gangs. Although they take part in the same crimes as all other gangs, they have also been labelled with serious situations involving grand theft auto.They are allied with Nuestra Familia and they rival The A.B. As for Hispanic gangs, they are all closely related, but MS-13 would be the most striking as a whole. The Mara Salvatrucha (Mara means crew, Salvatrucha is slang for a gangster from El Salvador) is spread throughout North America despite originating from Southern American countries. Their drug smuggling and trafficking abilities are incredible, especially with control of some parts of the American-Mexican border. They are the biggest gang in America. One odd fact about this gang is they ally many Latino gangs and rival many Latino gangs. Finally, the “other” category. This encompasses every other gang. For example, the Texas Syndicate, which is primarily composed of Southerners yet it accepts self-hating minorities. Their strange joining instructions make them different and throws them into the general category. In spite of all the alliances and rivalries mentioned, they are all subject to change and undergo drastic shifting very often. 

Last but not least, gangs have been emitting strong presences and growing in numbers. It is a chain reaction: populations are growing everywhere, crime is growing everywhere, prisons are filling up, gangs are not slowing down(3). Each crew has its own territory or has a particular territory it is trying to take over. Certain gangs are becoming renown for an entire state or an entire prison, and some are even gaining international recognition. Not only are gangs claiming territories, they are also sticking to specific types of crimes. Patterns have become evident showing that auto crimes are popular with Black gangs, murders and conspiracies are popular with White gangs and drug smuggling or trafficking is popular with Hispanic gangs. Granted all of these links are simply generalizations, they are true when taking a broad view at the subject. 

Conclusively, the issue of gangs being a grave risk to society is one that should not be taken lightly. They are undoubtedly dangerous in and out of prison walls and it is wise to always expect the unexpected. There will always be links from the in to the out and vice-versa, there will always be discrimination, and there will always be gangs. Prison gangs will forever dominate a fluctuating percentage of the earth we live on. The intent is to be hopeful and encourage control of the situation rather than trying to completely eliminate the overall existence, which is surely an impossible mission. 

SOURCES:

1. Elevated Drug Prices: http://cancrime.com/2009/08/secret-memo-reveals-deadly-price-of.html 

2. Aryan Brotherhood crime involvement: http:// www.laweekly.com/2005-02-03/news/who-ll-stop-the-reign/

3. Number of gang increase statistics: http://www.vcn.bc.ca/august10/politics/facts_stats.html 

4. For more information on a specific gang mentioned: http://www.insideprison.com/prison-gangs-canada.asp