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117-431: A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang . Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime . Gangsters are also called mobsters , a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster . Gangs provide a level of organization and resources that support much larger and more complex criminal transactions than an individual criminal could achieve. Gangsters have been active for many years in countries around
234-484: A "thief in law". Most prison inmates are tattooed (by other inmates) to indicate their rank within the criminal world, noteworthy criminal accomplishments and places of former incarceration. For example, a tattoo of one cat indicates that the criminal robs alone while multiple cats indicate that he has partners during robberies. Reportedly, "while the Communist Party had a steadfast grip on government and society,
351-434: A common theme of the desire for power, respect, money, and protection. In neighborhoods with high levels of violence, adolescents typically experience pressure to join a street gang for protection from other violent actors (sometimes including police violence and the waging of the war on drugs ), perpetuating a cycle of violence . These desires are very influential in attracting individuals to join gangs, and their influence
468-441: A dark psychological analysis of a fictionalized Al Capone . These films chronicle the quick rise, and equally quick downfall, of three young, violent criminals, and represent the genre in its purest form before moral pressure would force it to change and evolve. Though the gangster in each film would face a violent downfall which was designed to remind the viewers of the consequences of crime, audiences were often able to identify with
585-539: A feud over territory or vendetta. Gang warfare mostly consists of sanctioned and unsanctioned hits, street fighting, and gun violence. Modern gangs introduced new acts of violence, which may also function as a rite of passage for new gang members. In 2006, 58 percent of L.A.'s murders were gang-related. Reports of gang-related homicides are concentrated mostly in the largest cities in the United States, where there are long-standing and persistent gang problems and
702-530: A gang as they expand and recruit new members. Most gangs operate informally with leadership falling to whoever takes control; others have distinct leadership and are highly structured, which resembles more or less a business or corporation. Criminal gangs may function both inside and outside of prison, such as the Nuestra Familia , Mexican Mafia , Folk Nation , and the Brazilian PCC . During
819-413: A gang member's color by an unaffiliated individual is regarded as grounds for violent retaliation, often by multiple members of the offended gang. Tattoos are also common identifiers, such as an '18' above the eyebrow to identify a member of the 18th Street gang . Tattoos help a gang member gain respect within their group, and mark them as members for life. Tattoos can also represent the level they are in
936-528: A gang, they instantly gain a feeling of belonging and identity; they are surrounded with individuals whom they can relate to. They have generally grown up in the same area as one another and can bond over similar needs. In some areas, joining a gang is an integrated part of the growing-up process. Gang membership is generally maintained by gangs as a lifetime commitment, reinforced through identification such as tattoos, and ensured through intimidation and coercion. Gang defectors are often subject to retaliation from
1053-419: A greater number of documented gang members—most of whom are identified by law enforcement. Gang-related activity and violence has increased along the U.S. Southwest border region, as US-based gangs act as enforcers for Mexican drug cartels . Despite gangs usually formed in the community , not specifically in schools , gang violence can potentially affect schools in different ways including: Global data on
1170-407: A guard, and the guard asks him to ring the dinner bell, the convict must refuse or he will be judged by his fellow inmates and found guilty of assisting his jailers. The Vory organized their own courts and held trials governed by the code of 'thieves' honor and tradition'. Acceptance into the group is often marked by specific tattoos, allowing all members of the criminal world to instantly recognize
1287-541: A long time, during the disorder of the Russian Revolution of 1917 , armed gangs proliferated until they became a very significant factor which controlled society. The criminal culture with its own slang, culture and laws became known as vorovskoy mir ( воровской мир , 'thieves' world'). As the police and court system were re-established in the Soviet Union shortly after the 1917 revolution,
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#17327910923581404-589: A meta-analysis of 14 countries in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Central and South America, sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific also showed that carrying a weapon at school is associated with bullying victimization . Comparison of Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) data on school violence and bullying for countries that are particularly affected by gang violence suggests that
1521-400: A person is validated as a gang member, the person is subject to increased sentences, harsher punishments (such as solitary confinement) and more restrictive parole rules. To validate a person as a gang member, the officials generally must provide evidence of several factors, such as tattoos, photographs, admissions, clothing, etc. The legal requirements for validating a person are much lower than
1638-401: A process of initiation), or have to prove their loyalty and right to belong by committing certain acts, usually theft or violence. Gangs often establish distinctive, characteristic identifiers including graffiti tags colors , hand signals , clothing (for example, the gangsta rap -type hoodies), jewelry, hair styles, fingernails, slogans, signs (such as the noose and the burning cross as
1755-553: A relatively small group of people who cooperate in criminal acts, as with the Jesse James gang, which ended with the leader's death in 1882. However, a gang may also be a larger group with a formal organization that survives the death of its leader. For example, each of the Five Families founded in the early 20th century, outlasted its founders and have survived into the 21st century. Large and well structured gangs such as
1872-889: A saying, "The home for angels is heaven, and the home for a Vor is prison." According to Aleksandr Gurov, an expert on the Vory who headed the organized crime units of the Soviet Interior Ministry and the GRU, "unlike the Cosa Nostra the Vory have 'less rules, but more severe rules' [and the] members must have no ties to the government, meaning they cannot serve in the army or cooperate with officials while in prison. They must also have served several jail sentences before they can be considered. They also are not allowed to get married." Furthermore, according to Michael Schwirtz, "ethnicity has rarely determined whether someone can join
1989-728: A unique type of gang made up of members who follow the punk rock ideology . Unlike other gangs and criminal groups, punk gangs follow a range of political and philosophical beliefs that can range from alt-right to radical left . Differing ideologies are one of the causes of conflicts between rival punk gangs, compared to other street gangs and criminal groups who wage gang war solely for illegal profit, vendetta, and territory. Most of them can be seen in political and social protests and demonstrations and are sometimes in violent confrontation with law-enforcement. Examples of punk gangs are Fight For Freedom , Friends Stand United , and Straight Edge gangs. Contemporary organized crime has also led to
2106-587: A white gang formed called Chicago Gaylords . Some gang members are motivated by religion, as is the case with the Muslim Patrol and the Epstein-Wolmark gang . Most gang members have identifying characteristics which are unique to their specific clique or gang. The Bloods , for instance, wear red bandanas, the Crips blue, allowing these gangs to "represent" their affiliation. Any disrespect of
2223-689: Is cognate with Old Norse gangr , meaning ' journey ' . While the term often refers specifically to criminal groups, it also has a broader meaning of any close or organized group of people, and may have neutral, positive or negative connotations depending on usage. In discussing the banditry in American history, Barrington Moore, Jr. suggests that gangsterism as a "form of self-help which victimizes others" may appear in societies which lack strong "forces of law and order "; he characterizes European feudalism as "mainly gangsterism that had become society itself and acquired respectability through
2340-466: Is made and vetted , literally a "crowned" male, with respective rituals and tattoos, by the consensus of several Vory ( воры ). Vor culture is inseparable from prison organized crime : only repeatedly jailed convicts are eligible for Vor status. Thieves in law are drawn from many nationalities from a number of post-Soviet states. Although Russia , Ukraine , Georgia , Armenia , Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan had groups of criminals and bandits for
2457-568: Is a calque of the Russian slang phrase vor v zakone , literally translated as 'thief in [a position of] the law'. The phrase has two distinct meanings in Russian: 'legalized thief' and 'thief who is the Law'. Vor ( вор ) came to mean 'thief' no earlier than the 18th century, before which it meant 'criminal'. The word retains this meaning in the professional criminal argot . Each new thief
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#17327910923582574-472: Is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectively , in illegal , and possibly violent , behavior, with such behavior often constituting a form of organized crime . The word gang derives from the past participle of Old English gan , meaning ' to go ' . It
2691-415: Is agreement that the members of a gang have a sense of common identity and belonging and this is typically reinforced through shared activities and through visual identifications such as special clothing, tattoos, colors, or rings. Some preconceptions may be false. For example, the common view that illegal drug distribution in the United States is largely controlled by gangs has been questioned. A gang may be
2808-538: Is common and considered to be a norm. Women who attend social gatherings and parties with heavy drug and alcohol use are particularly likely to be assaulted. A girl who becomes intoxicated and flirts with men is often seen as "asking for it" and is written off as a "hoe" by men and women. "Hoodrats" and girls associated with rival gangs have lower status at these social events, and are victimized when members view them as fair game and other women rationalize assault against them. Most modern research on gangs has focused on
2925-528: Is important because it plays a part in impelling the terrorist to act and then in defining the targets of their actions." Displaying a gang sign, such as the noose, as a symbolic act can be construed as "a threat to commit violence communicated with the intent to terrorize another, to cause evacuation of a building, or to cause serious public inconvenience, in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience … an offense against property or involving danger to another person that may include but
3042-494: Is not limited to recklessly endangering another person, harassment , stalking , ethnic intimidation, and criminal mischief ." The Internet is one of the most significant media used by gangs to communicate in terms of the size of the audience they can reach with minimal effort and reduced risk. Social media provides a forum for recruitment activities, typically provoking rival gangs through derogatory postings, and to glorify their gang and themselves. Researchers and activists in
3159-423: Is one of three concepts that shed light on patterns of organization in oppressed racial, religious and ethnic groups (the other two are Manuel Castells ' theory of "resistance identity" and Derrick Bell 's work on the permanence of racism). Usually, gangs have gained the most control in poorer, urban communities and developing countries in response to unemployment and other services. Social disorganization, and
3276-432: Is particularly strong on at-risk youth. Such individuals are often experiencing low levels of these various factors in their own lives, feeling ostracized from their community and lacking social support. Joining a gang may appear to them to be the only way to obtain status and material success or escape a cycle of poverty through profits from illegal activity. They may feel that "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". Upon joining
3393-536: Is presented as a moral outcome, it is usually seen as no more than an accidental failure. The gangster is typically articulate, although at times lonely and depressed, and his worldly wisdom and defiance of social norms has a strong appeal, particularly to adolescents. The years 1931 and 1932 saw the genre produce three classics: Warner Bros. ' Little Caesar and The Public Enemy , which made screen icons out of Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney , and Howard Hughes ' Scarface starring Paul Muni , which offered
3510-459: Is then broken down into smaller loads for smuggling across the U.S.–Mexico border . Arrests of key gang leaders, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, have led to increasing drug violence as gangs fight for control of the trafficking routes into the United States. Cocaine traffickers from Colombia, and recently Mexico, have also established a labyrinth of smuggling routes throughout
3627-790: The American Motorcyclist Association and do not adhere to its rules. Instead the clubs have their own set of bylaws reflecting the outlaw biker culture. Biker gangs such as the Rebels Motorcycle Club exist in Australia. Prison gangs are formed inside prisons and correctional facilities for mutual protection and entrancement like the Mexican Mafia and United Blood Nation . Prison gangs often have several "affiliates" or "chapters" in different state prison systems that branch out due to
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3744-656: The Caribbean , the Bahama Island chain, and South Florida. They often hire traffickers from Mexico or the Dominican Republic to transport the drug. The traffickers use a variety of smuggling techniques to transfer their drug to U.S. markets. These include airdrops of 500–700 kg in the Bahama Islands or off the coast of Puerto Rico , mid-ocean boat-to-boat transfers of 500–2,000 kg, and
3861-499: The Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949 in mainland China, law enforcement became stricter and tough governmental crackdown on criminal organizations forced the triads to migrate to Hong Kong, then a British colony, and other cities around the world. Triads today are highly organized, with departments responsible for functions such as accounting, recruiting, communications, training and welfare in addition to
3978-617: The Gulf Cartel and Shower Posse . Street gangs are gangs formed by youths in urban areas, and are known primarily for street fighting and gang warfare. The term "street gang" is commonly used interchangeably with "youth gang", referring to neighborhood or street-based youth groups that meet "gang" criteria. Miller (1992) defines a street gang as "a self-formed association of peers, united by mutual interests, with identifiable leadership and internal organization, who act collectively or as individuals to achieve specific purposes, including
4095-474: The Hells Angels require a candidate, known as a "hang-around", to be observed and mentored by veteran gang members (which can last a year or more) in order to assess their personalities and commitment. The Cosa Nostra requires people wanting to be full members or become made men to take part in a ceremony involving oaths, agreement, and bloodletting to show their loyalty. The Sigue-Sigue Sputnik from
4212-582: The Hells Angels , the Pagans , the Outlaws , and the Bandidos , known as the "Big Four" in the United States. The U.S. Department of Justice defines outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMG) as "organizations whose members use their motorcycle clubs as conduits for criminal enterprises". Some clubs are considered "outlaw" not necessarily because they engage in criminal activity, but because they are not sanctioned by
4329-625: The Mafia , drug cartels , Triads , Crips , Bloods , or even outlaw motorcycle gangs can undertake complex transactions that would be far beyond the capability of one individual, and can provide services such as dispute arbitration and contract enforcement that parallel those of a legitimate government. The term " organized crime " is associated with gangs and gangsters, but is not synonymous. A small street gang that engages in sporadic low-level crime would not be seen as "organized". An organization that coordinates gangs in different countries involved in
4446-520: The NKVD secret police nearly exterminated the criminal underworld completely. Under Stalin, the forced labor camps overflowed with political prisoners and criminals, and a new organized group of top criminals arose, the vory v zakone , or "thieves in law." The "thieves in law" formed as a society for ruling the criminal underworld within the prison camps, "who govern the dark gaps in Soviet life beyond
4563-677: The Peaky Blinders . In the United States, the history of gangs began on the East Coast in 1783 following the American Revolution . Gangs arose further in the United States by the middle of the nineteenth century and were a concern for city leaders from the time they appeared. The emergence of the gangs was largely attributed to the vast rural population immigration to the urban areas. The first street-gang in
4680-522: The Prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s. The classic gangster movie ranks with the Western as one of the most successful creations of the American movie industry. The "classic" form of gangster movie, rarely produced in recent years, tells of a gangster working his way up through his enterprise and daring, until his organization collapses while he is at the peak of his powers. Although the ending
4797-749: The Rizzuto crime family . The terms "gangster" and "mobster" are mostly used in the United States to refer to members of criminal organizations associated with Prohibition . In 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution banned the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption. Many gangs sold alcohol illegally for profit, and used acute violence to stake turf and protect their interest. Often, police officers and politicians were paid off or extorted to ensure continued operation. Al Capone
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4914-591: The Serbian Mafia , Bosnian Mafia , Bulgarian Mafia , and so on. In China, Triads trace their roots to resistance or rebel groups opposed to Manchu rule during the Qing dynasty , which were given the triangle as their emblem. The first record of a triad society, Heaven and Earth Gathering , dates to the Lin Shuangwen uprising on Taiwan from 1786 to 1787. The triads evolved into criminal societies. When
5031-403: The Soviet Union , the post-Soviet states , and their respective diasporas is a formal and special status of "criminal authority", a professional criminal who follows certain criminal traditions and enjoys an elite position among other members within organized crime and correctional facility environments and who has informal authority over lower-status members. The phrase "thief in law"
5148-879: The Whyos and the Dead Rabbits . These were followed by the Italian Five Points Gang and later a Jewish gang known as the Eastman Gang . There were also " Nativist " anti-immigration gangs such as the Bowery Boys . The Italian-American Mafia arose from offshoots of the Mafia that emerged in the United States during the late 19th century, following waves of emigration from Sicily. There were similar offshoots in Canada among Italian Canadians , such as
5265-1030: The Wild Bunch . Prohibition would also cause a new boom in the emergence of gangs; Chicago for example had over 1,000 gangs in the 1920s. Outside of the US and the UK, gangs exist in both urban and rural forms, like the French gangs of the Belle Époque like the Apaches and the Bonnot Gang . Many criminal organizations, such as the Italian Cosa Nostra , Japanese yakuza , Russian Bratva , and Chinese triads , have existed for centuries. Gangs, syndicates, and other criminal groups, come in many forms, each with their own specialties and gang culture. One of
5382-446: The "protection" is usually from the gang itself, or in other criminal activity. Many gangs use fronts to demonstrate influence and gain revenue in a particular area. Gang violence refers mostly to the illegal and non-political acts of violence perpetrated by gangs against civilians , other gangs, law enforcement officers , firefighters , or military personnel . A gang war is a type of small war that occurs when two gangs end up in
5499-649: The 1960s in the USA often adapted nationalist rhetoric. Both majority and minority races in society have established gangs in the name of identity: the Igbo gang Bakassi Boys in Nigeria defend the majority Igbo group violently and through terror, and in the United States, whites who feel threatened by minorities have formed their own gangs, such as the Ku Klux Klan . Responding to an increasing black and Hispanic migration,
5616-491: The 1970s and 1980s. It was founded and run by Ochoa Vázquez brothers with Pablo Escobar . By 1993, the Colombian government, helped by the US, had successfully dismantled the cartel by imprisoning or hunting and gunning down its members. Although Mexican drug cartels, or drug trafficking organizations, have existed for several decades, they have become more powerful since the demise of Colombia's Cali and Medellín cartels in
5733-600: The 1970s, prison gangs in Cape Town , South Africa began recruiting street gang members from outside and helped increase associations between prison and street gangs. In the US, the prison gang the Aryan Brotherhood is involved in organized crime outside of prison. Different gangs and criminal syndicates have various roles and members. Most are typically divided into: The numerous push factors experienced by at-risk individuals vary situationally, but follow
5850-435: The 1980s. In the late 1980s and early 1990s there was a surge of imports of action movies from Hong Kong. The first of the new wave of important home grown gangster movies was Im Kwon-taek 's General's Son (1990). Although this movie followed the earlier tradition, it was followed by a series of sophisticated gangster noirs set in contemporary urban locations, such as A Bittersweet Life (2005). Gang A gang
5967-403: The 1990s. Mexican drug cartels now dominate the wholesale illicit drug market in the United States. Sixty five percent of cocaine enters the United States through Mexico, and the vast majority of the rest enters through Florida. Cocaine shipments from South America transported through Mexico or Central America are generally moved over land or by air to staging sites in northern Mexico. The cocaine
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#17327910923586084-695: The Philippines require gang members to tattoo (or "tatak") the name of the gang or their leader into their body. Triads have a more unique way of initiating associates into full members. Triad ceremonies take place at an altar dedicated to Guan Yu (關羽, GuānYǔ), with incense and an animal sacrifice (usually a chicken, pig or goat). Training and expertise in various forms of illicit activities, including combat, exist variously throughout different gangs. Specific members of American mafia groups, like police infiltrators, double agents, and sometimes also enforcers and hitmen, have had backgrounds in law enforcement or
6201-498: The United States being the world's largest consumer of cocaine. Colombia is the world's leading producer of cocaine , and also produces heroin that is mostly destined for the US market. The Medellín Cartel was an organized network of drug suppliers and smugglers originating in the city of Medellín , Colombia. The gang operated in Colombia, Bolivia , Peru , Central America, the United States, as well as Canada and Europe throughout
6318-702: The United States have debated the true impact of US gangs on crime in the United States, with a 2019 episode of the You're Wrong About podcast claiming that the perceived increase in gang violence was in fact an overblown moral panic. There have been repeated complaints of bias around the enforcement of gang-related laws asking why Frats and Gangs are treated differently "They're both blamed for predisposing their members to violent acts, but they’ve sparked radically different public-policy responses." Thief in law A " thief in law " (or thief with code , Russian : вор в зако́не , romanized : vor v zakone ) in
6435-460: The United States often joined these tongs. With a new wave of migration in the 1960s, street gangs began to flourish in major cities. The Tongs recruited these gangs to protect their extortion, gambling and narcotics operations. As American society and culture developed, new immigrants were relocating to the United States. The first major gangs in 19th century New York City were the Irish gangs such as
6552-664: The United States, the 40 Thieves , began around the late 1820s in New York City . The gangs in Washington D.C. had control of what is now Federal Triangle , in a region then known as Murder Bay . Organized crime in the United States first came to prominence in the Old West and historians such as Brian J. Robb and Erin H. Turner traced the first organized crime syndicates to the Coschise Cowboy Gang and
6669-499: The United States. Gangs are involved in all areas of street-crime activities like extortion , drug trafficking, both in and outside the prison system, and theft . Gangs also victimize individuals by robbery and kidnapping . Cocaine is the primary drug of distribution by gangs in America, which have used the cities Chicago , Cape Town , and Rio de Janeiro to transport drugs internationally. Brazilian urbanization has driven
6786-465: The Vory had something of a monopoly on crime." After World War II , the vory in the Gulag system were weakened by the so-called Bitch Wars – a prison gang war between pure vory and the so-called suki ( суки , 'bitches'). The Suki were former members of the criminal underworld who had broken the thieves' code by agreeing to cooperate with administration of prisons and labor camps, and
6903-407: The Vory in the 1990s, in the 2000s (decade), ties to big business and government grew in importance. Consequently, while the "Vory are still strong in gambling and retail trade ," their importance in Russian economy and society has decreased. However, since the majority of criminals eventually are arrested and incarcerated, at some point they will come in contact with the Vory who are at the top of
7020-532: The absolute dictator of the Soviet Union had previously founded the Outfit, a criminal gang that were involved with armed robberies , racketeering , assassinations , arms procurement and child couriering . In the period of Soviet Union , Vory v Zakone emerged, a class of criminals that had to abide by certain rules in the prison system. One such rule was that cooperation with the authorities of any kind
7137-486: The acclaimed director Wong Kar-wai was a gangster movie, As Tears Go By . In it the protagonist finds himself torn between his desire for a woman and his loyalty to a fellow gangster. Infernal Affairs (2002) is a thriller about a police officer who infiltrates a triad and a triad member who infiltrates the police department. The film was remade by Martin Scorsese as The Departed . Gangster films make up one of
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#17327910923587254-408: The age of 18 years than those who did not. Gang violence is often associated with carrying weapons , including in school. A study of 10-to-19-year-olds in the UK found that 44% of those who reported belonging to a delinquent youth group had committed violence and 13% had carried a knife in the previous 12 months versus 17% and 4% respectively among those who were not in such a group. According to
7371-660: The bosses of the most powerful families would have equal say and vote on important matters and solve disputes between families. This group ruled over the National Crime Syndicate and brought in an era of peace and prosperity for the American Mafia. Most cocaine is grown and processed in South America, particularly in Colombia , Bolivia , Peru , and smuggled into the United States and Europe,
7488-419: The case of street gangs, most do not train their members in shooting and combat. Although a few would train their youths how to shoot using empty cans and bottles as targets (with some cases using underground shooting ranges ), most gangsters have no formal instructions in firearms usage and safety. The late 90s and early 2000s saw many gang members in the US being sent by judges to the military to “set them on
7605-462: The charismatic anti-hero. Those suffering from the Depression were able to relate to the gangster character who worked hard to earn his place and success in the world, only to have it all taken away from him. Latin American gangster movies are known for their gritty realism. Soy un delincuente (English: I Am a Criminal) is a 1976 Venezuelan film by director Clemente de la Cerda. The film tells
7722-411: The club, and today many members, even those active inside Russia, are from other post-Soviet countries such as Armenia, Georgia, and are not ethnic Russians." Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn , author of The Gulag Archipelago , claimed never to have seen any thief honor the code if it conflicted with his personal criminal wants. The Vory subculture (more exactly: the prison inmate subculture where Vory are
7839-472: The commercial shipment of tonnes of cocaine through the port of Miami. Another route of cocaine traffic goes through Chile, this route is primarily used for cocaine produced in Bolivia since the nearest seaports lie in northern Chile. The arid Bolivia-Chile border is easily crossed by 4x4 vehicles that then head to the seaports of Iquique and Antofagasta . Gangs have long been the subject of movies. In fact,
7956-989: The conduct of illegal activity and control of a particular territory, facility, or enterprise." Some of the well-known ones are the Black gangs like the Bloods and the Crips , also the Vice Lords and the Gangster Disciples . Other racial gangs also exist like the Trinitario , Sureños , Tiny Rascal Gang , Asian Boyz , Wa Ching , Zoe Pound , The Latin Kings , The Hammerskins , Nazi Lowriders and Blood & Honour . Law enforcement gangs are criminal organizations that form and operate within law enforcement agencies. Members have been accused of significant department abuses of policy and constitutional rights, terrifying
8073-479: The creation of anti-gang groups, vigilante gangs, and autodefensas , who are groups who profess to be fighting against gang influence, but share characteristics and acts similarly to a gang. These include groups like the Los Pepes , Sombra Negra , Friends Stand United , People Against Gangsterism and Drugs , and OG Imba . Many types of gangs make up the general structure of an organized group. Understanding
8190-417: The deserted gang. Many gangs, including foreign and transnational gangs , hold that the only way to leave the gang is through death. This is sometimes informally called the "morgue rule". Gang membership represents the phenomenon of a chronic group criminal spin ; accordingly, the criminality of members is greater when they belong to the gang than when they are not in the gang—either before or after being in
8307-425: The disintegration of societal institutions such as family, school, and the public safety net, enable groups of peers to form gangs. According to surveys conducted internationally by the World Bank for their World Development Report 2011 , by far the most common reason people suggest as a motive for joining gangs is unemployment. Ethnic solidarity is a common factor in gangs. Black and Hispanic gangs formed during
8424-503: The drug trade to the favelas of Rio. Often, gangs hire "lookouts" to warn members of upcoming law enforcement. The dense environments of favelas in Rio and public housing projects in Chicago have helped gang members hide from police easily. Street gangs take over territory or "turf" in a particular city and are often involved in " providing protection ", often a thin cover for extortion, as
8541-583: The end of the '60s and the beginning of the '80s, with the closure of the film depicting the war between the drug dealer Li'l Zé and criminal Knockout Ned . The film received four Academy Award nominations in 2004. The first yakuza (gangster) film made in Japan was Bakuto (Gambler, 1964). The genre soon became popular, and by the 1970s the Japanese film industry was turning out a hundred mostly low-budget yakuza films each year. The films are descendants of
8658-484: The first feature-length movie ever produced was The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), an Australian production that traced the life of the outlaw Ned Kelly (1855–1880). The United States has profoundly influenced the genre, but other cultures have contributed distinctive and often excellent gangster movies. The stereotypical image and myth of the American gangster is closely associated with organized crime during
8775-437: The gang hierarchy; how money derived from criminal activity and ability to provide for the gang also impacts the individual's status within the gang. The structure of gangs varies depending primarily on size, which can range from five or ten to thousands. Many of the larger gangs break up into smaller groups, cliques or sub-sets (these smaller groups can be called "sets" in gang slang.) The cliques typically bring more territory to
8892-486: The gang, being that certain tattoos can mean they are a more accomplished member. The accomplishments can be related to doing a dangerous act that showed your loyalty to the gang. They can be burned on as well as inked. Some gangs make use of more than one identifier, like the Nortenos , who wear red bandanas and have "14", "XIV", "x4", and "Norte" tattoos. Some members of criminal gangs are "jumped in" (by going through
9009-406: The gang. In addition, when together, the gang criminality as a whole is greater than that of its members when they are alone. The gang operates as a whole greater than its parts and influences the behavior of its members in the direction of greater extend and stronger degree of criminality. Some states have a formal process to establish that a person is a member of a gang, called validation . Once
9126-431: The general population, intimidating their colleagues, and retaliating against whistleblowers. Leaders called "shot-callers" control many aspects of local policing, including promotions, scheduling, and enforcement. They operate in the gray areas of law enforcement, perpetuate a culture of silence, and promote a mentality of punisher-style retaliation. Biker gangs are motorcycle clubs who conduct illegal activities like
9243-694: The girls are less likely to be searched by police for such items. Different gangs from around the world have their way of recruiting and introducing new members. Most criminal gangs require an interested candidate to commit a crime to be inducted into a gang. Many street gangs, like the Bloods and MS-13 , have a ritual where they would beat up (also known as "beat-in" or "jump-in") aspiring applicants for several seconds to show their toughness, willingness, and loyalty. Some of these gangs allow women to become members either through being jumped-in or having sex with male members (known as "sexed-in"). Biker gangs like
9360-684: The government have displaced the Vory from some of their traditional niches, although the Vory are still strong in gambling and the retail trade. The Albanian Mafia is active in Albania , the United States, and the European Union (EU) countries, participating in a diverse range of criminal enterprises including drug and arms trafficking . The people of the mountainous country of Albania have always had strong traditions of family and clan loyalty, in some ways similar to that of southern Italy. Ethnic Albanian gangs have grown rapidly since 1992 during
9477-414: The government, mostly by taking up arms (unacceptable for a thief) and joining a Soviet Army. The Bitch Wars lasted for decades. Due to a large number of suki , most gulags were divided into two separate zones: one for suki and one for vory . After the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the vory assumed a leading role within the Russian criminal hierarchy (see Russian mafia ). The group
9594-667: The hierarchy of the criminal world within the penal system in Russia. In 2011, the Obama administration implemented sanctions against an organization known as the Brothers' Circle , several members of which are thieves-in-law. Ponyatiya ( понятия, 'concepts' or 'understandings') are the rules of conduct (or even the customary laws or code of honor) among prison inmates, with Vory being respectful leaders and judges according to these rules. Vory consider prisons their true home and have
9711-721: The illegal drug trade. These include drug cartels like the Medellin Cartel and other Colombian cartels, Mexican cartels like the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas , and the Primeiro Comando da Capital in Brazil. Other examples are Jamaican Yardies and the various opium barons in the Golden Triangle and Golden Crescent . Many narcos are known for their use of paramilitaries and narcoterrorism like
9828-482: The increasing crime wave. At first, the Vory v Zakone played a key role in arbitrating the gang wars that erupted in the 1990s. By the mid-1990s it was believed that "Don" Semion Mogilevich had become the "boss of all bosses" of most Russian Mafia syndicates in the world, described by the British government as "one of the most dangerous men in the world". More recently, criminals with stronger ties to big business and
9945-568: The international trade in drugs or prostitutes may not be considered a "gang". There are several organized crime groups in Italy . Notably, the Sicilian Mafia , or Cosa Nostra is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy . It is a loose association of criminal groups that share common organizational structure and code of conduct . The origins lie in
10062-680: The land was to become private property of the peasants. Other similarly large and powerful Italian criminal organizations, often composed of smaller gangs or "clans" generally operating under a shared criminal subculture or code, include the Camorra in Naples and Campania and the Ndrangheta in Calabria . Organized crime has existed in Russia since the days of Imperial Russia in the form of banditry and thievery. Joseph Stalin , who emerged as
10179-485: The links may be limited. In El Salvador and Guatemala, for example, where gang violence is a serious problem, GSHS data show that the prevalence of bullying, physical fights and physical attacks reported by school students is relatively low, and is similar to prevalence in other countries in Central America where gang violence is less prevalent. Women in gang culture are often in environments where sexual assault
10296-482: The mainstream movies in the genre deal with Triad societies portrayed as quasi-benign organizations. The movie gangster applies the Taoist principles of balance and honor to his conduct. The plots are often similar to those of Hollywood gangster movies, often ending with the fall of the subject of the movie at the hands of another gangster, but such a fall is far less important than a fall from honor. The first movie made by
10413-537: The mid- Edo period : tekiya , those who primarily peddled illicit, stolen or shoddy goods; and bakuto , those who were involved in or participated in gambling. In the late 1860s, many Chinese emigrated to the United States, escaping from insecurity and economic hardship at home, at first working on the west coast and later moving east. The new immigrants formed Chinese Benevolent Associations. In some cases these evolved into Tongs , or criminal organizations primarily involved in gambling. Members of Triads who migrated to
10530-621: The military. Sicilian mafia and Calabrian Mafia in Southern Italy became notorious for creating "schools" in the countryside to train children as young as eleven in weapons and illegal activities. Giovanni Tinebra, the chief public prosecutor of Caltanissetta , once stated, "Instead of going to school, many boys go into the countryside where there are people who teach them to shoot and turn them into killing machines." Some drug cartels in Colombia and Mexico have established themselves as paramilitaries . The earliest and most famous example
10647-964: The most infamous criminal gangs are Mafias , whose activities include racketeering and overseeing illicit agreements. These include the Sicilian Cosa Nostra and the Italian–American Mafia . The Neapolitan Camorra , the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta and the Apulian Sacra Corona Unita are similar Italian organized gangs. Outside of Italy, the Irish Mob , Japanese yakuza , Chinese triads , British firms , and Russian Bratva are also examples. Narcos or drug cartels are slang terms used for criminal groups (mainly Latin Americans ) who primarily deal with
10764-645: The most notorious being the Rizhsky market where prostitution rings were run next to the Rizhsky Railway Station in Moscow. As the Soviet Union headed for collapse many former government workers turned to crime, while others moved overseas. Former KGB agents and veterans of the Afghan and First and Second Chechen Wars , now unemployed but with experience that could prove useful in crime, joined
10881-485: The most profitable segments of the South Korean film industry. Films made in the 1960s were often influenced by Japanese yakuza films, dealing with internal conflict between members of a gang or external conflict with other gangs. The gangsters' code of conduct and loyalty are important elements. Starting in the 1970s, strict censorship caused decline in the number and quality of gangster movies, and none were made in
10998-559: The movement or transfer of their members. According to criminal justice professor John Hagedorn , many of the biggest gangs from Chicago originated from prisons. From the St. Charles Illinois Youth Center originated the Conservative Vice Lords and Blackstone Rangers. Although the majority of gang leaders from Chicago are now incarcerated, most of those leaders continue to manage their gangs from within prison. Punk gangs are
11115-571: The notions of chivalry ". The 17th century saw London "terrorized by a series of organized gangs", some of them known as the Mims, Hectors, Bugles, and Dead Boys. These gangs often came into conflict with each other. Members dressed "with colored ribbons to distinguish the different factions." During the Victorian era , criminals and gangs started to form organizations which would collectively become London's criminal underworld. Criminal societies in
11232-410: The operational arms. They engage in a variety of crimes including extortion, money laundering, smuggling, trafficking and prostitution. Yakuza are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. They are notorious for their strict codes of conduct and very organized nature. As of 2009 they had an estimated 80,900 members. Most modern yakuza derive from two classifications which emerged in
11349-582: The other by Salvatore Maranzano . This caused the Castellammarese War , which led to Masseria's murder in 1931. Maranzano then divided New York City into five families . Maranzano, the first leader of the American Mafia, established the code of conduct for the organization, set up the "family" divisions and structure, and established procedures for resolving disputes. In an unprecedented move, Maranzano set himself up as boss of all bosses and required all families to pay tribute to him. This new role
11466-536: The prevalence of these different forms of gang violence in and around schools is limited. Some evidence suggests that gang violence is more common in schools where students are exposed to other forms of community violence and where they fear violence at school. Children who grow up in neighbourhoods with high levels of crime has been identified as a risk factor for youth violence, including gang violence. According to studies, children who knew many adult criminals were more likely to engage in violent behaviour by
11583-546: The prolonged period of instability in the Balkans after the collapse of Yugoslavia. This coincided with large scale migration throughout Europe and to the United States and Canada. Although based in Albania, the gangs often handle international transactions such as trafficking in economic migrants, drugs and other contraband, and weapons. Other criminal organizations that emerged in the Balkans around this time are popularly called
11700-526: The reach of the KGB ." They adopted a system of collective responsibility, and swore to a code of "complete submission to the laws of criminal life, including obligations to support the criminal ideal, and rejection of labor and political activities." For example, while incarcerated, a Vor must refuse all work, and is not allowed to assist the warden/correction officers in any way. The thieves' code states: "Your own prison you shall not make." If an inmate walks past
11817-990: The requirements for convicting of a crime. Women associated with gangs but who lack membership are typically categorized based on their relation to gang members. A survey of Mexican American gang members and associates defined these categories as girlfriends, hoodrats, good girls, and relatives. Girlfriends are long-term partners of male gang members, and may have children with them. " Hoodrats " are seen as being promiscuous and heavy drug and alcohol users. Gang members may engage in casual sex with these girls, but they are not viewed as potential long-term partners and are severely stigmatized by both men and women in gang culture. "Good girls" are long-term friends of members, often from childhood, and relatives are typically sisters or cousins. These are fluid categories, and women often change status as they move between them. Valdez found that women with ties to gang members are often used to hold illegal weapons and drugs, typically, because members believe
11934-651: The right path”, which only led to these street gangs gaining military training and experience. Many street gangs, most notably African-American gangs like the Folk Nation and Bloods, continue to have a presence in the US Military . The United Nations estimates that gangs make most of their money through the drugs trade , which is thought to be worth $ 352 billion in total. The United States Department of Justice estimates there are approximately 30,000 gangs, with 760,000 members, impacting 2,500 communities across
12051-429: The samurai epics, and are closer to Westerns than to Hollywood gangster movies. The hero is typically torn between compassion for the oppressed and his sense of duty to the gang. The plots are generally highly stylized, starting with the protagonist being released from prison and ending in a gory sword fight in which he dies an honorable death. Although some Hong Kong gangster movies are simply vehicles for violent action,
12168-407: The story of Ramón Antonio Brizuela, a real-life individual, who since childhood has to deal with rampant violence and the drugs, sex and petty thievery of a Caracas slum. Starting with delinquency, Ramón moves on to serious gang activity and robberies. He grows into a tough, self-confident young man who is hardened to violence. His views change when his fiancée's brother is killed in a robbery. The film
12285-468: The structure of gangs is a critical skill to defining the types of strategies that are most effective with dealing with them, from the at-risk youth to the gang leaders. Not all individuals who display the outward signs of gang membership are actually involved in criminal activities. An individual's age, physical structure, ability to fight, willingness to commit violence, and arrest record are often principal factors in determining where an individual stands in
12402-683: The symbols of the Klan), flags secret greetings, slurs , or code words and other group-specific symbols associated with the gang's common beliefs, rituals , and mythologies to define and differentiate themselves from other groups and gangs. As an alternative language, hand-signals, symbols, and slurs in speech, graffiti , print, music, or other mediums communicate specific informational cues used to threaten, disparage, taunt , harass , intimidate , alarm, influence, or exact specific responses including obedience, submission, fear, or terror. One study focused on terrorism and symbols states that "[s]ymbolism
12519-424: The thesis of class struggle following the work of Walter B. Miller and Irving Spergel. In this body of work The Gaylords are cited as the prime example of an American gang that is neither black nor Hispanic. Some researchers have focused on ethnic factors. Frederic Thrasher , who was a pioneer of gang research, identified "demoralization" as a standard characteristic of gangs. John Hagedorn has argued that this
12636-549: The thieves' code. The penalty for violation of this code is often mutilation or death. Reportedly, "today the Vory have spread around the world, to Madrid, Berlin, and New York" and are "involved in everything from petty theft to billion-dollar money-laundering while also acting as arbiters among conflicting Russian criminal factions." Reportedly, as capitalism began to take hold in Russia, an increasing number of college-educated criminals began to take over more lucrative ventures. While these new criminal elements first worked with
12753-433: The underworld started to develop their own ranks and groups which were sometimes called families , and were often made up of lower-classes and operated on pick-pocketry , prostitution , forgery and counterfeiting , commercial burglary , and money laundering schemes. Unique also were the use of slangs and argots used by Victorian criminal societies to distinguish each other, like those propagated by street gangs like
12870-413: The upheaval of Sicily's transition out of feudalism in 1812 and its later annexation by mainland Italy in 1860. Under feudalism, the nobility owned most of the land and enforced law and order through their private armies. After 1812, the feudal barons steadily sold off or rented their lands to private citizens. Primogeniture was abolished, land could no longer be seized to settle debts, and one fifth of
12987-412: The world. Gangsters are the subject of many novels, films, television series, and video games. In modern usage, the term " gang " is generally used for a criminal organization and the term "gangster" invariably describes a criminal. Much has been written on the subject of gangs, although there is no clear consensus about what constitutes a gang or what situations lead to gang formation and evolution. There
13104-545: Was a blockbuster hit in Venezuela. City of God ( Portuguese : Cidade de Deus ) is a 2002 Brazilian crime drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles and co-directed by Kátia Lund , released in its home country in 2002 and worldwide in 2003. All the characters existed in reality, and the story is based on real events. It depicts the growth of organized crime in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro , between
13221-439: Was able to "infiltrate the top political and economic strata while taking command of the burgeoning crime network that spread murderously through the post-Soviet countries." Thieves In Law are given the title by other vory and in order to be accepted they must demonstrate considerable leadership skills, personal ability, intellect, charisma, along with a well-documented criminal record. Once accepted they must live according to
13338-417: Was forbidden. During World War II some prisoners made a deal with the government to join the armed forces in return for a reduced sentence, but upon their return to prison they were attacked and killed by inmates who remained loyal to the rules of the thieves. In 1988, the Soviet Union legalized private enterprise but did not provide regulations to ensure the security of market economy. Crude markets emerged,
13455-536: Was one of these notorious gangsters during the Depression era for the Chicago Outfit . Capone would rise to control a major portion of illicit activity such as gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging in Chicago during the early 20th century. In New York City, by the end of the 1920s, two factions of organized crime had emerged to fight for control of the criminal underworld, one led by Joe Masseria and
13572-419: Was received negatively, and Maranzano was murdered within six months on the orders of Charles "Lucky" Luciano . Luciano was a former Masseria underling who had switched sides to Maranzano and orchestrated the killing of Masseria. As an alternative to the previous despotic Mafia practice of naming a single Mafia boss as capo di tutti capi , or "boss of all bosses," Luciano created The Commission in 1931, where
13689-607: Was the time when the Medellin Cartel hired Israeli soldier Yair Klein to train militiamen and assassins. Los Zetas became infamous for being founded by US-trained Mexican commandos . Together with Kaibiles from Guatemala , they set up camps to train future sicarios and soldatos. Other Mexican cartels who trained their members include the Jalisco Cartel , who trained their members for three months in ambushes, codes of silence and discipline, inside camps. In
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