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Current Issues cliques 2011, n. p. Copyright 2011 ReferencePoint Press, Website www. referencepointpress. com. P. O. Box 27779, San Diego, CA 92198. teleph 1 set 858-618-1314. Fax 858-618-1730. All rights reserved. Current Issues Gangs By Peggy J. Parks Contents Gangs at a see Overview How Serious a worry ar Gangs? first-string Source Quotes Facts and Illustrations Why Do early People Join Gangs? primeval Source Quotes Facts and Illustrations Can People Leave the Gang Life furthert peculiarity? Primary Source Quotes Facts and Illustrations Can Gang Violence Be stop? Primary Source QuotesFacts and Illustrations Key People and Advocacy Groups Chronology Related Organizations For nurture Research Source Notes About the Author Gangs at a Glance Gangs and Gang Members The U. S. discussion section of andice estimates that to a greater extent than 20,000 crime syndicates with a gibe of closely 1 million pieces be reprehensively mobile in the unify realms. Gang Migr ation Gangs atomic number 18 no all everywherenight confined to large cities. The FBI secernates that clique activity is chop-chop spreading to outlying suburban and untaught communities end-to-end the get together States. Types of Gangs Four chief(prenominal) types of factions identified by the U.S. incision of arbitrator be course juntos, illegalize motorcycle bunchs, prison ag companys, and troops ringings. Gangs and execration Law enforcement officials say that cabal ups commit a wide range of crimes, including distri dependableion of drugs, weapons trafficking, drive-by barbs, armed robbery, assault, identity theft, and homicide. In legion(predicate) communities gangs be responsible for as practically as 80 part of crime. Cities with Gang Problems The U. S. Department of nicety has identified Los Angeles, sugar, and sweetfound York as the top railroad cardinal cities for the near gangs and gang-related crime.Reasons for connectedness Gangs Young state conjunction gangs for some reasons including the desire to belong to a family- resembling grouping, protection from rival gangs, the ability to make money (usually from stealing or selling drugs), p bearige, and ready access to drugs. Quitting Gangs Whether hatful argon able to tolerate gangs depends on the particular gang and its rules. Jumping out ( be b go throughen by gang members) is a common way of letting soul out. tight gangs expect their members to remain committed for life and menaceen them with death if they distort to quit.Fighting Gang Violence In cities throughout the coupled States, the FBI and state and topical anaesthetic honor enforcement officials atomic number 18 foc victimisation on the approximately godforsaken pathway gangs in an effort to capture their leaders and get them off the bridle-paths. Overview Gangs argon morphing, multiplying, and migratingentrenching themselves non just in our inner cities just change magni tudely in our ever-sprawling suburbs and wide-open rural spaces. Federal Bureau of Investigation, a practice of law enforcement procedure of the U. S. Department of arbitrator. Gangs and gang- relate kids exist at some aim in each community. Certain groups get decided to give delirium and retribution, and their acts ar poignant all of us. Steven D. Strachan, the chief of police of Kent, Washington, a suburb of Seattle. At 16 eld old, pedigree Ross was thoroughly enjoying life. She had just begun her junior year at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, where she was an honors student and a pole-vaulter on the track team. She was popular and kn chair for being friendly, kind, and person who always had a sunny smile on her face.On the evening of October 30, 2009, Melody and her friends went to their inculcates substructure glide path football game. After the game ended, the girls left the stadium and were sitting on the curb in front of the school. Suddenly th e loud crack of gun chatoyants change the air. A feud had broken out between members of rival gangs, and they were shooting at each former(a)with by radixers caught in the crossfire. By the term the violence ended, three tidy sum lay on the ground, wounded and bleeding deuce men and Melody. Ambulances rushed them to the hospital, where the men were treated for non-life- leaden injuries.Melody, however, was non so fortunate. She died of a severe bullet wound in her side. Her family and friends were devastated, and as a archives to her, a classmate distinguishd Dylan Vassberg created a Face allow page entitled RIP Melody Ross. Every kid our agewe dont ever think were going to die, he says. We never think that. We think were going to college and were going to defy a long life and die of old age. Not die beca drop someone decided to shoot a gun. We never think of that. Its not something that crosses our estimate ever. Not even fathomable, really. 1 How Serious a Problem Are Gan gs? Although the precise issuance of gangs and gang members (k right offn as gangbangers) is not known, the U. S. Department of Justice makes estimates based on information it receives from state and topical anaesthetic law enforcement officials. In January 2009 the Justice Departments terra firmaal Gang Intelligence Center released a cut through entitled National Gang Threat Assessment 2009. The incubate states that more than 20,000 tearing gangs with a total of approximately 1 million members were wretchedly active in the united States as of kinfolk 2008.The reports authors state that gangs capture a honorable threat to public safety. They warn that throughout the country, gang activity is rapidly spreading from large cities to outlying suburban and rural beas. This, they predict, will cause gang-related violent crime to remain at soaring levels and likely increase. They write As these gangs encounter resistance from local gangs or other drug distributors in these co mmunities, an increase in violent incidents much(prenominal) as assaults, drive-by shootings, and homicides can be expected. 2 The Evolution of GangsNo one knows scarce when gangs first create, but they be often assumed to have been nigh for centuries. match to Lou Savelli, who is a retired New York City police sergeant and cofounder of the eastbound Coast Gang Investigators Association, the war cry thug dates back to India during the 1200s. It is derived from Thugz, an Indian word that referred to a gang of iniquitouss who traveled throughout the country terrorizing towns. Savelli adds that like gangs today, the Thugz had their own symbols, hand signs, slang language, and rituals.Gang activity is thought to have begun in the join States early in the countrys history. Journalist Ed Grabianowski explains Criminal gangs have for certain been around as long as crime itselfit doesnt take a criminal mastermind to realize there is strength in numbers. The urbanization that a ccompanied the Industrial Revolution gave rise to the modern bridle-path gang. 3 Throughout the 1800s, as more state immigrated to America from other countries, gangs such as the Monk East existence Gang and Five Points Gang formed and terrorized the ways of New York.But it was the 1920s that ushered in the heyday of gang activity in the United States because of a notorious gangster named Al Capone, in any grapheme called Scarface. This was a time known as Prohibition, when the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution made the sale or distribution of alcohol illegal. Supporters hoped the legislation would transform American society for the better, but its effects were quite different from what they expected. Once alcohol was no longer legally available, criminal gangs began to distribute it on the black market.These gangs adopted rapidly and continued to grow in position, which ca utilize a steep rise in violent crime. Capone and his gang of criminals were responsible for a w ave of violence in the Chicago area during the 1920s and 1930s. Savelli says this led to his becoming known as most violent gangster in Chicago and perhaps in all of the United States. Capones reputation spread far and wide, and his actions strongly fixd the activities of would-be(prenominal) gangsters throughout the country. By the time Prohibition ended in 1933, gangs had fit entrenched throughout the country and were widely known for their connections with violent crime.During the fifties gang-related crime was rampant in a number of U. S. cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, and it was steady increment. Over the following decades gangs became better organized and continued to expand their activities from cities into bordering communities, as the Justice Department explains The gang members who migrated from urban areas often formed new, neighborhood-based local gangs. These local gangs generally controlled their territories through violence and intimidatio n. 4 Gang rank and fileand associated violent crimecontinued to grow throughout the rest of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Street Gangs and Motorcycle Outlaws Gangs often differ importantly from one some other based on membership requirements, structure, and the ages and ethnicity of the members. Two main types that have been identified by law enforcement officials are street gangs and outlaw motorcycle gangs. The Justice Department says that street gangs cast a immense threat to communities because they are the largest group and as well control the greatest geographical area. Therefore, Justice Department authorities explain, criminal activities such as violence and drug trafficking perpetrated by street gangs foible the greatest threat. The threat becomes enlarged as subject field- and regional-level street gangs migrate from urban areas to suburban and rural communities, expanding their influence in most regions and broadening their presence outside th e United States to develop associations with . . . criminal organizations in Mexico, interchange America, and Canada. 5Most street gangs are local-level gangs that operate in single locations while regional-level street gangs are more organized and large. round of the largest and most violent street gangs are Hispanic gangs such as MS13, 18th Street, Surenos, and Al top executivey Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings) and the predominately African American gangs Bloods, Crips, and Black P. Stone Nation. Asian gangs such as the Asian Boyz are also developing a reputation as a result of their links to drug trafficking and violent crimes. Though slight common than gangs of other racial and ethnic groups, white gangs also start a threat.The white supremacist street gang Nazi Low-riders has a growing presence in grey California, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, and Illinois, and members have been connected with a number of racially motivated violent crimes. Outlaw motorcycle gangs a lso pose a substantial threat because they engage in numerous criminal activities, such as trafficking in weapons and drugs, and often commit violent crimes. State and local law enforcement agencies have identified as numerous as 520 outlaw motorcycle gangs with an estimated total of 20,000 members of various races and ethnicities.The motorcycle gangs that the FBI considers the greatest threat because of criminal activities are the Sons of Silence, Bandidos, Mongols, Hells Angels, and Outlaws. Gangs roll in the hay Bars Just because people are incarcerated, and even sentenced to life in prison, does not necessarily prevent them from act in gang activities. check to the Justice Department, prison gangs are walk of lifeing structured criminal networks that are active within prisons throughout the United States. It adds that as of September 2008, more than 147,000 documented gang members were incarcerated in federal, state, and local correctional facilities. unrivalled state wher e this is a particularly beneficial problem is Washington. fit to a study released in 2009, gang-affiliated inmates are responsible for 43 percent of all violent crimes that are committed in the states prisons. The report also states that the Crips are the most represented prison gang, with 2,385 inmate members. Also salutary known for violence behind prohibit is the white supremacist gang Indo-Aryan Brotherhood and the Latino gangs Barrio Azteca and Mexican Mafia. iodine gang that has been especially violent in Texas prisons is the Texas Syndicate.In February 2007 federal authorities issued indictments for gang members who were suspected of being responsible for as many as 16 murders outside the states prisons, including a double slaying in 2003. The indictment states It is unders similarlyd that members and prospects of the TS may receive a telephone call and instructions to commit a murder . . . at any time. Regardless of the members friendship or association with the vic tim, the orders are to be carried out. 6 Not only are gangs extremely active in prisons, gang members who have been imprisoned are often the gangs top leaders. check to serjeant Jeremy Young, who is a supervisor with the Modesto, California, police street crimes unit, the bottom level of a gangs chain of command is made up of gangbangers who are the soldiers on the street the mid-level is composed of the leaders of street crews who rule the operation and the top level are the bosses who are often inside prisons. The (gang leaders in the) prisons run the street, he says. A lot of things that start in there end up out here. 7 Criminal Activities Gangs are bear on in a wide range of crimes.These involve drug distribution, assault, armed robbery, drive-by shootings, car theft, identity theft, extortion, weapons trafficking, and homicide. In fact, the National Gang Threat Assessment report says that according to law enforcement officials throughout the United States, criminal gangs commit as much as 80 percent of the crime in many communities. Yet the connection between gangs and crime is a contr all oversial issue. According to the Justice Policy Institute, a Washington, D. C. based think tank that supports alternatives to incarceration, gang members are not responsible for the biggest destiny of crime in most jurisdictions.In a July 2007 report, the group states that many crimes committed by gang members are unrelated to gang activity, and reliable data on the extent of gang crime do not exist. The reports authors write The available evidence indicates that gang members play a relatively small role in the national crime problem. . . . National estimates and local research findings suggest that gang members may be responsible for few than one in 10 homicides fewer than one in 16 violent offenses and fewer than one in 20 serious . . . crimes. 8 Gang-Infested CitiesAlthough gangs have a presence in communities all over the United States, the National Gang Cen ter says that the three cities with the most gangs and vanquish gang-related crime are Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. According to tush S. Pistole, who is the deputy director of the FBI, Los Angeles is ground zero for modern gang activity, with over 400 gangs and an estimated 40,000 gang members. Many gangs were born here, a generation ago, he says. But they are no longer limited to Los Angeles. Like a cancer, gangs are spreading to communities across America. 9Two other California cities where gang-related crime is increasing are San Diego, where gang-related homicides rose 56 percent between 2006 and 2007, and Salinas, where gang-related homicides increased cxxv percent during that same period of time. Gangs are also a serious problem in Hartford, Connecticut, and Camden, New Jersey. And Pistole adds that gangs are becoming more active in many other cities including Baltimore, Houston, Washington, D. C. , Denver, Atlanta, Indianapolis, New Orleans, and Omaha, Nebraska. High -Tech Gangbanging The cyberspace has unfastened up a whole new way for gangbangers to recruit new members.As a February 2007 ABC News report states By posting online gist that glorifies the thug lifestyle, gangs are using the Web to recruitsome using children as young as 8 years old as part of the online recruiting process, known as Net Banging. 10 Sometimes rival gang members spar with each other online, proudly displaying their gang colors, tat in like manners, and gang hand signs in photos. They also use the Internet to schedule fights with each other as well as gas about crimes that they have committed. By monitoring these sites, federal and state law enforcement officials can track gang activity.Cell phones also play a critical role in gang operations. Gangbangers communicate with each other by sending text messages, and it is not uncommon for them to use multiple phones that they toss aside after they have completed criminal operations such as drug trafficking. The Just ice Department offers an example The leader of an African American street gang operating on the north side of Milwaukee used more than 20 cell phones to coordinate drug-related activities of the gang most were pre ease up phones that the leader routinely discarded and replaced. 11 Why Do Young People Join Gangs? Law enforcement professionals say that the issue of why kids conjoin gangs is complex. According to the Justice Policy Institute, no single risk element or set of factors can accurately predict which young people will become gang members. One of the most common reasons kids join gangs is that they are from broken homes and desperately want to be part of a family-like group, and they perceive gangs as being able to provide that. Brandon Robinson grew up in a housing project in Kansas City, Missouri.As a participant in a 2007 survey about gangs, he told interviewers that many of those who join share the commonality of being from poverty-stricken, dysfunctional backgrounds. You got family members on crack and you aint eating right, he says. Everybodys hungry. 12 According to Robinson, gang members look out for each other, answer feed each other, and stick up for each other, much like a family would. Thats when you start loving your street,13 he says.Other reasons for joining gangs include the lure of having money to spend (from stealing or selling drugs), uncomplicated access to drugs, and protection from the dangers of the street and rival gangs. Yet many criminal justice experts say that being part of a gang does not keep kids safer at all. In fact, studies have shown that young people who are involved with gangs have a attachly higher likelihood of being injured or killed than those who are not gang-affiliated. Girl Gangs Traditionally, gangs have been reign by males and that is still true today.But the Justice Department states that female mesh in gangs is on the upswing. A May 2008 study by the bunk of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preve ntion found that in high-crime neighborhoods nearly 30 percent of girls surveyed claimed that they were members of gangs. The report ranked young females as the sudden growing offenders in the national juvenile justice population. 14 One city that has experienced growing problems with girl gangs is flint, Michigan. Gina Nyovane, a 22-year-old graduate of Flint Northwestern High School, has observed girl gangs in her former school and throughout the city.She says that these gangs are becoming more widespread and more violent, as she explains I hear it all the time. Girls are quick to pull a gun out, faster than a guy. 15 Over Labor solar day weekend in 2009, members of a girl gang called the Goonies followed a car that was carrying members of a rival gang, the Dufflebacks. A young man traveling with the Goonies shoot six archeological sites at the other car, killing an 18-year-old male passenger and lancinating the female driver. Can People Leave the Gang Life Behind? The commo n view is that people who join gangs are never allowed to buy the farm them.The Justice Policy Institute says its research has found that gang membership is not a one-way street and that the typical gang member is active for a year or less. The group explains This myth is perpetuated not only by the media but also by gang members who exaggerate the stakes of membership in order to underscore the importance and permanency of their collective bond. 16 Yet many people say that joining a gang is a lifetime commitment, and the only way someone can leave is by dying or going to prison. creator gang member Hashim Garrett was 15 years old when he was shot six times in the back and legs.Today he struggles to walk and essential use forearm crutches because his right leg is paralyzed. In a linguistic communication to students at a middle school in 2008, Garrett addressed the realities of gang life They say theyre like your family, but your loved ones dont ask much of you. Come home on tim e, clean up your room, be polite, eat your vegetables. The gangs going to ask more than that. Hold this gun. Hold these drugs. Prove youre wild. possibly kill somebody. He adds that most gang members want to quit the gang but are too afraid to do so. If you join the football team and you dont like the coach, you can quit. You cant quit a gang that easy. 17 Can Gang Violence Be Stopped? Controlling gang proliferation and gang-related crime is one of the most prodigious challenges facing law enforcement officials all day of the year. Federal agencies such as the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives have partnered with state and local police departments throughout the United States in an effort to claim down gangs and put an end to their crime sprees.In many cities, the focus is on eliminating the leadership of gang enterprises. According to Pistole, the goal is to do more than just disrupt their activitiesit is to dismantle them entirely. He explains Taking apart a gang is like demolishing a building. Hacking away at individual walls and beams might damage the building, but it doesnt destroy it. But using federal drug and racketeering statutes is akin to dynamiting the foundation. Once the gangs leadership infrastructure implodes, all members are weakened. It becomes difficult for the group to operate.Eventually, it crumbles. And so our strategy is to prosecute as many gang leaders, members, and associates as possible so there are no pieces left which are large enough to allow the gang to rebuild. 18 How Serious a Problem Are Gangs? Following a marked decline from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, a steady resurgence of gang problems has occurred in recent years. James C. Howell, Arlen Egley Jr. , and Christina ODonnell, research associates with the National Gang Center. wheresoever MS-13 goes, violence follows.Gang members have carried out beheadings and grenade attacks in Central America and have hacked people with machetes i n cities along the East Coast in the United States. Jessica M. Vaughan and John D. Feere, policy analysts with the Center for immigration Studies. For people in many areas of the world, including the United States, gang violence is a harsh reality of life. According to the U. S. Department of Justice, the problem in America is growing worse. The Justice Department estimates that the number of gang members totaled about 1 million as of September 2008, which was an increase from 800,000 in 2005.One reason gangs continue to grow big and more powerful is that they are fostering relationships with criminal organizations in Mexico, Central America, and Canada. This has led to a proliferation of drugs and weapons being smuggled across the U. S. border as well as an influx of illegal aliens who join gangs. To emphasize the earnestness of Americas gang violence, FBI director John Pistole tells the story of a young charr who was working at a Los Angeles outdoor market in September 2007. H er newborn son, Luis, was beside her is his stroller.Members of the 18th Street gang approached one of the markets vendors, telling him that he could not sell his goods in their territory unless he paid them rent. He had steadfastly refused to meet their demands in the past, and when he continued to do so at the market, gang members drew their guns and opened fire on him. The man survived, but Luis did not. A stray bullet struck the baby and killed him instantly. Pistole says that this sad incident is indicative of what is happening throughout the country In too many neighborhoods, too many young people are recruited into gangs.They spill into a life of crime, drugs, and violence. They shoot each other, with no regard to the transparent bystanders caught in the crossfire. Crime and violence are not confined to their cliques, but have a chilling effect on entire communities. 19 A Ruthlessly Vicious Gang Of all the gangs known to law enforcement, Mara Salvatrucha, or MS13, is one o f the most violent. It started as a small Los Angeles street gang formed during the 1980s by immigrants from El Salvador. Now, however, it is among the largest and most dangerous gangs in the United States and Central America.According to the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), MS-13 has mushroomed into the size of a small armament and strives to be the most violent and feared gang in the world. 20 ICE states that MS-13 members have been convicted of murder, assault, extortion, kidnapping, theft, drug dealing, rape, robbery, and other violent crimes. One city that is plagued by the violence of MS-13 is Houston, Texas. Although larger gangs are active in the city, the FBI considers MS-13 to be of particular concern because members are often heavily armed and well trained in the use of weapons and assault tactics. 21 In January 2009 MS-13 gang members robbed a Houston beauty beauty shop at gunpoint and sexually assaulted an employee. They warned her not to go to the police, saying that if she did she would rue it. They also exist the beauty parlour owner, telling her that they would kill her if she reported the incident, and they demanded that she pay them a weekly protection fee of $100. The salon owner was scaredbut she was also angry. She had seen the same kinds of crimes committed in her native El Salvador, and she was determined to fight to keep them from happening in her adopted country.Even though she feared for her life and the lives of her family members, she went to the FBI and told agents what happened. During that visit she turned over a security watch tape that showed the gang members faces. About a week after the woman had not paid the protection money. In retaliation, two MS-13 gangbangers drove by the salon and sprayed the front door with bulletsbut they did not get away with the violent act. Because of the tapes and the salon owners cooperation, the FBI agents arrested seven members of the gang. As one agent explains Thi s case is proof that victims of crime should not suffer in silence. He adds that the salon owner, who was placed in protective custody by the FBI, was courageous to stand up to gang members, and as a result those gang members are now in jail. 22 Violent Communities Located on the shores of Lake Michigan, Chicago is often called one of Americas most beautiful cities. With its tree-lined neighborhoods of stately brownstone homes, the Magnificent grayback shopping district, prolific theaters and restaurants, and world-renowned museums, the city attracts tourists from many different countriesyet it also has a dark and dangerous side.Law enforcement officials estimate that 50 to 60 gangs are active in Chicago and that together, they have as many as 30,000 members. Armed gangbangers roam the streets of the South Side of Chicago, committing crimes and terrorizing the people who live there. A chilling testament to this gang violence is evident in one of the citys lesser-known monuments an arrangement of more than 150 landscaping stones, each bearing the name of a school-age child killed by gang violence since 2007. Police superintendent Jody Weis states that Chicago youth have become increasingly more violent over the years.He explains Theres simply too many gangs, too many guns and too many drugs on the streets. Weve got a problem with some of our young people . . . resorting to use of weapons and violence to solve any type of conflicts they may have. 23 Chicago has had a problem with gang violence for many years, but public outrage was sparked in 2007 when a 16-year-old honors student named Blair Holt was killed. Holt, who was not involved with a gang, was riding in a city bus with a friend when members of rival gangs started shooting at each other. He seek to shield his friend by pushing her down into a seat.His rarified act saved her life, but he was fatally shot in the stomach. Afterward, his father, a Chicago police officer, expressed his despair and frustra tion over gangs who do not think twice about killing people You wonder where it comes from. What causes a child to wantonly and blatantly hatch such an ill-conceived plan? To go out and do something like this? What makes them do it? Where is this coming from? What are the influences? 24 Chicago is far from alone in its ongoing struggle with gang violence. It is prevalent in communities all over the country.In South Carolina, for instance, the rate of gang violence has risen nearly 1,000 percent over the past decade, with the highest number of incidents reported in Colleton County. Although Colleton County is home to just 38,000 people, law enforcement investigators have identified about 20 active gangs with an estimated total of 400 members. According to Sheriff George Malone, The violence in Colleton County is out of control. 25 One incident occurred in November 2009 in the small town of Walterboro. A group of people were playing cards in the front yard of their home when a car pul led up and suddenly opened fire on the group.A 20-month-old toddler and 2 adults were killed 6 others were injured. Gangs in the Military According to the Justice Department, gang activity is on the upswing in the military. Members of every major street gang and some outlaw motorcycle gangs have been identified on both domestic and international military bases. One incident involved three soldiers stationed in Alaska who were charged with murder after killing a civilian as they shot at members of a rival gang. another(prenominal) involved a soldier who was arrested in October 2007 for the gang-related shooting of five people in Oklahoma.A 2009 Yale Law Journal article describes one case in which a marine sergeant who was a gang member shot his commanding officer and executive officerboth lieutenant colonelsand threatened to continue killing officers until his fellow gang members were released from confinement. 26 While on active duty, gang members may abuse their security privileges and access to weapons and other military equipment to further gang activities. For instance, military gang members may take advantage of their positions to engage in criminal acts such as trafficking outlawed drugs or weapons.According to the same article, a gang member in the army who was stationed in Iraq smuggled home four AK47 assault rifles that were later used to commit multiple bank robberies. After gang members have been discharged from the military, they remain a serious threat to society. They can use their combat skills against rival gangs and also teach those skills to others. The Justice Department says that this poses a potentially significant threat, as it explains Gang members with military training pose a unique threat to law enforcement personnel because of the distinctive military skills that they possess . . especially if gang members trained in weapons, tactics, and planning pass this instruction on to other gang members. 27 The Justice Department adds that su ch military training could ultimately result in more organized, sophisticated, and dangerous gangs as well as an increase of deadly assaults on law enforcement officers. Incarcerated Gangs Incarcerated gang members are every bit as threatening as those who are on the streets because gang members who are behind bars often control crimes that are committed outside of prison.One example is the Mexican Mafia (also known as the Eme), a violent prison gang with as many as 75,000 members. The incarcerated leaders rule over associates who are given the authority to order crimes in neighborhoods or cities. Tony Rafael, the author of the book The Mexican Mafia, explains Street gangsters very often are puppets of the big homies locked up in prison. The proof is overwhelming and plays itself out on an almost casual basis in almost every neighborhood in Southern California. 28Members of the Mexican Mafia and their associates have been connected with kidnapping, murder, drug trafficking, and exto rtion, among other crimes. According to Rafael, the gang has grown into a large, powerful, and violent organization. He writes It has far-reaching intelligence and communication theory systems, as well as a standing army of thousands of street soldiers. 29 Rafael adds that the Mexican Mafia continues to expand its power over street crime Most neighborhoods in Southern California that have a strong Hispanic street gang presence feel the power of the Mexican Mafia.It took local and state law enforcement over twenty years from the founding of the Mexican Mafia to recognize its influence on the streets. It took another two decades for federal law enforcement to address the Eme as a significant criminal organization. 30 Aside from controlling crime on the streets, these gangs are also involved in violent acts inside prisons. This is a serious problem in Ohio, where attacks in state prisons have doubled from nearly 500 in 2005 to more than 1,000 during 2008.Corrections officials say that part of the increase in violence is due to an influx of gangs such as the Heartless Felons, who are known for attacking prisoners in bands of six or more. Some of the worst violence has broken out at Mansfield Reformatory, a prison build for 1,536 inmates that now houses 2,475161 percent over capacity. These are dangerous times, says Shirley Pope, the director of the states punitive Institutional Inspection Committee. Mansfield is overcrowded. It is understaffed and on top of that, it has this peculiar group of younger inmates who have been described as incredibly vicious.An Ongoing Problem Whether they are terrorizing people in neighborhoods, committing crimes while in the military, or ruling over street crime from inside prisons, gangs are a significant problem all over the United States. Law enforcement officials report that gangs now have a presence in every U. S. state and the soil of Columbia, and gang membership appears to be growing. According to reports from local, sta te, and federal authorities, there is no sign that this situation will change anytime in the near future.