As west coast gangs like the Bloods and Crips spread across America, many wonder how it is happening so fast. As this article makes clear, imprisonment is one of the most useful tools for gang members to spread their ideology. The sociological theory ‘differential association’ says that prison is a school for crime, not a place for rehabilitation as its proponents would have us believe. As one of my friends said recently, “When I was locked up I had to either mind my own business and read on my own or chill with the dudes inside and learn how to be a better criminal… so I minded my own business and just did my time.” The following quote is a good part of this article that speaks to my point:
The ranks of the two gangs appear to be growing locally, in part, because of men returning from jail or prison who joined the gangs for protection behind bars. In Trinidad, some of those men are persuading neighborhood crews to affiliate with a gang, police said.
“For survival in prison, they align themselves with these gangs, like the Bloods, the Crips, the Latin Kings. Now they are coming back to the neighborhood and bringing what they learned,” said a D.C. law enforcement source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.
West Coast Gangs Are Making Inroads
Two members of the Athens Park Bloods set in L.A. depicted in the best movie/documentary ever, “Bastards of the Party” by Cle “Bone” Sloan an inactive member of the APB. The one on the right has been killed.
Washington D.C. – The emergence of Bloods and Crips, gangs that originated on the West Coast and are establishing themselves in the Washington area, has contributed to several homicides in Prince George’s County this year and has become a growing concern in the District, law enforcement officials said.
Bloods, and to a lesser degree their rival Crips, are suspects in several crimes in a wide swath from Prince William County to Baltimore. “We are seeing their numbers growing right now,” said Capt. Bill Lynn, commander of the Prince George’s police gang unit. “The Crips and Bloods are the focus for law enforcement now, not only here but around the region, because of the violence they perpetrate.”
In the District’s Trinidad neighborhood, which had a spate of violence this summer, young people are wearing the Bloods’ colors, flashing the gang’s hand signs and selling drugs near a community recreation center, authorities said. Police said they have not tied Bloods to any homicides in the Northeast neighborhood.
In Montgomery County, authorities linked a shooting and three stabbings near the Shady Grove Metro station in November to a feud between Bloods and Crips; two men have been convicted in the case. And in Baltimore, a federal grand jury in February indicted 28 members of a gang called the Tree Top Piru Bloods on charges including murder, robbery, drug trafficking and witness intimidation.
In Prince William, two members of a Bloods “set,” or group, were convicted last year on a gang statute after breaking into a police officer’s house to steal guns and attacking his girlfriend.
“We’ve started seeing more and more signs of the Crips and Bloods — more Bloods than Crips,” said D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, speaking about the gang problem. “We are seeing a growing presence in the graffiti, the clothing, the symbols.”
Among the signs, she said, are an increasing number of young men who have the dog paw brand or tattoo, sometimes called Triple O’s, on the right side of their bodies, which is common among Bloods.
Crips burn or tattoo such symbols as the six-pointed Star of David on their left sides, law enforcement officials said. Bloods are associated with the color red; Crips, with blue.
“There is some indication of activity in the District based on tagging, graffiti and people flying colors and throwing signs,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Albert Herring, who specializes in gang intervention and prevention in the District. “I think what’s difficult to determine at this point is how much of that activity is associated with people who are actually Bloods, in sanctioned sets, and people who are claiming to be affiliated but are not.”
Some authorities said local gangs might be copying what they perceive to be the behavior of two predominantly African American gangs sometimes glamorized in popular culture.
Bob Bermingham, Fairfax County’s gang prevention coordinator, said that the two gangs are no more active than others in his county but that more local crews are taking their names. “They run around saying we are the Ravenswood Boys, and everybody says, ‘So what?’ ” he said. “But if they say they’re the Ravenswood Bloods, suddenly they have some credibility.”
Lynn, of the Prince George’s police, said that even if local gang affiliates might be less organized than established sets elsewhere, they are no less dangerous. “A lot of people like to say someone is a ‘wannabe,’ ” he said. “Someone who wants to be is more dangerous than someone who is because they are trying to prove something.”
The ranks of the two gangs appear to be growing locally, in part, because of men returning from jail or prison who joined the gangs for protection behind bars. In Trinidad, some of those men are persuading neighborhood crews to affiliate with a gang, police said.
“For survival in prison, they align themselves with these gangs, like the Bloods, the Crips, the Latin Kings. Now they are coming back to the neighborhood and bringing what they learned,” said a D.C. law enforcement source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.
Authorities said that about 25 percent of the 1,300 inmates in the Prince George’s jail are affiliated with gangs and that more than 60 percent of the gang members are Bloods. Last year, Maryland corrections officials started a task force to address gang activity in prison. Virginia officials have identified about 2,000 Bloods and 700 Crips in state prisons.
Other gang members are moving from New York and Los Angeles to avoid more aggressive law enforcement, said Tony Avendorph, a Prince George’s detective who trains gang investigators across the country. Once here, they recruit members, often incorporating existing crews, and then use new members “as the fall guys” to escape arrest, Avendorph said.
Much of the county’s intelligence comes from members who have been arrested. Police estimate there are at least 280 gangs in Prince George’s, including neighborhood crews, with 3,500 or more members. Officials said Bloods outnumber Crips, but they did not provide specific numbers. “If you approach them right, they will offer right out that they are a member of the Crips or Bloods because they are proud of it,” Lynn said.
The Montgomery police special investigations division has counted 35 active gangs, with a total of 1,057 members, about 36 percent Hispanic and 33 percent African American, according to preliminary figures compiled in June. Officers did not specify how many members belong to each gang.
In the District’s Trinidad neighborhood, Bloods make a point of being visible. “There’s a rec center in the neighborhood. Ride by there sometime and see how much red you see,” the D.C. law enforcement source said. “What’s scary is that there is a tot lot right next door. You’ll see little kids playing and these guys standing around in their red.”
At a news conference Wednesday, Lanier said Bloods were operating in Trinidad, but she declined to say whether they were involved in the drug trade or were among the 77 people arrested on drug-related charges in the neighborhood since June.
More than a year ago, the Alliance for Concerned Men, which contracts with the District to help reduce violence, began confiscating red and blue bandannas from youth calling themselves Crips or Bloods, mostly in the Shaw area of Northwest, alliance members said.
Ronald Moten, co-founder of the Peaceoholics, said there are signs of gang activity in several places where youths are wearing red, some claiming to be Bloods. But Moten said the Bloods and Crips, which nationally have a more formal structure than most neighborhood crews, are not so entrenched that they can’t be stopped.
“We’re trying to come up with alternatives for people who are involved so that they can get out of it,” Moten said.
Authorities said both gangs are known for dealing drugs and carrying powerful guns but have diversified from trafficking in drugs and weapons.
“The Crips and Bloods are also now into crimes that are not normally associated with African American street gangs, such as identify theft, Social Security fraud, credit card fraud and mortgage fraud,” Avendorph said. “They’re also into bank robbery and prostitution. They are bringing girls from California here.”
Law enforcement officials said local crews are associating with the bigger gangs to attain power and recognition. “These are largely militaristic, bureaucratic organizations, and they get backing from the larger gang . . . so they are not out there by themselves,” said Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler (D), who launched a statewide gang task force. “There’s also a little bit of a status thing as well.”
A former member of the Bloods in Prince George’s said his neighborhood crew affiliated with the gang about four years ago. “It meant power and numbers,” said the young man, who spoke anonymously for fear of retribution. “The more people you got, the more established you’ll be. And fewer people will try to beef with you.”
He described a life of drug dealing, money and guns. He also said he was arrested eight times and went to jail for gun and drug crimes. His longest stint was three months. “Jail goes with the territory,” he said.
In response to the growing gang problem, the Prince George’s police gang unit has been expanded from five to 15 members. County State’s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey (D) has recruited a former federal gang prosecutor who obtained an indictment in a case involving Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, under a new Maryland law that increases sentences for gang-related crimes. Gansler has offered his team of designated gang prosecutors to assist Ivey’s office.
Meanwhile, the gangs keep staking out turf, leaving behind their blue and red graffiti, police said.
“What they are saying is, ‘This is our territory,’ ” Lynn said. “They are marking it, much like dogs do when they go outside. They are saying, ‘We are here.’ “
Staff writers Clarence Williams, Robert E. Pierre and Dan Morse contributed to this story.
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