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1 Dennise Orlando-Morningstar, Prison Gangs 1 (1997)

handle is hein.congcourts/spneoffb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: n correctional institutions, there is a natural tendency for inmates to form groups, both formal and informal. One of the first documented prison gangs, the Gypsy Jokers, ap- peared in a Washington state penitentiary in the early 1950s. The first known prison gang with a national scope, the Mexican Mafia, emerged soon after, in 1957, in the California prison sys- tem. During the 1960s and '70s, prisoners formed gangs primarily to pro- tect themselves and to mo- nopolize illegal prison activities such as gambling, trading con- traband, narcotics trafficking, and committing contract mur- ders. The gangs' organization and operations mirrored those of street gangs and traditional organized crime families. Over the years, the type, nature, and number of prison gangs have changed dramatically. Prison gangs today range from na- tional supergangs to small re- gional gangs structured along paramilitary lines. Prison gangs are found in both state and fed- eral penitentiaries. Traditional prison gangs, such as the Texas Syndicate, the Mexican Mafia, and the Aryan Brotherhood, are char acterized by structure. They have distinct organizational hi- erarchies and constitutions- regulations that govern opera- tions, recruitment, misconduct, and membership. Most prison gangs recruit along ethnic or racial lines. Members are gen- erally over the age of 25 and have extensive experience with the criminal justice system. Mos~t havep lrpiclxj servedHtime in prison. Membership is usu- ally for life, and discipline is strict; members who violate the group's principles or directives may be assaulted or killed. The Federal Bureau of Pris- ons reports that prison gangs currently account for a high percentage of prison violence and are creating increasingly severe management problems in federal correctional institu- tions. Prison gangs have con- siderable influence over other inmates. Their criminal activi- ties include loan sharking, nar- cotics trafficking, protection, prostitution, robbery, witness intimidation, and murder. State and federal correctional offi- cials predict that as more people are incarcerated, the volume and intensity of gang- related problems will grow.

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