Gang presence in the United States military

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About one to two percent of United States Armed Forces members are estimated to belong to criminal gangs in the United States, a much higher proportion than in the civilian population.

Contents

Extent

In 2008, according to FBI gang investigator Jennifer Simon, 1 to 2% of the U.S. military belonged to gangs, which is 50 to 100 times the rate in the general population. [1] According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment, the NGIC identified members of more than 53 gangs who served in the military. [2] U.S. gangs have sometimes encouraged their members to join the military in order to learn warfare techniques. [3]

The FBI’s 2007 report on gang membership in the military stated that the military's recruit screening process is ineffective, and allows gang members/extremists to enter the military. The report listed at least eight instances in the previous three years in which gang members obtained military weapons for their own use. [4]

The report "Gang Activity in the U.S. Armed Forces Increasing", dated January 12, 2007, stated that street gangs including the Bloods, Crips, Black Disciples, Gangster Disciples, Hells Angels, Latin Kings, The 18th Street Gang, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Mexican Mafia, Norteños, Sureños, and Vice Lords have been documented on military installations both domestic and international, although recruiting gang members violates military regulations. [5]

Notable cases

White power skinheads

In 1995, James N. Burmeister and Malcolm Wright Jr were charged in the murder of an African American couple in North Carolina. Burmeister and Wright were in the U.S. Army, and part of Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division. Burmeister and Wright were both arrested at a trailer park where police found a 9-mm semiautomatic pistol, a Nazi flag, white supremacist pamphlets, and other gang paraphernalia. Both men were sentenced to life in prison. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Former skinhead T.J. Leyden was in the U.S. Marines. He spent 15 years in the Skinhead movement before renouncing racism, and going to work as a consultant for Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. [10]

Gangster Disciples

On July 3, 2005, members of Gangster Disciples street gang killed Sergeant Juwan Johnson of the U.S. Army in the small town of Hohenecken near Ramstein, Germany. Prosecutors accused U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Rico Williams of being the first one to start attacking Johnson in a six-minute beating that he had to endure to join the gang. After the beating Johnson asked one of his fellow gang members to take him to the hospital, Williams then ordered his gang members not to take him there. Johnson later died from multiple blunt-force trauma injuries. According to the government's investigations, Williams was the leader of the gang set operating on base. Senior Airman Williams was sentenced to 22 years in prison, while other servicemen faced sentences ranging from 2 to 12 years. Some of the charges against the servicemen were: Williams, second-degree murder and witness tampering; Air Force Staff Sergeant Jerome Jones, conspiracy to commit assault, gang participation, and other charges; Airman Nicholas Sims and Army Sergeant Rodney Howell; involuntary manslaughter; Private Terrance Norman, voluntary manslaughter. [11] [12] [13]

Norteños

January 9, 2005, Officer Sam Ryno was first to respond to a call of a man with a gun in front of George's Liquors. Andres Raya, a U.S. Marine on leave after coming back from Iraq, was armed with an SKS rifle and opened fire on officers, hitting Officer Ryno and killing Sergeant Howard Stevenson. Raya was shot dead some time later after he opened fire on SWAT team members. [14]

Portrayed by local media as a calculated attack on law enforcement, the Stevenson slaying sparked attention from the national media which suggested that Raya snapped due to his experience in the Iraq War. [15] Family, friends, and fellow Marines close to Raya spoke of Raya's violent nightmares and distress which led to heavy drinking and drug use while on leave. However, local law enforcement officials claimed Raya had been involved in gangs for years prior to him signing up for military service. Modesto authorities discovered information during the investigation into the shooting that shows Raya was a Norteño gang member who was not involved in combat during his tour of duty in Iraq. A cooperative effort between the Stanislaus Sheriff's Detectives, local law enforcement, the FBI, NCIS, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Marine Corps revealed a large amount of information about Raya in a short amount of time. [16]

King Cobra Boys

In July 2000 in Orange County, California, members of the King Cobra Boys gang engaged in a fight with a rival gang named Lao Family. One of the King Cobra Boys gang members was in the U.S. Marines. He was stationed at MCAS Camp Pendleton. He worked in the Marines armory, and was experienced with weapons. Using his military training, he arranged his gang members in a location where they were able to observe and ambush the rival gang members. No one was fatally injured. Authorities later arrested the U.S. Marine gang member on base. A search warrant was executed at his residence where numerous military-issued manuals for machine guns and handguns were seized. [17] [18]

Gang graffiti in Iraq

U.S. gang-related graffiti has shown up in Iraq since the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003. Among the largest American street gangs represented in Iraq are the Gangster Disciples, Crips, Bloods, 18th Street, Norteños, Black Disciples, Sureños, Latin Kings, TAP Boyz, Tiny Rascal Gang, Vice Lords, and Black P. Stones, which originated in some of America's most violent and impoverished neighborhoods. [19] [20]

Reported gangs

The gangs present in the US military include: [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

A gang 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloods</span> Street gang founded in Los Angeles, California, US

The Bloods are a primarily African-American street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norteños</span> Group of street gangs in California

Norteños are the various, affiliated gangs that pay tribute to Nuestra Familia while in California state and federal correctional facilities. Norteños may refer to Northern California as Norte Califas. Their biggest rivals are the Sureños from Southern California. As of 2008, the statewide north–south dividing line between Norteños and Sureños was regarded as running through the southern end of the Central Valley. The gang's membership consists primarily of Mexican Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gangster Disciples</span> American Street Gang

The Gangster Disciple Nation, also known as Growth & Development, is an African American street and prison gang which was formed in 1968 by Larry Hoover and David Barksdale. The two rival gangsters united together to form the Black Gangster Disciple Nation (BGDN). Since 1989, after a decline in leadership caused friction between the two gangs, the BGDN has divided into different factions known today as the Gangster Disciple Nation and the other being the Black Disciple Nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crips</span> Street gang from Los Angeles, California

The Crips are an alliance of street gangs that is based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips were initially a single alliance between two autonomous gangs; it is now a loosely connected network of individual "sets", often engaged in open warfare with one another. Traditionally, since around 1973, its members have worn blue clothing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gangs in the United States</span> US criminal groups or organizations

Approximately 1.4 million people in the United States were part of gangs as of 2011, and more than 33,000 gangs were active in the country. These include national street gangs, local street gangs, prison gangs, outlaw motorcycle clubs, and ethnic and organized crime gangs.

The United Blood Nation, also known as the East Coast Bloods, is a street and prison gang active primarily in the New York metropolitan area. It is the east coast faction of the California-based Bloods street gang. Their main source of income is the trafficking and sale of illegal drugs.

The Trinitarios is an Dominican American criminal organization founded by Dominicans in New York City, New York in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sureños</span> Coalition of Mexican-American street gangs

Sureños ‍, also known as Southern United Raza, Sur 13 or Sureños X3, are groups of loosely affiliated gangs that pay tribute to the Mexican Mafia while in U.S. state and federal correctional facilities. Many Sureño gangs have rivalries with one another, and the only time this rivalry is set aside is when they enter the prison system. Thus, fighting is common among different Sureño gangs even though they share the same common identity. Sureños have emerged as a national gang in the United States.

The Asian Boyz, also known as ABZ, AB-26, or ABZ Crips, are a street gang based in Southern California. They were founded in the late 1980s to protect Cambodian refugees from other American gangs. According to the FBI, the gang has about 12,000 members, who are predominantly Southeast Asian and especially Cambodian. Many Asian Boyz are also members of the U.S. military, some of whom use their position to traffic drugs. According to the FBI's 2009 National Gang Threat Assessment, the Asian Boyz are active in 28 different cities in 14 different states across the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fresno Bulldogs</span> Street gang in Fresno, California

Fresno Bulldogs, or BDS for short, also known by the abbreviations FBD and F-14, are a primarily Mexican American criminal street and prison gang located in 559, California. They are considered to be one of the biggest drug gangs in Central California with membership estimated to be in the cities of Fresno, Selma, Kerman, Sanger, Clovis, Madera, San Joaquin, Coalinga, Huron, Mendota, Orange Cove, and Avenal. They are engaged in a wide range of criminal activity and have been subject to many high-profile cases over the years. Fresno Bulldogs are largely conflicted with other prison gangs and are the biggest Hispanic gang in California unaffiliated with Sureños or Norteños.

The US state of Georgia has seen a rise in the number of gangs over recent years, in the main focused on the illegal drug trade.

A prison gang is an inmate organization that operates within a prison system, that has a corporate entity, exists into perpetuity, and whose membership is restrictive, mutually exclusive, and often requires a lifetime commitment. Political scientist David Skarbekargues the emergence of prison gangs are due to the dramatic increase in the prison population and inmate's demand for safety. Skarbek observes that in a small, homogeneous environment, people can use social norms to interpret what behavior is acceptable, but a large, heterogeneous setting undermines social norms and acceptable behavior is more difficult to determine. Prison gangs are geographically and racially divided, and about 70% of prison gang members are in California and Texas. Skarbek suggests prison gangs function similar to a community responsibility system. Interactions between strangers are facilitated because you do not have to know an individual's reputation, only a gang's reputation. Some prison gangs are transplanted from the street. In some circumstances, prison gangs "outgrow" the internal world of life inside the penitentiary, and go on to engage in criminal activities on the outside. Gang umbrella organizations like the Folk Nation and People Nation have originated in prisons.

Memphis, Tennessee serves as the Southern headquarters for Tennessee based street organizations in the Southern United States. In 2021, there were approximately 102 gangs with 13,400 gang members in the city.

The Tiny Rascal Gang, or Raskals, is a primarily Cambodian-American gang based in Long Beach, California. During the 1990s, Mexican Mafia "green light" hit lists began including the TRG during the 1990s, and Sureños were soon at war with them. The Mexican Mafia ordered the West Side Longo gang to put aside its rivalry with the East Side Longo and support their former rivals against the TRG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project Wildfire</span> Major multi-agency and nationwide criminal investigation

Project Wildfire was a nationwide, multi-agency investigation of various transnational criminal gangs in 2015 that resulted in the arrests of 976 individuals, representing 239 different organizations, in 282 cities in the United States mainland and Puerto Rico. Eighty-two firearms, 5.2 kilograms of methamphetamine, 7.8 kilograms of marijuana, 5.6 kilograms of cocaine, 1.5 kilograms of heroin, US$379,399, counterfeit merchandise with a suggested retail price of US$547,534 and five vehicles were also seized.

The Florencia 13, also known as South Side Florencia 13,Florence Gang, F13 is an American criminal street gang based in Los Angeles, California, composed mainly of Mexican-Americans. The gang is named after the Florence area of Los Angeles County, controlled by the Mexican Mafia. They are involved in drug smuggling, murder, assault and robbery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gangs in Chicago</span> Gang activities in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Chicago is considered the most gang-occupied city in the United States, with 150,000 gang-affiliated denizens, representing more than 100 gangs. Gang warfare and retaliation is common in Chicago. Gangs were responsible for 61% of the homicides in Chicago in 2011.

References

  1. ↑ "Military Daily News - Military.com". Military.com.
  2. 1 2 "2011 National Gang Threat Assessment". Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  3. ↑ "2011 National Gang Threat Assessment". FBI. February 9, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2017. Some gangs, particularly OMGs, actively recruit members with military training or advise members without criminal records to join the military for necessary weapons and combat training.
  4. ↑ Stars and Stripes - Army defends recruit screening process
  5. ↑ - Gang-Related Activity in the US Armed Forces Increasing Archived August 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "Ex-soldier, jailed for racial killings". archive.armytimes.com. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Ex-G.I. at Fort Bragg Is Convicted in Killing of 2 Blacks". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Three white soldiers charged in killings of black couple". cnn.com. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Another Soldier Convicted in Race-Based Killings". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Former Skinhead T.J. Leyden Tells His Story". splcenter.org. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Airman convicted of murder in 2005 Gangster Disciples initiation death". stripes.com. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Former Air Force Airman Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison For Murder of Army Sergeant in Germany". justice.gov. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Rico Williams sentenced to 22 years in 2005 slaying". wjla.com. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  14. ↑ Finz, Stacy; Stannard, Matthew B. "Police shoot Marine dead after local sergeant is slain / Liquor store's video surveillance camera recorded shootout" from San Francisco Chronicle (January 11, 2005)
  15. ↑ Tempest, Rone. "Marine's Fatal Rampage Divides Grieving Town" from The New York Times (January 14, 2005)
  16. ↑ New Information About Andres Raya and His Gang Affiliation Archived 2015-02-03 at the Wayback Machine , press release from City of Ceres (January 14, 2005)
  17. ↑ "Gang members in the Military" (PDF). CDoJ. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "Gang activity in the U.S. Military". usmilitary.about.com. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  19. ↑ https://arthurmag.com/2006/06/11/gangs-claim-their-turf-in-iraq/, Chicago Sun-Times , May 1, 2006
  20. ↑ "Military-Trained Gang Members Worry Police". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. Archived from the original on 2011-08-04. Retrieved 2006-06-04.
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