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Prison Gangs Essay Research Paper

Prison Gangs Essay, Research Paper


“Once inside, I was walked through a gauntlet of desperate men. Their


hot smell in the muggy corridor was as foul as their appearance. None of them


seemed to have a full set of front teeth. Many bore prominently displayed tattoos


of skulls or demons. One could argue whether it was the look of these men that


led them to prison or whether it was the prison that gave them their look. Just


looking at them made me fear for my life” (Hassine, 7). Most inmates in


correctional facilities felt the way that Victor Hassine felt on his first day in a


correctional facility in Pennsylvania called Graterford State Prison. New inmates


are seen as “fresh meat”. They fear their life. Most of these inmates find


sanctuary in gangs.


Inmates join gangs for protection. Gangs in correctional facilities are more


of a necessity, unlike street gangs. People don’t need a gang to survive in the


street because there are other ways one can find help, a family, protection,


belongingness, etc. But in correctional facilities one’s outlets are limited. One’s


preoccupation in jail is survival which leads inmates to change their habits,


personality, and even their values. Living in an environment where “an


unexpected smile could mean trouble, a man in uniform is not a friend, being


kind is a weakness, and eye contact is a threat” doesn’t leave one much of a


choice, does it?


There are numerous gangs in correctional facilities but among the most


common are the Latin Kings, Five Percent Nation, and the Netas. Some gangs in


these facilities are extensions of neighborhood street gangs. Their names are


based on their urban location, like the 21st and Norris Gang, the 60th and


Market Gang, and the 10th Street Gang in Philadelphia. There are also less


common prison gangs like Los Solidos, Latin Locos, G27, Nation, Brotherhood,


Elm City Boys, 20 Luv, and Esses. White gangs almost always originate in prison


and are a minority. They are not well-structured or well established. They are


usually made up of members who are often strangers to each other, most of


them brought together by the color of their skin. However, note that “when


researching the origin of gangs it is sometimes difficult to distinguish fact from


fiction or legend”(Walker, 1).


The Latin Kings are “primarily in correctional facilities and large


metropolitan areas throughout Connecticut, Chicago, and New York” (SE-GAG).


They are primarily Hispanic but some Italians, Portuguese, Jamaicans, and


Haitians have joined the Latin Kings. They have an “established hierarchy and


chain of command and have strict rules of adherence” (SE-GAG). They are the


oldest and largest Hispanic street gang which dates back to the 1940’s in


Chicago, Illinois. The gang was formed to “protect and preserve the identity of


their culture and aspired to the personal, social, and economic needs of it’s


people fearing verbal, mental, and physical attacks by their American


counterparts” (SE-GAG).


Netas originated in the jails of Puerto Rico during the 1970’s. Their


primary philosophy is to advocate peace and harmony among the inmates in jail.


They feel that they are part of an oppressed group of people “unwillfully”


governed in the United States. The Latin Kings were their rivals at one point but


now they are alliances. They are predominantly Hispanic with some White and


Black members. They have an established hierarchy including a president, vice


president, recruiter, secretary, sergeant of arms, and enforcer. They have 29


rules that all apply to the member’s behavior in correctional facilities. Some of


their rules include : do not steal, respect all inmates, if you want something pay


and if you think you can’t pay then don’t borrow , do not lustfully desire an


inmate’s visit, street beefs are dead in jail , respect the officers so that you can


be respected, don’t fight with your family, watch your personal hygiene, and If


you want to talk to the police take somebody with you to watch your back and be


a witness.


The G27’s are not common in the United States correctional facilities but


members of this gang have found their way into the United States jail system and


numbers are growing rapidly. They are a Hispanic gang that formed in the Puerto


Rico prison system in 1979. They are “bitter” enemies of the Netas. Members of


the G27’s cover their body with large tattoos of the Virgin Mary. But not much


else is known about this rapidly growing prison gang.


I interviewed Jake Alonso from Monmouth County Jail in Freehold,


New Jersey. He states that inmates in Monmouth County Jail do not call these


groups gangs. Members call their groups “organizations”. When I asked him why


he joined he said because “I don’t want a *censored* up my ass…when you claim one of


these organizations you don’t get *censored*ed with as much because you got your


peeps behind you”. In other words, they serve as protection. Furthermore he


states that it is the system and those people who are ignorant to gangs that call


them gangs. He said that each “organization” has their own history and that the


organizations are movements and went on to compare them to democrats and


republicans. They are rebels. He told me that when a child molester or rapist


comes in they beat him to a bloody pulp and make his life a living hell.


In order to belong to one of these “organizations” one must have a clean


record, which means no “rats” – no deals with the police. Jake is a member


of the Netas. According to him, in order to become a Neta you need to have a


clean record and be humble. It is a Hispanic gang, however, Whites, Asians, and


Blacks are also welcome to join. In order to become a Latin King you need to


have a clean record and you have to be Hispanic. Five Percent Nation is a Black


gang but they don’t care about your nationality or whether you have a clean


record or not. Members of the Five Percent Nation call each other Gods. It is a


religious “organization” .


However, Victor Hassine did not join a gang throughout his sentence in


Graterford State Prison, Pennsylvania. Hassine wrote a book in prison called Life


Without Parole in which he shares all the experiences he had been through as


an inmate in Pennsylvania’s largest and most violent penal institution. The


experiences he shares with us is quite different from what I have shared with you


thus far. However, most of the information in this book refers to over a decade


ago. It is a taste of all the changes that have occurred in correctional facilities.


Graterford State Prison was made up of over 80 percent White staff with


over 80 percent Black inmates. Inmates had to classify themselves as either a


White or a Black. It didn’t matter if you were Hispanic, Asian, or of any other


race. The person got to choose. Most gang members were already street gang


members which bore street names like the 60th street gang. So it was


geography that brought most gang members together. Philly gangs greatly


outnumbered any other gangs and most often excluded outsiders. Black inmates


that were not from Philly formed their own gangs which did not have as much


power. Black gangs competed with each other over turf and the control for


“contraband” sales. There were violent battles between them. Black gangs


primarily operated as money making enterprises.


“White gangs at Graterford were a completely different story” (Hassine,


63). They usually formed while seeking protection from other gang members.


“White gangs at Graterford were more likely to be small, improvised groups


rather than organized teams with specific agendas, and were generally much


less diverse than their Black counterparts” (Hassine, 63). Black gangs preferred


to have as many members as possible to protect their turf and generate more


interest but White gangs preferred to have a select few people to stretch their


resources. “White drug addicts tended to join together in order to pool their funds


to buy drugs at a volume discount” (Hassine, 63).


“The exceptions in Graterford were the outlaw motorcycle gangs that


successfully managed to entrench themselves within the prison system”


(Hassine, 64). The Hell’s Angels are one of the motorcycle gangs that were well


recognized and had the ability to compete with the Black gangs. They were


business oriented as well.


However, Victor Hassine did not join a gang. He had a few friends with


whom he played chess with everday; a Jew and a Muslim. He got into brawls like


everyone else but gang involvement was not a necessity for Hassine as it was


for Jake. During my interview with Jake, he made me feel the need


that most inmates have for gang involvement. It makes me think that the


environment in correctional facilities are tougher than they used to be. Perhaps if


Victor Hassine was sentenced to a prison now it would be much harder for him to


resist gang involvement. One thing is obvious though. It was much harder to


belong about a decade ago because the only races identifiable in correctional


faciities were White and Black. Now we have numerous Hispanic and Asian


gangs.


The research I have done has influenced me to clearly state that if I were


ever to be in such a situation, I would most definitely join one of these gangs or


organizations. I wouldn’t take the chance of standing alone in such an


atmosphere where you are seen as fresh new meat in every context of the word.


Would you?


“Once inside, I was walked through a gauntlet of desperate men. Their


hot smell in the muggy corridor was as foul as their appearance. None of them


seemed to have a full set of front teeth. Many bore prominently displayed tattoos


of skulls or demons. One could argue whether it was the look of these men that


led them to prison or whether it was the prison that gave them their look. Just


looking at them made me fear for my life” (Hassine, 7). Most inmates in


correctional facilities felt the way that Victor Hassine felt on his first day in a


correctional facility in Pennsylvania called Graterford State Prison. New inmates


are seen as “fresh meat”. They fear their life. Most of these inmates find


sanctuary in gangs.


Inmates join gangs for protection. Gangs in correctional facilities are more


of a necessity, unlike street gangs. People don’t need a gang to survive in the


street because there are other ways one can find help, a family, protection,


belongingness, etc. But in correctional facilities one’s outlets are limited. One’s


preoccupation in jail is survival which leads inmates to change their habits,


personality, and even their values. Living in an environment where “an


unexpected smile could mean trouble, a man in uniform is not a friend, being


kind is a weakness, and eye contact is a threat” doesn’t leave one much of a


choice, does it?


There are numerous gangs in correctional facilities but among the most


common are the Latin Kings, Five Percent Nation, and the Netas. Some gangs in


these facilities are extensions of neighborhood street gangs. Their names are


based on their urban location, like the 21st and Norris Gang, the 60th and


Market Gang, and the 10th Street Gang in Philadelphia. There are also less


common prison gangs like Los Solidos, Latin Locos, G27, Nation, Brotherhood,


Elm City Boys, 20 Luv, and Esses. White gangs almost always originate in prison


and are a minority. They are not well-structured or well established. They are


usually made up of members who are often strangers to each other, most of


them brought together by the color of their skin. However, note that “when


researching the origin of gangs it is sometimes difficult to distinguish fact from


fiction or legend”(Walker, 1).


The Latin Kings are “primarily in correctional facilities and large


metropolitan areas throughout Connecticut, Chicago, and New York” (SE-GAG).


They are primarily Hispanic but some Italians, Portuguese, Jamaicans, and


Haitians have joined the Latin Kings. They have an “established hierarchy and


chain of command and have strict rules of adherence” (SE-GAG). They are the


oldest and largest Hispanic street gang which dates back to the 1940’s in


Chicago, Illinois. The gang was formed to “protect and preserve the identity of


their culture and aspired to the personal, social, and economic needs of it’s


people fearing verbal, mental, and physical attacks by their American


counterparts” (SE-GAG).


Netas originated in the jails of Puerto Rico during the 1970’s. Their


primary philosophy is to advocate peace and harmony among the inmates in jail.


They feel that they are part of an oppressed group of people “unwillfully”


governed in the United States. The Latin Kings were their rivals at one point but


now they are alliances. They are predominantly Hispanic with some White and


Black members. They have an established hierarchy including a president, vice


president, recruiter, secretary, sergeant of arms, and enforcer. They have 29


rules that all apply to the member’s behavior in correctional facilities. Some of


their rules include : do not steal, respect all inmates, if you want something pay


and if you think you can’t pay then don’t borrow , do not lustfully desire an


inmate’s visit, street beefs are dead in jail , respect the officers so that you can


be respected, don’t fight with your family, watch your personal hygiene, and If


you want to talk to the police take somebody with you to watch your back and be


a witness.


The G27’s are not common in the United States correctional facilities but


members of this gang have found their way into the United States jail system and


numbers are growing rapidly. They are a Hispanic gang that formed in the Puerto


Rico prison system in 1979. They are “bitter” enemies of the Netas. Members of


the G27’s cover their body with large tattoos of the Virgin Mary. But not much


else is known about this rapidly growing prison gang.


I interviewed Fernando Garaicoa from Monmouth County Jail in Freehold,


New Jersey. He states that inmates in Monmouth County Jail do not call these


groups gangs. Members call their groups “organizations”. When I asked him why


he joined he said because “I don’t want a *censored* up my ass…when you claim one of


these organizations you don’t get *censored*ed with as much because you got your


peeps behind you”. In other words, they serve as protection. Furthermore he


states that it is the system and those people who are ignorant to gangs that call


them gangs. He said that each “organization” has their own history and that the


organizations are movements and went on to compare them to democrats and


republicans. They are rebels. He told me that when a child molester or rapist


comes in they beat him to a bloody pulp and make his life a living hell.


In order to belong to one of these “organizations” one must have a clean


record, which means no “rats” – no deals with the police. Fernando is a member


of the Netas. According to him, in order to become a Neta you need to have a


clean record and be humble. It is a Hispanic gang, however, Whites, Asians, and


Blacks are also welcome to join. In order to become a Latin King you need to


have a clean record and you have to be Hispanic. Five Percent Nation is a Black


gang but they don’t care about your nationality or whether you have a clean


record or not. Members of the Five Percent Nation call each other Gods. It is a


religious “organization” .


However, Victor Hassine did not join a gang throughout his sentence in


Graterford State Prison, Pennsylvania. Hassine wrote a book in prison called Life


Without Parole in which he shares all the experiences he had been through as


an inmate in Pennsylvania’s largest and most violent penal institution. The


experiences he shares with us is quite different from what I have shared with you


thus far. However, most of the information in this book refers to over a decade


ago. It is a taste of all the changes that have occurred in correctional facilities.


Graterford State Prison was made up of over 80 percent White staff with


over 80 percent Black inmates. Inmates had to classify themselves as either a


White or a Black. It didn’t matter if you were Hispanic, Asian, or of any other


race. The person got to choose. Most gang members were already street gang


members which bore street names like the 60th street gang. So it was


geography that brought most gang members together. Philly gangs greatly


outnumbered any other gangs and most often excluded outsiders. Black inmates


that were not from Philly formed their own gangs which did not have as much


power. Black gangs competed with each other over turf and the control for


“contraband” sales. There were violent battles between them. Black gangs


primarily operated as money making enterprises.


“White gangs at Graterford were a completely different story” (Hassine,


63). They usually formed while seeking protection from other gang members.


“White gangs at Graterford were more likely to be small, improvised groups


rather than organized teams with specific agendas, and were generally much


less diverse than their Black counterparts” (Hassine, 63). Black gangs preferred


to have as many members as possible to protect their turf and generate more


interest but White gangs preferred to have a select few people to stretch their


resources. “White drug addicts tended to join together in order to pool their funds


to buy drugs at a volume discount” (Hassine, 63).


“The exceptions in Graterford were the outlaw motorcycle gangs that


successfully managed to entrench themselves within the prison system”


(Hassine, 64). The Hell’s Angels are one of the motorcycle gangs that were well


recognized and had the ability to compete with the Black gangs. They were


business oriented as well.


However, Victor Hassine did not join a gang. He had a few friends with


whom he played chess with everday; a Jew and a Muslim. He got into brawls like


everyone else but gang involvement was not a necessity for Hassine as it was


for Fernando. During my interview with Fernando, he made me feel the need


that most inmates have for gang involvement. It makes me think that the


environment in correctional facilities are tougher than they used to be. Perhaps if


Victor Hassine was sentenced to a prison now it would be much harder for him to


resist gang involvement. One thing is obvious though. It was much harder to


belong about a decade ago because the only races identifiable in correctional


faciities were White and Black. Now we have numerous Hispanic and Asian


gangs.


The research I have done has influenced me to clearly state that if I were


ever to be in such a situation, I would most definitely join one of these gangs or


organizations. I wouldn’t take the chance of standing alone in such an


atmosphere where you are seen as fresh new meat in every context of the word.


Would you?


Alonso,Jake. Telephone Interview. 2 November 1999.


Hassine, Victor. Life Without Parole. California: Roxbury Publishing Company.


1996.


www.drw.net/loc1041/netas.html


www.gangsorus.com/g27gang.html


www.ctol.net/~segag


www.csun.edu/~hcchs006/8.html


www.dc.state.fl.us/security/reports/gangs/prison.html


www.hitech.com/cgia/gangs2000/menu.html


www.convictsandcops.com/gang.htm


www.chitown.com/bigshoulders/gngmltnk.html

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