Gangs of America:The Bloods

By Adam Federman

West Coast History: Piru Street Boys

• 1971 – massive numbers of Crips on the West Coast, especially L.A.

• Operated in “sets” or different branches (Avalon Garden Crips, Inglewood Crips).

• Piru Street Gang, once a Crip set in Compton, California, broke off during an internal gang war.

• Allied with other smaller gangs and declared themselves “The Bloods”

East Coast History: United Blood Nation

• Latin Kings, a primarily Hispanic gang, were prevalent in N.Y.C. jail system on Rikers Island

• Violently targeted black inmates

• 1993 – African American inmates formed the United Blood Nation as a protection system.

• Emulated the Bloods of L.A.

Growth• West Coast Bloods and their East Coast

counterparts of the United Blood Nation spread and converged across the country.

• 1996 – thousands of individuals officially declared themselves Blood affiliates.

• Currently around 200 known Blood sets in the U.S., all varying in size.

• Bloods exhibited more frequent and more violence than any other gang.

• Recruiting campaigns constantly took place, mainly on the East Coast.

Membership• Each set has leader (older member with more extensive criminal background)• No known national leader - sets run hierarchies• Levels of membership indicate status• Leader is not elected - asserts himself by developing criminal enterprises through reputation for violence, personal charisma, and ruthlessness.• Members called “Soldiers” - strong sense of commitment to set• Extremely dangerous because of willingness to use violence to obtain respect and punish those who disrespect.

Membership Cont.• Majority are African American males from early teens to mid-twenties

• Bloods recruit heavily among school-age youth in predominantly poor African American communities.

• Gang membership offers youth a sense of belonging and protection.

• Immediate gratification to economically disadvantaged youth: gold jewelry, cash, expensive sports clothing

Identification: Colors and Clothing

• The declared Bloods color is red

• “Starter” jackets show their gang color

• Clothing from sports teams such as the San Francisco Forty Niners, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Chicago Bulls

• Known to wear Dallas Cowboys clothing, whose logo contains a five - pointed star

Identification: Symbols and Slogans• Common Blood symbols:

– number “5”

– five pointed star

– five pointed crown

• Common slogan: “Hit a crip in the lip and watch the true colors drip”

Identification: Graffiti• Traditional territorial graffiti• Graffiti includes:– Gang name– Nicknames– Declaration of loyalty– Threats against rival gangs– Description of criminal acts in

which the gang has been involved

– Word “Piru” - respect to the first known Blood gang

– Emphasizes Crip and other gang symbols drawn upside down.

– Insult to rival group and its symbols

Identification: Communication

• Bloods members have a unique slang

• Greet with word “blood”

• Avoid using words with letter “C”

• Hand signs to communicate with one another

• Singular movements (the American Sign Language letter “B”) or a series of movements using both hands for more complex phrases

Blood Initiation and Ranking System

• United Blood Nation (East Coast) initiation consists of a dog-paw mark – three dots burned with a cigarette on the right shoulder

• Slashings, murders, and robberies are all typical acts performed by recruits as initiation into the Bloods

Alliances and Rivalries

• Bloods are a member of the People Nation Alliance, including:

- Latin Counts- Latin Kings- Latin Saints- Spanish Lords- Vice Lord Nation

• Bloods biggest rivals include the Crips and all gangs associated with the Folk Nation Gang Alliance

• Have been instances when Bloods have worked with traditional rival gangs when it benefits enterprises of both gangs

• These alliances were established in the 1980s to protect alliance members within the federal and state prison systems

- Black Peace Stones- Cobra Stones- Insane Popes- Insane Unknown- King Cobras

Famous Blood Members

Lil’ Wayne The Game

Sources

http://www.knowgangs.com/gang_resources/profiles/bloods/

http://www.insideprison.com/prison_gang_profile_BL.asp

http://www.gripe4rkids.org/BLhis.html

http://www.streetgangs.com/history/hist01.html

http://www.streetgangs.com/movies/bloodsrise.html