SECURITY THREAT GROUP GANGS IN PRISONS

Security Threat Group Gangs in Prisons



Security Threat Group Gangs in Prisons

Introduction

The number of gangs and gang members in the United States varies from year to year. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, all large cities of over 250,000 people reported gang activity, with 91 percent indicating that at least one criminal homicide was gang related. Among gang researchers and anti-gang units studying this socio-legal problem, a generalized count indicates that gangs are most prevalent in large and midsized cities while the least amount of reported gang activity occurs in rural counties in the United States.

The most common gang type is a street or juvenile gang. Although officials estimate that gang membership and activity dropped in 2001 from the 1990s, currently estimates are that more than 25,000 gangs with about 800,000 gang members are active. In general, the larger the populated area, the larger the percentage of reported gang activity; this activity is closely aligned with the poor inner city communities.

The Aryan Brotherhood, The Ku Klux Klan, The Folks, The Nation of Islam and MS 13

There are many gangs in prisons. Each gang has individual beliefs, missions, and ways of doing business. Some are more prominent in certain areas than others and their population may be growing or declining, but whatever the gang is, they are all dangerous. Five gangs that are considered to be security threat groups are the Aryan Brotherhood, the Ku Klux Klan, the Folks Nation, the MS-13, and the Nation of Islam. The top ten gang states as of 1995 were Texas, California, Illinois, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Ohio, and Indiana. Gang activity has increased from the 1970's where the estimated total of gang counties had increased from 73 counties to 201 counties in America. (Meadows, 2007).

The Ku Klux Klan began their acts of violence against African Americans in the 19th century. (Shusta, 2005). The first branch of the Ku Klux Klan was established in Pulaski, Tennessee, in May of 1866 and is one of the oldest gangs in America. Most of the leaders were former members of the Confederate Army and the first Grand Wizard was Nathan Forrest, an outstanding general during the American Civil War. (Avery, 2005). It is one of the most glaringly anti-Semitic organizations is the Ku Klux Klan. They hate all who are different or in this particular gang, African Americans. (Shusta, 2005).

Congress passed the Ku Klux Act in1871 which gave the president power to interfere in troubled states with authority to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in countries where KKK gang disturbances had occurred. However, because its objective of white supremacy in the South had been achieved, the organization practically disappeared, but in 1915, the Ku Klux Klan was reformed by William J. Simmons. The KKK gang has been on both the rise and fall since it was started holding group meetings and setting crosses on fire. (Avery 2005). Different Ku Klux Klan gang groups include Alabama White Knights of the KKK, America's ...