Crip gang member with tattoos. Founded by and Founding location Los Angeles, California, United States Years active 1969–present Territory United States Ethnicity Mostly African American Membership (est.) 30,000 to 55,000 in 2008 Criminal activities Drug trafficking, robbery, murder, burglary, illegal gambling, theft Allies, Rivals, Piru Street Boys, (certain sets), Tree Top Pirus, Avenue Piru Gang The Crips, also known as Original Crip Homies ( OCH), are a based in the coastal regions of.

1. Bloods Gang Graffiti
2. Bloods Gang Info

• Bloods members identify themselves through various gang indicators such as colors, clothing, symbols, tattoos, jewelry, graffiti, language, and hand signs.
• Nov 8, 2017 - Prosecutors said the violent gang defended their territory with weapons.

They were founded in in 1969 mainly by and. Once a single alliance between two autonomous gangs, they are now a loosely connected network of individual 'sets', often engaged in open warfare with one another. Its members traditionally wear blue clothing, a practice that has waned somewhat due to police crackdowns specifically targeting gang members. Historically, members have been primarily of heritage. The Crips are one of the largest and most violent associations of street gangs in the United States. With an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 members in 2008, they have been involved in murders, robberies and drug dealing, among other crimes.

Crips have a long and bitter rivalry with the. Contents. History met in 1969, and the two decided to unite their local gang members from the west and east sides of in order to battle neighboring street gangs. Most of the members were 17 years old.

This profile of the the Bloods provides an overview of the gang's history size, location, ethnic makeup, factions, territories, and interaction with law enforcement.

Williams discounted the sometimes cited founding date of 1969 in his memoir, Blue Rage, Black Redemption. Gang activity in South Central Los Angeles has its roots in a variety of factors dating back to the 1950s and '60s, including post-World War II economic decline leading to joblessness and poverty, racial segregation leading to the formation of black 'street clubs' by young men who were excluded from organizations such as the, and the waning of organizations such as the and the. By 1978, there were 45 Crips gangs, called sets, operating in Los Angeles. They were heavily involved in the production of PCP, marijuana and amphetamines. On March 11, 1979, Stanley Tookie Williams, a member of the Westside Crips, was arrested for four murders and on August 8, 1979, Raymond Washington was gunned down. Washington had been against Crip infighting and after his death several Crip sets started fighting against each other.

The Crips leadership was dismantled prompting a deadly gang war between the Rollin' 60 Neighborhood Crips and Eight Tray Gangster Crips which began causing nearby Crip sets to choose sides and align themselves with either the Gangster Crips or Neighborhood Crips waging an all out war in South Central and other cities. The East Coast Crips and the Hoover Crips directly severed their alliance after Washington's death. By 1980, the Crips were in turmoil, warring with the Bloods and against each other. The growth and power of the gang really took off in the early 1980s when hit the streets. In the early 1980s, Crips sets began distributing crack cocaine in Los Angeles.

The huge profits from distribution of crack cocaine induced many Crips to establish new markets in other cities and states. As a result, Crip membership grew steadily and by late 1980s it was one of the largest street gangs in the country.

In 1999, there were at least 600 Crips sets with more than 30,000 members transporting drugs in the United States. Crip graffiti tag in Olympia, Washington Some sources suggest that the original name for the alliance, 'Cribs', was a name narrowed down from a list of many options, and chosen unanimously from three final choices, which included the Black Overlords, and the Assassins.

Cribs was chosen to reflect the young age of the majority of the gang members. The name 'Cribs' evolved into the name 'Crips' when gang members began carrying around canes to display their ' status.

People in the neighborhood then began calling them cripples, or 'Crips' for short. A Los Angeles Sentinel article in February 1972 referred to some members as 'Crips' (for cripples). Another source suggests 'Crips' may have evolved from 'Cripplers', a 1970s street gang in of which Raymond Washington was a member. The name had no political, organizational, cryptic, or acronymic meaning, though some have suggested it stands for 'Common Revolution In Progress', a. According to the film directed by a member of the Bloods, the name represented 'Community Revolutionary Interparty Service' or 'Community Reform Interparty Service'. Williams, in his memoir, further refuted claims that the group was a spin-off of the or formed for a community agenda, the name 'depicted a fighting alliance against street gangs—nothing more, nothing less.' Washington, who attended Fremont High School, was the leader of the East Side Crips, and Williams, who attended Washington High School, led the West Side Crips.

A Crip Williams recalled that a blue bandana was first worn by Crips founding member Buddha, as a part of his color-coordinated clothing of blue Levi's, a blue shirt, and dark blue suspenders. A blue bandana was worn in tribute to Buddha after he was shot and killed on February 23, 1973, which eventually became the color of blue associated with Crips. Chain of command Initially, Crips leaders did not occupy leadership positions, but were recognized as leaders because of their personal charisma and influence.

These leaders gave priority to expanding the gang's membership to increase its power. The gang became increasingly violent as they attempted to expand their turf.

Membership The Crips have over 800 sets with 30,000 to 35,000 members and associate members, including more than 13,000 members in Los Angeles. The states with the highest estimated number of 'Crips sets' are California, Florida and Illinois. Members typically consist of young African-American men, with some members being white, Hispanic, Asian, and Pacific Islander. In 1992 the LAPD estimated 15,742 Crips in 108 sets; other source estimates were 30,000 to 35,000 in 600 sets in California. Crips have served in the and on bases in the United States and abroad. Crip on Crip rivalries.

See also: The Crips became popular throughout southern Los Angeles as more youth gangs joined; at one point they outnumbered non-Crip gangs by 3 to 1, sparking disputes with non-Crip gangs, including the L.A. Brims, Athens Park Boys, the Bishops, The Drill Company, and the Denver Lanes. By 1971 the gang's notoriety had spread across Los Angeles. By 1971, a gang on Piru Street in, known as the, was formed and associated themselves with the Crips as a set.

After two years of peace, a feud began between the Piru Street Boys and the other Crip sets. It would later turn violent as gang warfare ensued between former allies. This battle continued and by 1973, the Piru Street Boys wanted to end the violence and called a meeting with other gangs that were targeted by the Crips.

After a long discussion, the broke all connections to the Crips and started an organization that would later be called the, a street gang infamous for its rivalry with the Crips. Since then, other conflicts and feuds were started between many of the remaining sets of the Crips gang. It is a popular misconception that Crips sets feud only with Bloods.

In reality, they fight each other—for example, the Rolling 60s Neighborhood Crips and 83 Gangster Crips have been rivals since 1979. In, the Grape Street Crips and the PJ Watts Crips have feuded so much that the PJ Watts Crips even teamed up with a local Blood set, the Bounty Hunter Bloods, to fight against the Grape Street Crips. In the mid 1990s, the Hoover Crips rivalries and wars with other Crip gangs caused them to become independent and to refrain from using the Crip name, calling themselves the Hoover Criminals instead of Hoover Crips. Alliances and rivalries Rivalry with Bloods The primary rival of the Crips is the street-gang. The rivalry dates back to the 1960s when Raymond Washington and several other Crips confronted Sylvester Scott and Benson Owens, students. In response to the attack, Scott, who lived in Compton, established the Piru street-gang, the first 'Bloods' street gang. Owens established the West Piru street-gang.

The Bloods street-gang was initially formed to provide members protection from the Crips. In late 1972, several gangs that felt victimized by the Crips due to their escalating attacks joined the Piru Street Boys to create a new federation of non-Crip gangs which would later become known as Bloods.

Between 1972 and 1979, the rivalry between the Bloods and Crips would grow, accounting for a majority of the gang-related murders in southern Los Angeles. Gang members of the Bloods and Crips occasionally fight against each other and are responsible for a significant portion of gang-related murders in Los Angeles. Alliance with Folk Nation In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as many Crip gang members were being sent to various prisons across the country, an alliance was formed between the Crips and the in Midwest and Southern U.S.

This alliance was established as a means of protecting gang members incarcerated in state and federal and prison systems. This alliance is strong within the prisons however is less effective outside them. The alliance between Folks and Crips is known as 8-ball.

A broken 8-ball would indicate a beef or disagreement between Folks and Crips. 'BK' ('blood killer') graffiti, Some practices of Crip gang life generally include and substitutions and deletions of particular letters of the alphabet. The letter 'b' in the word 'blood' will be 'disrespected' among certain sets and written with a cross inside it because of its association with the enemy. The letters 'CK', which stand for 'Crip killer', will be avoided and substituted with a double 'cc', and the letter 'b' will be replaced. The words 'kick back' will instead be written as 'kicc bkacc'. Many other letters are also altered due to symbolic associations.

Crips traditionally refer to each other as 'Cuzz', which itself is sometimes used as a moniker for Crip. 'Crab' is the most disrespectful epithet to call a Crip, and can warrant fatal retaliation. Crips in prison modules during the 1970s and 1980s would sometimes speak in to maintain privacy from guards and rival gangs. Department of Justice, Crips. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Florida Department of Corrections. Archived from on 2002-10-27.

Retrieved 2009-06-21. Gang Prevention Services. Archived from on 2009-05-12. Retrieved 2009-06-21.

Gang Prevention Services. Archived from on 2011-02-05. Retrieved 2009-06-21., Police Law Enforcement Magazine February 29 2008. Gangs and Security Threat Group Awareness. Florida Department of Corrections. Archived from on 2010-03-12. Retrieved 2009-06-21.

15 February 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2017.

^ Williams, Stanley Tookie; Smiley, Tavis (2007). Blue Rage, Black Redemption. Simon & Schuster. Xvii–xix, 91–92, 136. Stacy Peralta (Director), Stacy Peralta & Sam George (writers), Baron Davis et al. (producer), Steve Luczo, Quincy “QD3” Jones III (executive producer) (2009).

PBS Independent Lens series. Retrieved 2009-05-15. PBS (part of the 'Crips and Bloods: Made in America' TV documentary). April 21, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2009. Sharkey, Betsy (2009-02-06). Los Angeles Times.

Retrieved May 16, 2009. Cle Sloan (Director), Antoine Fuqua and Cle Sloan (producer), Jack Gulick (executive producer) (2009). Keith Salmon, ed.

Retrieved May 15, 2009. National Geographic Channel. Archived from on August 4, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2009.

Dunn, William (2008). Covey, Herbert. Crips and Bloods: A Guide to an American Subculture: A Guide to an American Subculture. McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. Retrieved 2009-06-21. Capozzoli, Thomas and McVey, R. Steve (1999).

Kids Killing Kids: Managing Violence and Gangs in Schools. Lucie Press, Boca Raton, Florida,. 2007-04-16 at the. Retrieved 2007-05-04. Smith, Debra; Whitmore, Kathryn F. Literacy and Advocacy in Adolescent Family, Gang, School, and Juvenile Court Communities. Simpson, Colton (2005).

Inside the Crips: Life Inside L.A.' S Most Notorious Gang. Martin's Press.

Simpson, Colton (2005). Inside the Crips: Life Inside L.A.' S Most Notorious Gang. Martin's Press. Leon Bing (1991). Do or Die: America's Most Notorious Gangs Speak for Themselves. Yusuf Jah, Sister Shah'keyah, UPRISING: Crips and Bloods Tell the Story of America's Youth In The Crossfire,.

Capozzoli, Thomas og McVey, R. Steve (1999).

Kids Killing Kids: Managing Violence and Gangs in Schools. Lucie Press, Boca Raton, Florida, side. 72.

National Drug Intelligence Center (2002). Department of Justice.

Retrieved 2009-06-21. Shakur, Sanyika (1993). Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member, Atlantic Monthly Pr,.

Colton Simpson, Ann Pearlman, (Foreword) (2005). Inside the Crips: Life Inside L.A.' S Most Notorious Gang (HB). Smith, Debra; Whitmore, Kathryn F. Literacy and Advocacy in Adolescent Family, Gang, School, and Juvenile Court Communities.

Blue Rage, Black Redemption: A Memoir (PB) External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to. – The origin of the name Crips.

Los Angeles Crips and Bloods: Past and Present Los Angeles Crips and Bloods: Past and Present Julia Dunn Poverty & Prejudice: Gangs of All Colors 'A gang is an interstitial group, originally formed spontaneously, and then integrated through conflict. It is characterized by the following types of behavior: meeting face to face, milling, movement through space as a unit, conflict, and planning. The result of this collective behavior is the development of tradition, unreflective internal structure, esprit de corps, solidarity, morale, group awareness, and attachment to a local territory' 1. African-American gangs began to emerge in the Los Angeles area during the 1920's, which was in concordance with the large black population in the city.

The gangs in existence at this particular time in history were not territorial. On the other hand, they were 'loose associations, unorganized, and rarely violent' 2. Moreover, they did not employ monikers, graffiti, or various other gang characteristics to identify themselves. Gangs of the 1920's and 1930's were composed mainly of family members and friends, and they were involved only in very limited criminal actions.

In fact, the main purpose of these criminal activities was to transmit a ' 'tough guy' image and to provide an easy means of obtaining money' 3. During the 1920's and 1930's, gangs such as the 'Goodlows,' 'Kelleys,' 'Magnificents,' 'Driver Brothers,' 'Boozies,' and the 'Bloodgetts' wandered the streets of Los Angeles. All of these gangs committed petty crimes in comparison to gangs today. The 'Boozies,' for example, consisted of brothers and their friends who engaged in prostitution, theft and forgery. As the 1940's approached, black gangs were beginning to grow in numbers. Gangs including the 'Purple Hearts,' '31st Street,' and '28th Street' emerged in this decade, and their activities were very similar to those of gangs in the 20's and 30's.

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In addition to theft, prostitution and forgery, gangs of the 1940's were involved in extortion and gambling. 'They were very effective in forcing local merchants to pay the gangsters for protection, which amounted to paying the gang not to burn the merchant's store' 4. The 1950's witnessed the arrival of car 'clubs,' which included the 'Low Riders,' 'Coasters,' 'Highwaymen,' 'Road Devils,' 'Businessmen,' 'Gladiators,' 'Slausons,' 'Rebel Rousers,' 'Huns,' 'Watts Farmers,' and the 'Blood Alley.' These particular gangs were extremely protective of their territory, however, they were not organized very well and did not consist of many members. The activities of the gangs remained the same in relation to previous decades. Any conflicts that did arise between gangs occurred when rival gang members found themselves in an enemy's territory.

As was generally the case, each gang would gather it's members together, meet in a deserted lot or park and physically fight to the end. The gang with the most people standing at the conclusion of the fight was declared the winner, and the losers would simply limp home and recover. Weapons, such as chains, knives, and bats, were used occasionally in these rival conflicts. These types of weapons are in stark contrast to the commonly used semi-automatic handguns and AK-47's in today's gang fights. As the 1950's came to an end and the next decade emerged, car 'clubs' began to languish and more organized groups came to the forefront. The late 1960's was the site of the development of what would be one of the most violent and unlawful African-American gangs in the history of Los Angeles, the Crips. It all began with the creation of a small gang called the 'Baby Avenues' by two South Central Los Angeles high school students, Raymond Washington and Tookie.

These young men soon began referring to their gang as the 'Cribs,' which is thought to have eventually given rise to the current name of the South Central gang, the Crips. Raymond and Tookie claimed to have started this particular gang as a means of protection against other gangs in the area who were committing various crimes. The activities of the Crips originated on high school campuses throughout the Los Angeles area. Freemont High School was the home for the 'Eastside Crips,' and the 'Westside Crips' originated on the opposite side of the 110 Harbor Freeway. In addition, another faction of Crips was formed in the Compton area of Los Angeles, which came to known as the 'Compton Crips.'

Nearly a decade after the institution of this particular gang, 'the Crips had grown from a small Los Angeles gang to an organization with membership spread across the state of California' 5. Even previously established gangs, such as the 'Main Street Crips,' 'Kitchen Crips,' '5 Deuce Crips,' and the 'Rolling 20 Crips,' came to consolidate the Crip name into their gang set. Despite the fact that these gangs embraced the Crip name, they often remained independent and continued to have their own leadership and members. Many of these Crip subsets were in conflict with one another due to the independent nature of several of these gangs. Thus, the 'Crips had become just like the gang members they had once sought to protect themselves from-Crips had become gangbangers who terrorized their own neighborhoods' 6.

During their early years of existence, Crips' main activities included extortion of funds from non-gang members, theft and assault. The founders of the Crips gang both lost their affiliation with the gang close to a decade after its establishment. A rival gang member murdered Raymond Washington in 1979, and Tookie was incarcerated that same year on four counts of murder. During the early 1970's, several other African-American gangs emerged in an effort to protect themselves from the many Crip gangs forming in the area. One of the most well known of these particular gangs is the Bloods, which came to be one of the other most violent and unlawful African-American gangs in Los Angeles. The Bloods established themselves around the West Piru Street area in the Compton section of Los Angeles. Sylvester Scott and Vincent Owens were the founders of the Bloods, and this certain gang actually started out as the 'Compton Pirus.'

The swift expansion of the Bloods was aided by a severe conflict between the 'Compton Crips' and the 'Compton Pirus,' in which the Pirus were greatly outnumbered and brutally crushed. This conflict brought several sets of the Pirus together, and the Pirus subsequently joined forces with the 'Laurdes Park Hustlers' and the 'LA Brims.' In fact, the Brims were quite fervent to join forces against the Crips, who had recently murdered one of their gang members. Various other gangs around the area who had been attacked or threatened in the past by the Crips were also eager to join the forces against them, and these gangs were united under the Blood name. 'Red' gangs in the Compton refer to themselves as 'Pirus, ' and several other 'red' gangs in the area such as the 'Brims,' 'Bounty Hunters,' 'Swans,' and the 'Family' are known as the 'Bloods.' Those associated with the Bloods are fairly well accredited for their 'take no prisoners' attitude as well as for their merciless and violent behavior. During the latter half of the 1970's, the Crips and the Bloods began to divide into smaller sets, and as they disseminated throughout the Los Angeles area, they 'began to claim certain neighborhoods as their territory.

Their gang rivalry became vicious and bloody' 7. Close to thirty thousand gang members associated with either the Crips or Bloods made their home in and around Los Angeles during the early 1980's. Gang members ranged in ages from as young as fourteen to as old as twenty-four, and they were required to perform certain acts in order to receive initiation into these gangs. Future members of either the Bloods or Crips were expected to 'jump in' and fight established members of the gang which they wanted to join. These future members would also be asked to commit a crime in a particular neighborhood or attack a member of a rival gang. The Bloods and the Crips were extremely territorial and quite ardent in protecting their neighborhood against invasion by one another as well as other rival gangs. Due to the large number of gang members occupying a relatively small area of Los Angeles, the gangs devised a method of identifying one another.

This system of identification would allow gang members to avoid assaulting members of different sets who belonged to the same gang. The Crips 'identify themselves with the color blue, which is believed to originate form the colors of Washington High School in south Los Angeles. Crip gangsters wear articles of blue clothing, blue handkerchiefs, shoelaces, hair rollers, hats, belts, or sweatshirts' 8. If one's clothing is ambiguous, gang signs are often used, which is a derivative of sign language for these gangs. Crip members will also replace the letter 'b' with the letter 'c' when writing certain words. Thus, 'coffee' becomes 'boffee,' 'compton' becomes 'bompton,' and 'cat' becomes 'bat.' When speaking to one another, Crips refer to each other as 'Cuzz' and 'Blood Killas' (BK), and members of this gang can be seen wearing British Knight (BK) athletic shoes.

The Bloods, in contrast to the Crips, identify themselves with the color red, which is Centennial High School's color (high school where the Bloods originated), and unlike the Crips, the Bloods can be seen wearing red clothing such as red bandannas or rags. 'Another color may be used in relation to the name of the set, such as green for the Lime Hood Pirus' 9.

Members of the Blood gangs address one another in several ways such as 'Blood,' 'Yo Blood,' and 'Wuz up blood?' Bloods will also cross out the letter 'c' as a sign of disrespect for the Crips, and in addition, the Bloods will adorn walls and property with graffiti which is disrespectful towards the Crips. Prior to the 1980's, the Crips and the Bloods had limited active participation in narcotics trafficking. 'However, by 1983, African-American Los Angeles gangs seized upon the availability of narcotics, particularly crack, as a means of income' 10. Many of the gang members who became involved in the buying and selling of narcotics came from the inner city areas where poverty and unemployment are a way of life. Gangsters could make anywhere from three hundred to five hundred dollars per day selling crack cocaine.

Thus, the money involved was a main component which drew gangsters to this particular line of work. Crips and Bloods control crack cocaine distribution in many cities around the country. Members of these gangs will migrate to other cities, ascertain the narcotics demand in that city, identify the dealers in the city, and figure out the established operations for narcotic sales.

Gang involvement in the drug market has led to an extraordinary amount of violence throughout certain cities due to the members fighting over 'profitable narcotics trade' 11. So, as members of the Bloods and Crips migrate to various cities throughout the United States, they bring with th6m the sale of narcotics and the violence associated with it. Gang members often relocate to other cities based on established family ties within a particular city and the enticement of quick profits from the buying and selling of narcotics. The Crips and the Bloods 'have migrated throughout the country and are seen in most states and their prison populations.

There are literally hundreds of sets or individual gangs under the main Blood and Crip names' 12. Eastern coast-based gangs including People Nation and Folk Nation have become so well known that the Crips and the Bloods have formed allies with them. Bloods have formed an alliance with the People Nation, and the Crips have formed an alliance with the Folk Nation. The Crips and the Bloods began nearly thirty years ago in a small section of Los Angeles, and today, there are over thirty-three states and one hundred twenty-three cities which are occupied by Crips and Bloods gang members. New York City is one of the major cities in the U.S. Engulfed with Crips and Bloods, and its prisons are the home for many of these gang members. Endnotes 1Thrasher, Frederic.

1927 The Gang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2, 3. 5, 6. 8, 9.

Bloods Gang Graffiti

Bibliography Bakeer, Donald. Crips: The story of the L.A. Street gang from 1971-1985. Los Angeles: Precocious Publishing. Kinnear, Karen. Santa Barbara: ABC-C Lb, Inc.

Bloods Gang Info

Klein, Malcolm. The American Street Gang: Its Nature, Prevalence, and Control. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.