NCJ Number
157036
Date Published
Unknown
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This is a discussion of the characteristics of street gangs active in the midwestern United States.
Abstract
The paper describes and discusses such gang attributes as: (1) size; (2) membership; (3) nicknames; (4) organization and leadership; (5) distinctive clothing; and (6) identifiers. Gang identifiers include earrings (worn in one ear or the other), hats (tilted one way or the other), gloves (worn on one hand or the other), gymshoes (of a particular color with particular color laces), haircuts, and pant leg cuffs (rolled up to one side or the other). There is discussion of the significance to gang members of specific colors. The paper includes: (1) a formal and rather detailed constitution of one of the chapters of a gang, a document that includes twenty-two articles; (2) an organizational chart of one gang's leadership; (3) a glossary of jail, prison, and gang terms; (4) drawings of gang emblems; (5) explanations of the significance of gang emblems; (6) an illustration showing the criminal activities of (unspecified) motorcycle gangs; and (7) an illustration of handsigns that signal group affiliation.