Gangs in Chicago

    Add links
    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Tag by the West 49th Street and South Paulina Street set of the Gangster Disciple Nation on West 50th Street and South Hermitage Avenue, Chicago IL

    Chicago is considered the most gang-occupied city in the United States, with a population ranging from 1 active members from over 70 gangs[1] with more than 150,000 members.[2] Gang warfare and retaliation is common in Chicago. Gangs were responsible for 61% of the homicides in Chicago in 2011.

    History[edit]

    Hispanic-on-Hispanic homicides increased in the summer of 1971 due to the Latin Kings gang election meetings.[3] In July 2021, federal agents participating in Operation Legend arrested 27 Black Disciples gang members associated with drugs and gun violations in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.[4]

    Purported causes[edit]

    Former Chicago Police Superintendent, Garry McCarthy, blames Chicago's gang culture for its high rates of homicide and other violent crime, stating "It's very frustrating to know that it's like 7% of the population causes 80% of the violent crime... The gangs here are traditional gangs that are generational, if you will. The grandfather was a gang member, the father's a gang member, and the kid right now is going to be a gang member".[5]

    Policing strategy[edit]

    Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel disbanded the Chicago Police Department's anti-gang unit in 2012 in order to focus on beat patrols, which he said would have a more long-term solution to violence than anti-gang units.[6][7]

    Composition[edit]

    Most traditional Chicago street gangs, known as nations, fall under two main factions called the People Nation and the Folks Nation, with the former having most, if not all gangs under the "Almighty" moniker while the latter having most gangs divided into various sub-factions, the majority of which are a part of an alliance called Latin Folks which are further divided into groups called familias. There are also nations that are independent of both the Folks and People Nations, such as the Black Soul Nation. Street gangs that are independent of Folks and People but retain similar identifiers and symbolism as well as maintain a hierarchical structure in membership are known as war crews and do not identify as nations though they will engage in traditional gang activity and may conflict with nations as well as other crews. Street gangs that do not retain any semblance of traditional nations or war crews are known simply as cliques. Each individual gang is divided into sets which are territories spanning blocks or neighborhoods that may be divided further into subsets. There are currently at least 70 active Chicago street gangs with 747 factions that have been identified.[8][9][10] Currently active street gangs in Chicago are:

    Folks Nation


    Latin Folks Familias:

    Almighty Familia:



    Gangster Familia:


    Insane Familia:



    Maniac Familia:


    No Family:

    • Black King Cobra Nation (No relation to Black Cobra Souls, Mickey Cobras, Insane King Cobras or Insane Spanish Cobras)
    • Hoodlum Nation
    • Insane Two-Two Boy Nation (formerly Insane Familia)
    • Universal Latin Lover Nation
    • Wolcott Boy Nation



    People Nation


    Independent gangs


    Crews

    See also[edit]

    References[edit]

    1. ^ "Chicago Gang Violence: By The Numbers". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
    2. ^ "Chicago Most Gang-Infested City in U.S., Officials Say". NBC Chicago. January 26, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
    3. ^ "Latin Kings 1971-72 Election Meetings". Retrieved October 3, 2019.
    4. ^ CHICAGO BLACK DISCIPLES GANG LEADER AMONG 23 CHARGED IN FEDERAL INVESTIGATION, OFFICIALS SAY ABC7 Chicago, July 19, 2020
    5. ^ "Gangs and guns fuel Chicago's summer surge of violence | PBS NewsHour". Pbs.org. July 20, 2015. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
    6. ^ "Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is defending his decision in the first days of his administration to disband anti-gang units like the Mobile Strike Force | WBEZ 91.5 Chicago". Wbez.org. July 9, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
    7. ^ "Terrorised Chicago residents plead for police crackdown as gang war murders soar". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
    8. ^ "Chicago Street Gangs". Chicago Gang History. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
    9. ^ "Gang Areas in Chicago". Uic.edu. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
    10. ^ "Dedicated to 20th Century Gang History". Chicago Gang History. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gangs_in_Chicago&oldid=1143656304"