The gangs behind bars - prison gangs

Part 1
Prison gangs are flourishing across the country. Organized, stealthy and deadly, they are reaching
out from their cells to organize and control crime in America's streets.
Prison gangs are flourishing from California to Massachusetts. In 1996, the ederal !ureau of
Prisons found that "rison distur#ances soared #y a#out $%% "ercent in the early nineties, &hich
authorities say indicated that gangs &ere #ecoming more acti'e. In states such as Illinois, as
much as 6% "ercent of the "rison "o"ulation #elong to gangs, (od&in says. )he lorida *C has
identified +$% street gangs o"erating in their "risons. ,treet gangs, as o""osed to gangs
originating in "risons, are emerging as a larger "ro#lem on the -ast Coast.
Of the 1$.,%%% inmates )e/as houses in state "ens, 0,%%% ha'e #een identified as gang mem#ers
and another 1%,%%% are under sus"icion. )e/as "rison1gang e/"ert ,ammy !uentello says the
state's "risons are not infested &ith gangs, #ut those that ha'e set u" sho" are highly organized.
2)hey ha'e a "aramilitary ty"e structure3' he says. 2A ma4ority of the "eo"le that come in ha'e
had e/"erience &ith street1gang mem#ershi" and ha'e #een #rought u" in that en'ironment
acce"ting it as the norm. !ut some 4oin for sur'i'al.2
After 5ames !yrd 5r. &as dragged to death in 5as"er last 5une, rumors s"read throughout )e/as
lin6ing t&o of the sus"ected assailants to racially charged "rison gangs. 7hile authorities and
inmates dismiss these rumors, the 5as"er murder occurred only &ee6s after a ,an Antonio grand
4ury indicted 16 mem#ers of the Me/ican Mafia, one of the state's largest and most lethal "rison
gangs, for ordering the deaths of fi'e "eo"le in ,an Antonio from &ithin "rison &alls.
Part 2
Section A
As they are #eing released into the community on "arole, these "eo"le are #ecoming in'ol'ed in
actions related to "rison1gang #usiness. Conse8uently, it is no longer 4ust a corrections "ro#lem11
it is also a community "ro#lem. It is a misnomer that &hen you loc6 a gang mem#er u" they
cease criminal acti'ity. It has only #een in the last fi'e years that la& enforcement has realized
that &hat ha""ens on the inside can affect &hat ha""ens on the outside and 'ice 'ersa.
Section B
According to gang in'estigators, the gang leaders communicate orders through letters. 7here
mail is monitored they may use a code11for instance, ma6ing e'ery 1+th &ord of a seemingly
#enign letter significant. )hey use 'isits, they "ut messages into their art&or6 and in some states
they use the tele"hone.
Section C
Of the t&o 6inds of gangs, "rison gangs and street gangs, the "rison gangs are #etter organized,
according to gang in'estigators. )hey are lo&16ey, discreet11e'en stealthy. )hey monitor
mem#ers and dictate ho& they #eha'e and treat each other. A serious 'iolation means death, say
in'estigators.
Section D
)he street gangs are more flagrant. 2)heir mem#ers are going into the "risons and realizing that
one of the reasons they are in "rison is that they 6e"t such a high "rofile2 ma6ing it easier for the
"olice to catch them, says !uentello. 2,o, they are coming out more so"histicated and more
dangerous #ecause they aren't as easily detected. )hey also net&or6 and 6ee" trac6 of &ho is out
and so forth.2
Section E
According to gang in'estigators and "risoners, the "rison gangs &ere formed for "rotection
against "redatory inmates, #ut rac6eteering, #lac6 mar6ets and racism #ecame factors. )hey
de'elo"ed &ithin the "rison system in California, )e/as and Illinois in the 19$%s.
Part 3
(od&in says )e/as should ne'er ha'e outla&ed smo6ing in the "risons, adding cigarettes as
trade1goods contra#and to the "rohi#ited list. 2If you go #ac6 to the Ci'il 7ar era, to
Anderson'ille "rison,2 (od&in says of the "risoner1of1&ar facility for 9nion soldiers, 2you &ill
see that the first thing that de'elo"ed &as a gang #ecause someone had to control the
contra#and11that is "o&er. I'm con'inced that if you "ut three "eo"le on an island some&here,
t&o &ould cli8ue u" and #ecome "redatory against the other at some "oint.2
!ut "rotection remains an im"ortant factor. 7hen a ne& inmate enters the "rison system he is
challenged to a fight, according to a )e/as state1"en "risoner. )he outcome determines &ho can
fight, &ho &ill #e e/torted for "rotection money and &ho &ill #ecome a ser'ant to other
"risoners. )hose &ho can't 4oin a gang or afford to s"end :0 a &ee6 in commissary items for
"rotection are destined to #e ser'ants. (od&in e/"lains; 2)he en'ironment is set u" so that &hen
you "ut that many "eo"le &ith antisocial #eha'ior and criminal history together, someone is
going to #e the "redator and someone the "rey, and that is reality.2
)he )e/as inmate descri#es a system in &hich gangs often recruit li6e fraternities, targeting
short1term inmates #ecause they can hel" the gang11"ay them #ac6, so to s"ea611&hen they lea'e
"rison for the free &orld. Most of the grou"s thri'e on lifelong mem#ershi", according to the
lorida *C, &ith 2#lood in, #lood out2 oaths e/tending leadershi" and mem#ershi" #eyond the
"rison into the lucrati'e drug trade, e/tortion and "ressure rac6ets.
Prison gangs o"erating in )e/as and lorida include <eta, the )e/as ,yndicate, the Aztecs, the
Me/ican Mafia, the <e& !lac6 Panthers, the !lac6 (uerrilla amily, Mandingo 7arriors, Aryan
!rotherhood, =a <uestra amilia, the Aryan Circle and the 7hite >nights. ,ome of these gangs
ha'e alliances, and some are mortal enemies. Many on this list originated in California o'er the
decades, some of them ?such as the )e/as ,yndicate@ to "rotect mem#ers from the other gangs.
In addition, street gangs such as the Cri"s and !loods and traditional racial1hate grou"s such as
the >u >lu/ >lan also o"erate in the "risons.
7hat "risoners may not realize is that #ecause the gangs are monitored #y "rison authorities the
la&1enforcement community is #ecoming 'ery so"histicated a#out the gangs. 2,i/ty "ercent of
&hat &e learn a#out &hat is going on in the city streets of lorida2 is garnered in "rison and not
from o#ser'ing the streets, says (od&in.
Prison officials say they concentrate on inmate #eha'ior to identify gang mem#ers. )hey do not
single out gang leaders to stri6e any deals #ecause ac6no&ledging the gang as anything other
than a 2security1threat grou"2 gi'es them too much credi#ility. )his has #een a "articular
"ro#lem in Puerto Aico &ith the nati'e and "olitical <eta gang. Aecognizing grou"s during the
19B%s, in a system in &hich "risoners ha'e the right to 'ote, has led to a tendency among
"oliticians to a&ard clemency to some inmates.
Cuestions
For Part 1, questions 1 5, complete each sentence with the correct ending.
A ha'e #een identified as gangsters
! are #ecoming infested &ith gangs
C indicate that "risons' "o"ulation has increased
* ha'e e/"erience of street gangs
- determines &ho does &hat in "risons
ha'e #een mani"ulating crime from inside "rison
( has #ecome e'ident in "risons
D are organised as if in a martial regime
1. )he rising num#er of criminal gangs ...
+. Prisoners organized in gangs ...
.. Most "risoners ...
$. ,ome )e/an state "risoners ...
0. )he outcome of fights ...
For Part 2, questions 6 10, choose the correct heading for Sections laelled ! to " in the
passage.
Headings:
,ecreti'e leadershi" from the inside
Origins of "rison gangs
Eiolence in "rison
Inter1relationshi" of "risons and the outside community
<o need of more so"histication
,6ills learnt in "rison
*iscretion fails
*isci"line &ithin "rison gangs
6. ,ection A .....
B. ,ection ! .....
F. ,ection C .....
9. ,ection * .....
1%. ,ection - ....
#ead Part $ of the te%t and answer the questions.
11 According to (od&in,
a. ma6ing smo6ing illegal aided "rison management
#. gangs de'elo" &hen there is contra#and
c. three "eo"le on an island &ould 6ill eachother
d. "rohi#itions do not fa'our the de'elo"ment of "o&er
1+ De #elie'es
a. antisocial #eha'iour is an innate human feature
#. criminals in "rison decide their o&n fate
c. the "rison en'ironment encourages good #eha'iour
d. gangs need "rotection

1. )he "rison system in )e/as
a. measures mem#ers of the gangs in terms of friendshi"
#. hel"s de'elo" disinterested relationshi"s
c. thri'es on the 'an1eye1for1an1eye' conce"t
d. sustains friendshi" &ith 'iolence and "o&er

1$ (angs in these "risons
a. ha'e different modus o"erandi
#. had their origin in California
c. originated as street gangs
d. are either friends or foes
10 Prisoners are una&are that
a. the monitoring system has #een modified
#. street gangs co"y their #eha'iour
c. they "ro'ide information &hich hel"s fight crime.
d. the community 6no&s a lot a#out their acti'ities


Ans; 1. has #ecome e'ident in "risons +. ha'e #een mani"ulating crime from inside "rison ..
ha'e e/"erience of street gangs $. are organised as if in a martial regime 0. determines &ho does
&hat in "rison 6. inter1relationshi" of "risons and the outside community B. ,ecreti'e leadershi"
from the inside F. *isci"line &ithin "rison gangs 9. ,6ills learnt in "rison 1%. Origins of "rison
gangs 11. # 1+. # 1.. d 1$. c 10. c