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The Originals
The late 18th and 19th centuries are credited with being the originators of when gangs started to develop in America. Gang members mainly consisted of immigrants from European nations, like England, Ireland, and Germany, and typically resided in the northeastern part of the US. With that being said, a majority of these gangs committed crimes that are considered minor/petty by present-day standards. It wasn't until the 1820s that gangs involvement in violent crimes began to occur/rise rapidly. -
Rebirth and Growth
After the advent of northeastern gangs in the 1820s, areas in the Midwest started to notice groups of people conjugating in a gang-like fashion. At this moment in time, gang demographics stated to resemble the ethnicity of its members. For instance, Jews would join the Jewish Eastern Gang, whereas Chinese preferred the Tongs. Moreover, the American Mafia was frequently attracting immigrants with an Italian background. Still, gang violence remained concerted in areas that had big cities, like NYC -
Gangs Infultrate the South
As oppose to areas in the northeast and midwest, gangs really didn't take hold in the southern region until the end of the twentieth century, mainly due to the fact that the south didn't really have any major cities that would attract gangs until this time. From that point onward, states like Florida and Texas, saw a rapid increase in the rates of violent/gang-related crime. For instance, Florida topped the charts in 1998 for the largest number of gang-problem cities, right under California. -
RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act)
Similar to the Gangbuster Bill that was proposed in 2005, RICO was a US federal law that "extended criminal penalties" and called for a "civil cause of action" for acts performed as part of an ongoing action. In general, it closed the loophole criminal used to get out of crimes that they themselves did not personally commit, but instead had others carry out. It was signed into law by Nixon under Title IX of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970. Its main purpose was to persecute the Mafia gang -
Evolution of Gangs
By the 1960s, gangs predominately consisted of black or Hispanic members (for instance, the Crips and Bloods are good examples). Like before, the growth of these gangs was in response to increased migration/immigration from southern countries like Mexico. On that note, many of these gangs are still in circulation around America today, which has pushed policy makers to develop harsher polices that will punish specific gang-related activities. https://www.preceden.com/timelines/74071-gang-history -
Violent Career Criminal Act
In response to the increase in violent crimes and homicide rates, Florida legislature decided to pass the Violent Career Criminal Act of 1995. According to the bill, violent career criminals MUST receive substantially longer prison sentences if they have committed multiple crimes in at least the past five years. This is important because it addresses the so-called career criminal, which many gang members are, and tries to stop it. -
10-20 Life
This bill required a mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment for the possession, discharge, and causing injury or death with a firearm, which often correlated with gang violence. With that being said, the act laid out very detailed guidelines for sentencing criminals passed on what gun/firearm they were caught having possession of. This pertains to today's gang violence in Florida, especially since a majority of violent crimes involve the use of firearms. -
Three Strikes and You're Out
The passage of the Three Strikes Violent Felony Offender Act was revolutionary in Florida, especially since it mandated the statutory maximum sentences for repetitive violent offenders (i.e. gang members most likely fall under this category). Moreover, this law included minimum terms of imprisonment for repeat sexual batterers, drug trafficking offenses, and certain offenses committed against the elderly or law enforcement officials (all of which correlate to gang-related activities). -
Crimes Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act, Chapter 874
Being a part of the 2005 Florida Code, this legislative policy advocated that it is the "right of every person...to be secure and protected from fear, intimidation, and physical harm caused by the activities of criminal street gangs and their members." Overall, it enhanced the penalties by eliminating the "patterns, profits, proceeds, instrumentalities and property facilitating criminal street gang activity." For more information: http://law.justia.com/codes/florida/2005/TitleXLVI/ch0874.html -
Gangbusters Bill
With gangs becoming more of a serious problem on a national scale, the House decided to pass an extremely controversial bill commonly known as the "Gangbusters Bill." Basically put, this bill would make all gang crimes a federal offence, thus they would be charged on federal mandates. Moreover, the bill set sentences for types of violent crimes, while also establishing a definition of what a gang is. Overall, the bill authorized federal spending/interference on anything related to gang violence. -
Gainesville Gang Task Force
In response to the rise in gang-related crimes, the GPD (Gainesville Police Department) has responded by joining forces with local task forces. Together with 20 other partners, this new Gang Task Force is hoping to bring down gang activity throughout Alachua County, Their main focus thus far has been to fix the problem of youth gangs through community based programs and policies. http://www.wcjb.com/local-news/2015/11/officers-joining-forces-gang-task-force -
The Gangs of Today
As mentioned before, gangs that developed in the 1960s, such as the Crips and Bloods, still dominate and wreck havoc all over America's gang landscape to this day. But gangs have upped the ante by participating in crimes that are deemed federal offenses, such as transcontinental drug smuggling/distribution, human trafficking, prostitution, etc. Hopefully the government will realize that gangs are a serious problem that need to be addressed, without stigmatizing and stereotyping groups of people.
