18th Street gang

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18th street
Founded 1959
Years active 1960 - present
Territory mostly in Los Angeles, the Western and Southern areas of the United States, and Central America
Ethnicity mostly Latino and others
Membership 30,000
Criminal activities Drug trafficking, Assault, robbery, Prostitution, extortion, Arms trafficking, murder, contract killing, Vandalism and etc.

18th Street Gang, is a Los Angeles-based largely Hispanic street gang. It is estimated that there are between 8,000 to 20,000 members of 18th Street gang in Los Angeles County alone according to the latest figures from the NDIC.

Contents

[edit] Membership/Hierarchy

Membership was originally open to latinos. Although most members tend to be of Latino descent, membership has opened to other backgrounds, including Central American, African American, Middle Eastern, Asian, Caucasian, and Native American. Currently, 18th Street has a loose hierarchical structure. Although the gang is well networked throughout the nation, Mexico, and Central America, there is no known central leadership nationally or internationally. Cliques generally function independently, but will join forces when combating rival gangs or law enforcement.

[edit] Gang markings

As with most gangs, 18th Street gang members can be easily identified by their tattoos. A common identifier is the number 18 (Spanish: dieciocho), which is usually represented in the Roman numeral (X8)(XVIII) (XV3) and sometimes they also use 666 or 99 (6+6+6=18 / 9+9=18). Some use the number 5 meaning the fifth letter of the Alphabet. They also tattoo themselves with the word BEST, which stands for Barrio Eighteen STreet. Members engage in graffiti to mark their territory.

[edit] Culture

18th Street gang members are required to abide by a strict set of rules. For instance, they are forbidden from using crack cocaine and other hard drugs. Failure to obey the word of a gang leader, or to show proper respect to a fellow gang member, may result in an 18-second beating, or even execution for more serious offenses. [1]

According to the LAPD, some factions of the 18th Street gang have developed a high level of sophistication and organization. This is attributed to the gang's connections with Mexican and Colombian drug cartels. The 18th Street gang is occasionally referred to as the "Children's Army" because of its recruitment of elementary and middle-school aged youth. [2]

18th Street gang members are most often seen wearing brown or black pants and a white T-shirt. Alternatively, gang members also wear jerseys from professional sports teams. 18th Street gang members are considered highly armed and extremely dangerous.

[edit] Criminal Activity

18th Street is a well established gang that is involved in all areas of criminal activity. Some members have even become involved in producing fraudulent Immigration and Naturalization identification cards and food stamps. Several 18th Street gang members have evolved into a higher level of sophistication and organization than other gangs. This progression is credited to the gang's close relationship with Mexican and Colombian drug cartels. They also have been linked to occurrences of murder, murder-for-hire, assaults, drug trafficking, extortion, vandalism, drug smuggling, prostitution, robbery, weapons trafficking, as well as other crimes.

[edit] Location

The majority of 18th Street cliques operating throughout the United States and abroad are the result of Los Angeles members’ migrating to other areas and establishing cliques under their leadership. Members originally from Los Angeles tend to be more respected than those in other areas. 18th Street cliques have been identified in 42 states and the District of Columbia in the United States, as well as 18 foreign countries. Some cliques died out such as the Saint Andrews clique, Eastside Tiny Boyz, and Eastside Boys Crew. But most cliques are active and are high in membership such as South Central, Shatto Park Locos, and Bell Town Locos. These cliques are the main cliques that controls most of the 18th Street turf. Former cliques are Loco Side Rifa, Maplewood Street Killers, Crazy Town Locos, St. Andrews (now known as Barrio St. Andrews), South District (joined with Crazy Town Locos), Santa Monica (now known as Santa Monica 13), and Valley Side (now known as Valley Side Lokotes). These cliques are now individual gangs.

[edit] Cliques

List of only a few cliques in the Los Angeles area (some country/world wide)

# Gang Cliques City/Area Policing Agency
1 North Side 18th Street Crazy Town Locos (CTL), Sixth St. Killers (SSK), Maplewood Street Killers (MWSK), Lexington Ave Los Angeles,
San Fernando Valley,
North Hollywood,
Pasadena		 LAPD North Hollywood Division
2 18th Street 54th, King Blvd Gs South Los Angeles LAPD 77th Street Division
3 18th Street 106th Inglewood Inglewod PD
4 West Side 18th Street Columbia Lil Cycos West Lake area
of Los Angeles		 LAPD Rampart Division
5 18th Street Pico Locos Pico Union LAPD Rampart Division
6 18th Street Kdubs, Diablos, Tiny Winos Cudahy LASD
7 East side 18th Street Eastside Tiny Boyz (ETB),Eastside Boys Crew (EBC), Shatto Park Locos eastLA area
of Los Angeles		 LAPD Northeast Division
8 18th Street Shatto Park Locos Wilshire area
of Los Angeles		 LAPD Rampart Division
9 18th Street South Central South Los Angeles LAPD 77th Street Division
10 South Side 18th Street South Gate South Gate
11 18th Street Baldwin Park, Loco Side Rifa (LSR) Baldwin Park,El Monte
12 West Side 18th Street St. Andrews (SA), Crazy Town Locos (CTL) Jefferson & St. Andrews
area of Los Angeles		 LAPD Southwest Division
13 18th Street Smiley Dr., Alsace Locos, Rancho Park, Crazy Town Locos West Adams,
Los Angeles		 LAPD Southwest Division
14 18th Street 7th & Broadway, Wall St Downtown Los Angeles LAPD Central Division
15 18th Street Rimpau Mid City area
of Los Angeles		 LAPD Wilshire Division
16 18th Street Tiny Locos/Tiny Lokotez South Central South Los Angeles LAPD 77th Street Division
17 18th Street ENS/Enanos(Midgets Maywood/Huntington Park Huntington Park/Mawood Police Department
18 18th Street TBD/Tiny Diablos South Gate/Cudahy Sherrifs Department/Maywood Police Department
19 18th Street BTLS/Bell Town Locos Bell Bell Police Department

[edit] Main rivals

A few of their main rivals in California are:

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4201183.stm BBC News
  2. ^ StreetGangs.com

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18th_Street_gang"
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