ABSTRACT
Beginning in the 1980s, the illicit trade in crack or rock cocaine fueled the rapid expansion of local street gangs into nationwide drug selling organizations. Two basic types of gangs rapidly expanded their drug dealing operations during this period: L.A. based street gangs (institutional-style gangs) and Chicago based street gangs (hierarchical-style gangs). Many of the early leaders of both types of gangs met a bad end, either ending up imprisoned or dead (murdered, executed, or dead of natural causes at an early age). Literally thousands of gang members were either killed or wounded in the street gang wars that followed the rapid expansion of gangs across the United States. Almost as many (if not more) citizens and more than a few law enforcement officers were also killed or wounded in these drug wars. Those gangs have a multistate following and often absorb local gangs when they arrive in an area. Together the L.A. based street gangs and the Chicago based street gangs changed the way that drugs were dealt in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s. They continue in the operation of their criminal enterprises today. We will examine the Chicago based gangs in the next chapter.
Ethnic gangs are usually formed from members of their own ethnic groups, and like most gangs they provide a variety of illicit goods and services to their clients. Ethnic gangs use language, culture, race, religion, and ethnicity to shield them from law enforcement. Many of the crimes of ethnic gangs are initially committed against members of their own ethnic groups. Some ethnic gangs have grown from their local beginnings and have achieved a multistate or national presence. Others, such as Native American gangs, have a very limited territory. Some ethnic gang such as MS-13 have a very loose organizational structure and franchises operate somewhat independently of each other but coordinate when it is to their advantage. Other ethnic gangs, such as the yakuza, have an almost rigid hierarchical organizational structure and have set offices for their leaders. The lack of understanding by law enforcement of the language, culture, religion, and ethnicity hinders the investigation of these groups by law enforcement.
