Crips in California

Paper Summary:

This paper prevents an overview of the Crips street gang of Los Angeles. The paper first explains how gang life in California becomes a sort of surrogate family life, where individuals turn to their neighborhood gangs for protection as well as a source of potential income. The paper then discusses the gang hierarchy and the varying levels of positions and authority and reveals that the biggest profit seen in gang activities comes from drug sales. Next, the paper shows how, despite the lure of fortune and protection, the consequences of claiming Crip membership can be devastating. The police response to gang activity is also looked at and it is posited that no matter how hard the city of Los Angeles tries to rid itself of further gang activity, the perils of inner city life will always force individuals to turn to gang life to make a living and protect themselves and their family.

From the Paper:

"California street gangs have a long and checkered past which has been both demonized and romanticized. The Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence labels the definition of a gang as "a group of young people whose members recognize themselves as a distinct entity and are recognized as such by their community," (Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence, 2008). These groups of individuals band together for various reasons; in California the main reason being financial and emotional support for one another. Due to the incredibly poor neighborhoods of inner-city Los Angeles, there are a myriad of gangs which have sprung up all over the city to provide protection and financial support to their members based on profits from illicit activities. In 1991, a study done by the University of California, USC, in the heart of gang territory, estimated an astounding 130,000 active gang members currently living in Los Angeles, (Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence, 2008)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Alonso, A. (2008). A brief history of the Los Angeles based Crips. Retrieved April 2, 2008, from Street Gangs: http://www.streetgangs.com/crips/
• Crips. (1995). What we celieve in. Nationwide Rip Ridaz. Quality Records.
• Davis, Mike. (1992). City of Quartz. Vintage Books.
• Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence (2006). Gangs. Find Articles Retrieved April 2, 2008, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2602/is_0002/ai_2602000260
• Hukill, Traci. (2005). An act of forgiveness. Conscious Enlightenment Publishing. Retrieved April 8, 2008 athttp://cemagazines.com/portal/2005/05/forgiveness.html

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