The distinctive Blood Founded Mid-1972 Founding location Los Angeles, California, U.S. Years active 1972–present Territory Primarily United States, but also Canada Ethnicity Primarily, but also many Membership (est.) 20,000-25,000 Criminal activities Drug trafficking, robbery, murder, burglary, prostitution, theft Allies, (certain sets), Rivals, (certain sets) The Bloods also known as (OBF) Original Blood Family are a primarily, though not exclusively, street founded in. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the. They are identified by the red color worn by their members and by particular, including distinctive hand signs. The Bloods comprise various sub-groups known as 'sets' between which significant differences exist such as colors, clothing, and operations, and political ideas which may be in open conflict with each other.

• Blood Gang Members Nicknames
• Bloods Gang Member Initiation

Jurors were deliberating the fate of three accused members of the United Blood Nation Friday morning. But John Doe also told authorities about Tyquan Hilliard's position in the gang, other members of the Bloods and said he had information about other crimes. Gang members ranged in ages from as young as fourteen to as old as twenty-four, and they were required to perform certain acts in order to receive initiation into these gangs. Future members of either the Bloods or Crips were expected to 'jump in' and fight established members of the gang which they wanted to join.

Since their creation, the Bloods gangs have branched out throughout the United States. Contents. History The Bloods gang was formed initially to compete against the influence of the in Los Angeles.

The rivalry dates back to the 1960s when and several other Crips confronted Sylvester Scott and Benson Owens, students at in. In response to the attack, Scott, who lived in Compton, established the Piru street-gang, the first 'Bloods' street gang. Owens established the West Piru street-gang. The Bloods street-gang was initially formed to provide members protection from the Crips. Many of the non-Crip street-gangs used to call one another 'blood'. On March 21, 1972, shortly after a concert featuring and, twenty youths belonging to the Crips attacked and robbed Robert Ballou Jr.

Blood Gang Members Nicknames

Ballou was beaten to death after he refused to give up his leather jacket. The sensational media coverage of the crime and the continued assaults by the Crips increased their notoriety. Several non-Crips gangs formed during this period were no match for the Crips and they became concerned with the escalating Crip attacks. The, Athens Park Boys and other gangs not aligned with the Crips often clashed with the Crips.

On June 5, 1972, three months after Ballou's murder, Fredrick 'Lil Country' Garret was murdered by a Westside Crip. This marked the first Crips murder against another gang member and motivated non-Crip street-gangs to align with each other.

The Brims struck back on August 4, 1972, by murdering Thomas Ellis, an original Westside Crip. By late 1972, the Pirus held a meeting in their neighborhood to discuss growing Crips pressure and intimidation.

Several gangs that felt victimized by the Crips joined the Piru Street Boys to create a new federation of non-Crips neighborhoods. This alliance would transform into the 'Bloods'. The Pirus are therefore considered to be the original founders of the Bloods.

By 1978, there were 15 Bloods sets. Crips still outnumbered Bloods 3 to 1. In order to assert their power, the Bloods became increasingly violent. During the 1980s, Bloods began distributing in Los Angeles. Blood membership soon rose dramatically as did the number of states in which they were present.

These increases were primarily driven by profits from crack cocaine distribution. The huge profits allowed members to relocate in other cities and states. United Blood Nation. Main article: 'Bloods' is a universal term used to refer to West-Coast Bloods and (UBN). While these groups are traditionally distinct entities both refer to themselves as 'Bloods'. The profits of crack distribution allowed the Bloods to spread in other states. UBN started in 1993 in 's George Motchan Detention Center (GMDC) to form protection from and who were targeting the African-American gang members.

UBN is a loose confederation of street gangs that were once predominantly African-American. Once they were released from prison, the UBN leaders went back to their neighborhoods in New York where they retained the Bloods name and started recruiting members. UBN has between 7000 and 15000 members in the Eastern USA region. The gang makes its income through various criminal activities like distribution of crack cocaine, smuggling of drugs into prison, etc. And its gang members are involved in various criminal activities. This article needs additional citations for.

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010) Bloods refers to a loosely structured association of smaller street gangs, known as 'sets', which has adopted a common gang culture. Each set has its own leader and generally operates independently from the others. Most Bloods members are African American males, although some sets have recruited female members as well as members from other races and ethnic backgrounds.

Members range in age from early teens to mid-20s; however, some hold leadership positions into their late twenties and occasionally thirties. There is no known national leader of the Bloods but individual Bloods sets have a hierarchical leadership structure with identifiable levels of membership. These levels of membership indicate status within a gang. A leader, typically an older member with a more extensive criminal background, runs each set. A set leader is not elected but rather asserts himself by developing and managing the gang's criminal enterprises through his reputation for violence and ruthlessness and through his personal charisma.

The majority of set members are called 'soldiers', who are typically between the ages of 16 and 22. Soldiers have a strong sense of commitment to their set and are extremely dangerous because of their willingness to use violence both to obtain the respect of gang members and to respond to any person who 'disrespects' the set. 'Associates' are not full members, but they identify with the gang and take part in various criminal activities.

To the extent that women belong to the gang, they are usually associate members and tend to be used by their male counterparts to carry weapons, hold drugs, or themselves to make money for their set. Recruitment is often influenced by a recruit's environment. Bloods recruit heavily among school-age youth in predominantly poor African American communities. Gang membership offers youth a sense of belonging and protection. It also offers immediate gratification to economically disadvantaged youth who desire the trappings of gang life: gold jewelry, cash, expensive sports clothing. Bloods sets have a loose structure of ranks based on how long a person has been involved with a particular set.

The ranks do not signify leadership or dominance over the set, they merely signify respect for those who have been in the set longer and have survived the longest. Those with a higher rank do not have a position of authority over Bloods of a lower rank. Bloods with higher rank are often referred to as 'Big Homies' by Bloods with lower rank. They also refer to each other as 'relatives'. Once a person has joined a Blood set, it is for life, one can not leave the set or flip (switch) to another set. Bloods members commonly refer to themselves as CKs (an initialism of Crip- Killer), MOBs (an initialism of Member of Bloods), dawgs, or ballers (meaning drug dealers). Bloods have been documented in the, found in both U.S.

And overseas bases. This article needs additional citations for. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

(March 2010) Bloods members identify themselves through various gang indicators such as colors, clothing, symbols, tattoos, jewelry, graffiti, language, and hand signs. The Bloods gang color is red. They like to wear sports clothing, including team jackets that show their gang color.

Some of their favorite teams include the, the, and the. They are also known to wear clothing, whose logo contains a five-pointed star. The most commonly used Bloods symbols include the number '5', the five pointed star, and the five pointed crown. These symbols are meant to show the Bloods’ affiliation with the, a large coalition of affiliates created to protect alliance members within the federal and state prison systems. These symbols may be seen in the tattoos, jewelry, and clothing that gang members wear as well as in, which is used by the Bloods to mark their territory. Such graffiti can include gang names, nicknames, declaration of loyalty, threats against rival gangs, or a description of criminal acts in which the gang has been involved.

Bloods graffiti might also include the word 'Piru' which refers to the fact that the first known Bloods gang was formed by individuals from Piru Street in. Finally, Bloods graffiti might include rival gang symbols (particularly those of the Crips) that are drawn upside down. This is meant as an insult to the rival group and its symbols. Bloods members also have a unique slang. Bloods greet each other using the word 'Blood' and often avoid using words with the letter 'C'.

Finally, Bloods use hand signs to communicate with one another. Hand signs may be a singular movement, like the letter 'B', or a series of movements using one or both hands for more complex phrases. United Blood Nation (UBN) or East Coast Bloods initiates often receive a dog mark, represented by three dots often burned with a cigarette, on their right shoulder. Other UBN symbols include a bulldog and a bull. Sets Chapters of the Bloods are called 'sets'. Notable Bloods.

See also. Netgraphe inc. Retrieved 2013-06-05. Archived from on 17 December 2014.

Retrieved 14 January 2015. Gangs In Maryland.

University of Maryland. Archived from on 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2009-02-21.

Public Intelligence. Retrieved 2013-06-05. Archived from on 2009-03-07.

Retrieved 2009-02-21. Retrieved 14 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.

Retrieved 14 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.

Maxson, Cheryl L. (October 1998). Juvenile Justice Bulletin, U.S.

Riviello, Ralph (2009-07-01). Manual of Forensic Emergency Medicine: A Guide for Clinicians. Jones & Bartlett. McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. Archived from on November 13, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-21. Further reading.

Yusuf Jah, Sister Shah'keyah, UPRISING: Crips and Bloods Tell the Story of America's Youth In The Crossfire,. Kriegel, Mark (October 13, 1997). Retrieved 14 January 2015. Accessed April 4, 2015. Accessed April 4, 2015. External links.

Crip gang member with tattoos. Founded by and Founding location Los Angeles, California, United States Years active 1969–present Territory United States Ethnicity Mostly African American Membership (est.) 30,000 to 55,000 in 2008 Criminal activities Drug trafficking, robbery, murder, burglary, illegal gambling, theft Allies, Rivals, Piru Street Boys, (certain sets), Tree Top Pirus, Avenue Piru Gang The Crips also known as Original Crip Homies (OCH) are a primarily.

They were founded in in 1969 mainly by and. What was once a single alliance between two autonomous gangs is now a loosely connected network of individual sets, often engaged in open warfare with one another. Its members traditionally wear blue clothing, a practice that has waned somewhat due to police crackdowns on gang members. The Crips are one of the largest and most violent associations of street gangs in the United States, with an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 members in 2008. They have been involved in murders, robberies and drug dealing, among other crimes. Crips have a long and bitter rivalry with the.

Contents. History met in 1969, and the two decided to unite their local gang members from the west and east sides of in order to battle neighboring street gangs. Most of the members were 17 years old. Williams discounted the sometimes cited founding date of 1969 in his memoir, Blue Rage, Black Redemption. Gang activity in South Central Los Angeles has its roots in a variety of factors dating back to the 1950s and '60s, including post-World War II economic decline leading to joblessness and poverty, racial segregation leading to the formation of black 'street clubs' by young men who were excluded from organizations such as the, and the waning of organizations such as the and the. By 1978, there were 45 Crips gangs, called sets, operating in Los Angeles. They were heavily involved in the production of PCP, marijuana and amphetamines.

On March 11, 1979, Stanley Tookie Williams, a member of the Westside Crips, was arrested for four murders and on August 8, 1979, Raymond Washington was gunned down. Washington had been against Crip infighting and after his death several Crip sets started fighting against each other. The Crips leadership was dismantled prompting a deadly gang war between the Rollin' 60 Neighborhood Crips and Eight Tray Gangster Crips which began causing nearby Crip sets to choose sides and align themselves with either the Gangster Crips or Neighborhood Crips waging an all out war in South Central and other cities. The East Coast Crips and the Hoover Crips directly severed their alliance after Washington's death.

By 1980, the Crips were in turmoil, warring with the Bloods and against each other. The growth and power of the gang really took off in the early 1980s when hit the streets. In the early 1980s, Crips sets began distributing crack cocaine in Los Angeles. The huge profits from distribution of crack cocaine induced many Crips to establish new markets in other cities and states.

As a result, Crip membership grew steadily and by late 1980s it was one of the largest street gangs in the country. In 1999, there were at least 600 Crips sets with more than 30,000 members transporting drugs in the United States.

Crip graffiti tag in Olympia, Washington Some sources suggest that the original name for the alliance, 'Cribs', was a name narrowed down from a list of many options, and chosen unanimously from three final choices, which included the Black Overlords, and the Assassins. Cribs was chosen to reflect the young age of the majority of the gang members.

The name 'Cribs' evolved into the name 'Crips' when gang members began carrying around canes to display their ' status. People in the neighborhood then began calling them cripples, or 'Crips' for short. A Los Angeles Sentinel article in February 1972 referred to some members as 'Crips' (for cripples). Another source suggests 'Crips' may have evolved from 'Cripplers', a 1970s street gang in of which Raymond Washington was a member. The name had no political, organizational, cryptic, or acronymic meaning, though some have suggested it stands for 'Common Revolution In Progress', a.

According to the film directed by a member of the Bloods, the name represented 'Community Revolutionary Interparty Service' or 'Community Reform Interparty Service'. Williams, in his memoir, further refuted claims that the group was a spin-off of the or formed for a community agenda, the name 'depicted a fighting alliance against street gangs—nothing more, nothing less.' Washington, who attended Fremont High School, was the leader of the East Side Crips, and Williams, who attended Washington High School, led the West Side Crips. A Crip Williams recalled that a blue bandana was first worn by Crips founding member Buddha, as a part of his color-coordinated clothing of blue Levi's, a blue shirt, and dark blue suspenders. A blue bandana was worn in tribute to Buddha after he was shot and killed on February 23, 1973, which eventually became the color of blue associated with Crips.

Chain of command Initially, Crips leaders did not occupy leadership positions, but were recognized as leaders because of their personal charisma and influence. These leaders gave priority to expanding the gang's membership to increase its power. The gang became increasingly violent as they attempted to expand their turf. Membership The Crips have over 800 sets with 30,000 to 35,000 members and associate members, including more than 13,000 members in Los Angeles.

The states with the highest estimated number of 'Crips sets' are California, Florida and Illinois. Members typically consist of young African-American men, with some members being white, Hispanic, Asian, and Pacific Islander. In 1992 the LAPD estimated 15,742 Crips in 108 sets; other source estimates were 30,000 to 35,000 in 600 sets in California. Crips have served in the and on bases in the United States and abroad.

Crip on Crip rivalries. See also: The Crips became popular throughout southern Los Angeles as more youth gangs joined; at one point they outnumbered non-Crip gangs by 3 to 1, sparking disputes with non-Crip gangs, including the L.A.

Bloods Gang Member Initiation

Brims, Athens Park Boys, the Bishops, The Drill Company, and the Denver Lanes. By 1971 the gang's notoriety had spread across Los Angeles. By 1971, a gang on Piru Street in, known as the, was formed and associated themselves with the Crips as a set. After two years of peace, a feud began between the Piru Street Boys and the other Crip sets. It would later turn violent as gang warfare ensued between former allies. This battle continued and by 1973, the Piru Street Boys wanted to end the violence and called a meeting with other gangs that were targeted by the Crips. After a long discussion, the broke all connections to the Crips and started an organization that would later be called the, a street gang infamous for its rivalry with the Crips.

Since then, other conflicts and feuds were started between many of the remaining sets of the Crips gang. It is a popular misconception that Crips sets feud only with Bloods. In reality, they fight each other—for example, the Rolling 60s Neighborhood Crips and 83 Gangster Crips have been rivals since 1979. In, the Grape Street Crips and the PJ Watts Crips have feuded so much that the PJ Watts Crips even teamed up with a local Blood set, the Bounty Hunter Bloods, to fight against the Grape Street Crips. In the mid 1990s, the Hoover Crips rivalries and wars with other Crip gangs caused them to become independent and to refrain from using the Crip name, calling themselves the Hoover Criminals instead of Hoover Crips.

Alliances and rivalries Rivalry with Bloods The primary rival of the Crips is the street-gang. The rivalry dates back to the 1960s when Raymond Washington and several other Crips confronted Sylvester Scott and Benson Owens, students. In response to the attack, Scott, who lived in Compton, established the Piru street-gang, the first 'Bloods' street gang. Owens established the West Piru street-gang. The Bloods street-gang was initially formed to provide members protection from the Crips. In late 1972, several gangs that felt victimized by the Crips due to their escalating attacks joined the Piru Street Boys to create a new federation of non-Crip gangs which would later become known as Bloods.

Between 1972 and 1979, the rivalry between the Bloods and Crips would grow, accounting for a majority of the gang-related murders in southern Los Angeles. Gang members of the Bloods and Crips occasionally fight against each other and are responsible for a significant portion of gang-related murders in Los Angeles. Alliance with Folk Nation In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as many Crip gang members were being sent to various prisons across the country, an alliance was formed between the Crips and the in Midwest and Southern U.S. This alliance was established as a means of protecting gang members incarcerated in state and federal and prison systems. This alliance is strong within the prisons however is less effective outside them.

The alliance between Folks and Crips is known as 8-ball. A broken 8-ball would indicate a beef or disagreement between Folks and Crips. 'BK' ('blood killer') graffiti, Some practices of Crip gang life generally include and substitutions and deletions of particular letters of the alphabet. The letter 'b' in the word 'blood' will be 'disrespected' among certain sets and written with a cross inside it because of its association with the enemy. The letters 'CK', which stand for 'Crip killer', will be avoided and substituted with a double 'cc', and the letter 'b' will be replaced. The words 'kick back' will instead be written as 'kicc bkacc'. Many other letters are also altered due to symbolic associations.

Crips traditionally refer to each other as 'Cuzz', which itself is sometimes used as a moniker for Crip. 'Crab' is the most disrespectful epithet to call a Crip, and can warrant fatal retaliation. Crips in prison modules during the 1970s and 1980s would sometimes speak in to maintain privacy from guards and rival gangs. Department of Justice, Crips. Retrieved 21 March 2017.

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