GANGS IN NEW JERSEY

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to Understanding Gangs. This podcastexamined street and prison gang structure and activity
in the United States from the perspectiveof law enforcement academics and former gang members.
Let's get started. Test the fewin a past test, you keep

(00:23):
says, I'll be another. Accordingto a recent statewide gang assessment from the
New Jersey State Police Or an estimatedover twelve thousand gang members in the state
and another three thousand behind bars,Some gangs have thousands of members with traditional
leadership structures, while many are looselyheld together by only a few dozen people.

(00:44):
Like everything else, gangs have evolved. What you think a gang looks
like probably isn't accurate at all.These days, State Attorney General Matthew Platkins
says gangs have been reported in everycounty in the state, from small rural
areas to large cities. No placeis immune These days. Many stereotypes of
gangs are no longer true. Rivalgangs are now close to one another in
many places. Gang colors, symbols, and tattoos are much less common,

(01:07):
so they're not so easily identified.Gangs often operate openly now on social media
platforms. We see this also withthe drug cartels, where recruitment is easy
and a person's allegiance to just onespecific gang should no longer be assumed.
The gang world has definitely starting tomorph, and it's changed over the past
several decades. Perhaps surprising but notso surprising, is that most gang members

(01:30):
are between thirteen and twenty five.Some of law enforcement have told me they
actually try to recruit them at amonch younger age. Now, if they
can get them at eleven or twelveor thirteen, their punishments are a lot
less, especially if they get themto drop out of high school, then
they have more control because they don'thave much of a future, and again
their punishments are less. Those ina gang, you know, less likely
to graduate high school, find astable job, or likely to have alcohol

(01:52):
problems and commit crimes. That's againone of the reasons they're targeting them.
So they look for individuals that aremarginalized, they don't have a good,
stable home life. In New Jerseyswere back here again. There's seventier one
gangs in North Jersey, the Bloodsof cryps So Icy Boys, Brick Squad,
Trinitarios two thirty and the Hell's AngelMotorcycle Club. That's right, the

(02:14):
gangs are still there. Trinitarios isa street gang that has established in New
York City correction, excuse me systemabout thirty years ago there as a way
of protecting themselves from other Latino gangs. Brick Squad is a neighborhood based gang
from the first ward of Patterson twohundred and thirty Boys originated in the fourth
ward, and so Icy Boys alsooriginated in the same city. And La

(02:36):
probably heard of the Cryps and theWho formed in the sixties and the Bloods
and Retaliation in the seventies. Bothhave expanded across the country. Now some
take the moniker of Bloods or Cripsand act like they're associated with these gangs,
but in reality they're not. TheHell's Angels motorcycle gang, as we've
talked about before, is back whoGo. They go all the way back
to the nineteen forties, almost onehundred years ago. Membership in the gang

(02:57):
is highly selective and sometimes haven't evenbeen accused of hiring four armer law enforcement
and accountants to do background checks.In the middle of the state of Viginia's
Jersey, you have gangs again,Bloods and Crips rolling sixties Eighteen Street,
Pagan's Motorcycle Club and Hell's Angels.The Pagans is an outlaw motorcycle club in
the Rolling sixties. Is a distinctiveset of the Crips gang. There's also
another group called the fruit Town Brims. It's a set of the Bloods street

(03:21):
gang. They originate in the areaof Compton. Gangs are the eighteen Strikes,
also established in the A's in theLa area of the nineteen sixties Eighteenth
Street Gang. In South Jersey,you have a Latin King Sex Money Murder,
Bloods, only the Family and onlythe South only the South's believe the
originating in Cumberland County. Within thelast few years, the Latin Kings,
commonly regard as one of the moreorganized criminal street gangs, evolved into nationwide

(03:45):
criminal organization and established in presence inNew Jersey only. The Family, originating
in Camden around two twelve, hasevolved into an extremely violent criminal street gang.
Sex Money Murder is a set ofthe Bloods that has developed a significant
presence among street The sixteen cities inNew Jersey with the most problems Passaic,
Neptune, Linden, World East,Orange, Plainfield, New Brunswick. Patterson

(04:08):
makes it to sixteen to ten inthe top five to give you an idea
of the most dangerous places in Newark. Orange is number four, Trenton number
three, Asbury Park number two andCamden number one.