188). Prison where gang is strongest and weakest (geographically). The State of California in general and the Los Angeles region in particular (MS-13, 2012).

Recent trends in membership. The gang's membership has swelled in recent years to the point where it has been designated as transnational criminal organization (Lineberger & Padgett, 2011). According to these analysts, "In 2008, the FBI reported that MS-13 -- 1abeled America's most dangerous gang --was operating in at least 42 states ... And ha[d] about 6,000 to 10,000 members nationwide." Currently, there are over 60,000 MS-13 members located in ten different nations, across two continents" (2011, p. 188).

Types of criminal activities that the gang is involved in within the prison system. Like the other gangs reviewed above, members of MS-13 are known for the proclivity towards violence, but the gang is also known for narcotics trafficking behind prison bars as well as expanding criminal activities in the communities, including kidnappings, car robberies, extortion schemes, and others (MS-13, 2012). A former 17-year-old female gang member of MS-13 was stabbed to death on orders from incarcerated MS-13 leaders when she was pregnant after it was discovered she had turned informant (Lineberger & Padgett, 2011).

Conclusion

The research showed that the Aryan Brotherhood, Black Guerilla Family, the Folk Nation, the Mexican Mafia, and Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 were all formed during the latter half of the 20th century with the fundamental mission of providing a framework for mutual support and protection for their members. The research also showed that all of the gangs reviewed engaged in many of the same types of criminal activities in prisons, especially drug dealing, but the criminal activities also included virtually every other type of criminal...

Of all of the gangs, though, the Folk Nation stood out because its members regarded themselves as political prisoners rather than criminals who were being unjustly incarcerated, a belief that contributed to their propensity for violence against other inmates and staff.
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