Bloods One of the Fastest

Bloods

One of the fastest growing gang alliances in the country despite the somewhat successful crackdown on gang violence and activity in the past decade, The Bloods originally formed simply as a response to another gang organization (Blood Knowledge, pars. 1-3; Inside Prison, par. 1). The Crips emerged in the South-Central area of Los Angeles in the late 1960s, first as a partnership between two gangs and then as a growing yet loose affiliation of gangs, and began targeting independent gangs trying to force them out of their territories or to become Crip "sets," or Crip-affiliated gangs (Blood Knowledge, par. 1). The Piru Street Boys were once such gang in the City of Compton, and for a short time this gang became a Crip set, but this relationship was not destined to last (Blood Knowledge, par. 2).

Conflict soon arose between the Piru Street Boys (as the Piru Street Crips, as they were now called) and other Crips sets over the attack of "neutral" citizens (individuals that weren't members of any gangs, which the Piru Street Boys had always been against (Blood Knowledge, par. 2). After waging a brief yet bloody war with other Crips sets in the area, the Piru Street Boys broke away and joined with two other gangs, the LA Brims and the Lueeders Park Hustlers, forming the Blood alliance of gangs in 1972 (Inside Prison, par. 1). Though initially formed as a direct response to the threat of the Crips alliance, which is and has remained quite a loose affiliation of gangs that sometimes experiences a great deal of infighting, the Bloods very quickly coalesced into a more centrally controlled gang, with the Piru Street Boys changing their name to Bloods shortly after forming the association (Inside Prison, par. 1).

After the formation of the Bloods in the 1970s, the gang grew in a rather unexpected direction when it entered the Texas prison system in the 1980s (Inside Prison, par. 1).From there, Blood sets have sprung up all around the country and even around the globe, in part due to an agreement made at the formation of the initial alliance that any gang that wanted to become a Blood set could become one simply by making that decision (Blood Knowledge, par. 7). There is also a great sense of honor being affiliated with the Bloods, as they have strict codes of conduct concerning treatment of gang members, enemy gangs, and "civilians" or "neutrons" that have no gang affiliation, with many feeling that this makes the Blood alliance and gang more legitimate (Morris & Davis). At the same time, the Bloods are unquestionably dangerous and vicious, and are engaged in drug trade, extortion, kidnapping, prostitution, and a variety of other harmful and illegal activities that significantly contribute to major social problems (Morris & Davis; Blood Knowledge).