Prison Gangs, Major

The United States’ prison system is populated by several prison gangs. Prison gangs are organizations of prisoners that engage in criminal behavior and activities within the prison system complex. Prison gangs often create external extensions of their prison gang into street gangs that engage in criminal activities outside the U.S. penal system as a support apparatus.

Generally, a prison gang features characteristics that are shared among several prison gangs. Some of these commonalities are having an organized hierarchical structure or strict rules of conduct established by the gang for members to follow. Another prominent feature of most prison gangs is that they are based on racial lines of exclusion and inclusion. Typically, these prison gangs are established along racial and ethnic lines as prisons are heavily ...