NCJ Number
138309
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 54 Issue: 5 Dated: (July 1992) Pages: 62-66
Date Published
1992
Length
5 pages
Annotation
In the early 1980's, confronted by problems posed by five major gangs in prisons, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) formed the Federal Prison Gang Task Force and developed a management strategy.
Abstract
The five major prison gangs in the Federal system include the Aryan Brotherhood, known as the most violent and racist of the gangs. Although originally formed to promote white supremacy, most of its violence is now aimed at maintaining gang discipline. The Mexican Mafia is the BOP's most active gang in terms of activity frequency rather than severity. The other three gangs of concern are the Texas Syndicate, La Nuestra Familia, and the Black Guerrilla Family. The BOP's original strategy of identifying and segregating gang members has become somewhat obsolete as the line between prison gangs and street gangs blurs. As a result, the BOP is moving toward the concept of tracking security threat groups. The agency's policy is more dynamic, allowing for modifications to deal with rapidly emerging gangs that may not fit the classic definition of a prison gang. The BOP is developing security threat profiles for offenders with histories or skills of specific security concern. High-risk inmates are identified through the intake process, combined with court documents, staff observations, and interagency intelligence. The American Correctional Association (ACA) is involved in supporting the informed security decisionmaking process by preparing a well-designed gangs survey.