Structural Disorganization: How Prison Gangs Mitigate Violence in Carceral Environments

• In Event: IASOC Presents: A Look at Prison Gangs throughout the US

Abstract

Based on 87 formal interviews with formerly incarcerated Sureño, Crip and Blood gang members in Los Angeles, descriptive statistical data from annual California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) reports on the CDCR inmate population, and dozens of informal interviews with Correctional Officers, Law Enforcement Officers and formerly incarcerated gang members, this chapter examines the history of conflict between prison gangs the Mexican Mafia (La Eme) and the Black Guerrilla Family (BGF) and offers a critical analysis that demonstrates how the consolidation of prison gangs resulted in an unprecedented reduction in weapon violence in CDCR facilities. Empirical findings demonstrate that contrary to popular perceptions, the consolidation of prison gangs in CDCR facilities led to a collapse in the occurrence of serious violence in CDCR facilities, thus casting doubt on the folk perception that prison gang politics increase the occurrence of serious violence in carceral facilities.

Author

• Robert Donald Weide, California State University, Los Angeles