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Backgrounder: Gangs in United States

Xinhua, May 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

A fight between rival motorcycle gangs turned deadly Sunday at a restaurant in the U.S. state of Texas, killing nine people and wounding 18 others, local media reported.

Below is some background information about gangs in the United States.

Historically, various gangs gradually expanded during the Westward Movement in the 19th century, in which numerous people, including lots of divorcees and gamblers, migrated to the west to seek a better life.

They became very active in the early 20th century, which is called the "golden age" for gangs. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), founded in 1908, grew rapidly to tackle organized criminal groups in the 1920s, including the famous Ku Klux Klan, or KKK, which rose suddenly and had several million members.

At present, Gangs in the United States are roughly categorized into three types: street gangs, which constitute a major threat to public security, such as the Latino 18th Street gang in Los Angeles; prison gangs, which involve gangsters in prisons and outside, such as the Mexican Mafia; motorcycle gangs, which have a highly concentrated leadership system and are criminally active in many fields.

The country has spared no effort in cracking down on gangs, and at least 36 states have passed tough laws to deal with gang crimes.

Despite that, gangs in the country have been growing in recent years, partially because the police have set counter-terrorism as their main task since the 9/11 attack, slackening the effort to fight other crimes.

The internal personnel change in many groups has led to constant street gang warfare, and the release of some gang members from prison often causes new division of gangs' territory. In addition, continuously growing drug dealings have further worsened gang crimes.

According to the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment released by the FBI, approximately 1.4 million gang members belonging to more than 33,000 gangs were criminally active in the country as of April, 2011. Gangs are responsible for an average of 48 percent of violent crime in most jurisdictions, the report said. Endi