Criminal street gangs in America have been in existence for centuries. The initial reason for their formation was to strengthen ethnic and racial solidarity. Bill Evans Transcriptions Pdf Viewer more. These gangs (e.g., African-American, Irish, Italian, Hispanic/ Latino) formed in the neighborhoods they identified with and defended. They were territorial, causing tension with other neighborhood gangs. The Crips and Bloods started as street fighters defending their neighborhoods, only to become more dominant, organized, defined and identifiable in the late 1960s.

They evolved into notorious, ultra-violent and criminally successful street gangs, posing a major threat to Los Angeles. The hundreds of Chicago street gangs and their members, both those incarcerated and on the street, established and aligned themselves with the People and Folk Nations.