Gang

A gang is a group of people who do things together. The word "gang" comes from the Old English gan, which means "to go". It is also related to Old Norse gangr "a group of men". In modern times the word gang is often used to refer to a group of people who commit crimes together. Members of criminal gangs may be called gangsters.

Bonnie and Clyde were bank robbers who, with their gang, traveled the United States during the Great Depression.

There are several reasons why people join gangs. Lots of people who join gangs are young people. One reason that people join gangs is a chance to make money through doing things like selling illegal drugs, stealing and sex trafficking. Another reason, especially for younger people, is a chance to have a place where they belong. A third reason is boredom.

Gang identification

Gang members often use graffiti to tell other gangs that an area is part of their "territory" and that other gangs should stay away. Marking territory, usually with spray paint, is sometimes called "tagging," however tagging usually means messages by one person, called a tagger. Tagger graffiti promotes the individual and is usually more artistic. As well as being a “no trespassing” sign telling rival crews to stay away, gang graffiti can send other messages. Gang graffiti may be a message about future violence or criminal activity. Members of a gang often dress similarly or have the same tattoos.

Gang violence

An artwork showing members of the gang Apache fighting with police in Paris.

Gang violence refers to illegal acts of violence performed by gangs. The violence may be against innocent people, property, or other gangs. Gang violence is extremely prevalent across the world in cities like Moscow, Detroit, Chicago and Los Angeles. Nearly every major city has seen gang violence at some point in its history.

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• Mara Salvatrucha