Statistics: Which of the Los Angeles gangs is right for you?

The largest criminal community in the United States, consisting mainly of African Americans. According to various data for 2019, the number of Crips is estimated at about 125-130 thousand people. It is known for its confrontation with other criminal gangs that are part of the Bloods alliance, whose number is less than the number of Crips. It consists of many groups, most of which are located in Los Angeles, California. The distinctive sign of the gang members is the wearing of bandanas (and clothes in general) in blue, blue and gray colors, sometimes carrying canes. In order to join a gang, a guy needs to commit a crime in front of witnesses, and a girl needs to have sexual intercourse with senior gang members. The famous c-walk dance also originated among the gang. It has developed its own jargon and alphabet.

The alliance of African-American street groups in South Central (Compton, Inglewood), as well as the suburbs of Los Angeles, which has existed since 1972. The number of Bloods groups is estimated from 20 to 30 thousand people. The gang is known for its street clashes with other gangs, illegal drug sales and other crimes. Just like Crips, the Bloods coalition has its own slang and its own alphabet (the English alphabet with modified characters). Using these symbols, gang members mark their territory with spray paint, leaving tags. Members of the group call themselves CK'z (Crip Killaz — from the English. "Killer of cripples") or MOB (Member of Bloods — "Member of the gang of bloody"). Also among the gang appeared the B-Walk dance, (Blood-Walk), which is an analogue of the C-Walk (Crip-Walk) of the Crips gang. The difference between the B-Walk is the modified leg movements and arm movements, which are practically absent in the C—Walk.

An organized international Latin American criminal group. One of the most violent, numerous and fast-growing street gangs in Central and North America, which is active in several countries (primarily in the USA, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala). It is the largest Latin American criminal gang in Los Angeles. The group originated in Los Angeles among immigrants from El Salvador, who poured into the United States en masse in the early 1980s, fleeing the civil war in their country (by the early 1990s, about 300 thousand Salvadorans lived in Los Angeles alone). Being subjected to violence by other street gangs (primarily Latin American bandits from the 18th Street gang and African Americans), Salvadorans responded by creating their own group.

A well-organized multiethnic international criminal group consisting mainly of Latinos, originally emerged in the 1960s as a street gang in the Rampart area of the American city of Los Angeles in California. It is considered the largest international criminal group in Los Angeles - it is assumed that there are more than 10 thousand bandits of this group in Los Angeles County alone. The 18th Street gang operates in the San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, South Bay, East Los Angeles, South Los Angeles, Central Los Angeles, Downtown, Pico Union, Inglewood, Kadahi, Linwood, South Gate, Huntington Park, Maywood and Orange County. About 15,000 members of the group in Los Angeles County are divided into two virtually independent megabands, performing under the same label.

A well-organized American criminal gang consisting of Latinos. It operates in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Spain, El Salvador, Nicaragua and the USA. In the latter country, it is most active in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. It is considered one of the most numerous gangs in the world, consisting of immigrants from Latin America. The group appeared in the 1940s in New York. In the United States, the "kings" were, as a rule, young people from poor families who came from Puerto Rico and Mexico. Despite the lack of central leadership, the gang operates in many US states. The number of the group in the United States is about 25 thousand people. Unlike other major Latin American gangs — Mara Salvatrucha and the 18th Street gang — the Latin Kings gang is not particularly violent. Latin Kings' criminal activities include drug trafficking, pimping, racketeering, arms trafficking, extortion, robberies, murders, contract killings, counterfeiting, etc.

A community of various Latin American street gangs (consisting mainly of Mexicans) associated with the Nuestra Surname ("Our Family"). In 1968, Mexican American prisoners in California prisons were divided into two competing groups - Nortenos (residents of the north) and Surenos (southerners), according to the locations of their hometowns (the dividing line between north and south was near the city of Delano). The Norteños, affiliated with Nuestra Familia, were the prison enemies of southern Latinos, who consisted of members and affiliates of La Eme, better known as the Mexican Mafia. While the Mexican Mafia was originally created to protect Mexicans in prisons, there was a high level of hostility among La Eme participants towards Latino prisoners from rural areas of Northern California.

Latin American independent street gangs (consisting mainly of Mexicans) associated with the Mexican Mafia. Many Surenos gangs compete with each other (with the exception of the bandits in prison), although they share a common identity. Clashes often occur between Surenyos groups, including with murders and the use of firearms. Surenos appeared in 1968, but the term was not used until the 1970s as a result of the long conflict between the Mexican Mafia and Nuestra Familia in the California prison system. As a result of these prison wars, all of California's Latino gangs join the Surenos or Nortenos movement with very few exceptions, such as the Fresno Bulldogs and the Maravilla Brigades of East Los Angeles. Surenos are distributed mainly on the West Coast, primarily in southern California, where they originated. There are approximately 20,000 Surenos in Los Angeles County alone.

An Asian street criminal group operating in the United States. The gang was created in the early 1990s by Cambodian youth, its founder is considered to be Marvin "Modest" Mercado. The gang members are mostly natives of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Bandits are involved in the production and transportation of methamphetamine, MDMA, and marijuana. The gang's activities include other crimes such as burglaries, robberies, and murders. The gang is active in Los Angeles, and its branches also exist in states on the East Coast of the United States. In Los Angeles, some Asian Boyz bands operate alongside the Crips under the name ABZ Crips. On the West Coast, they, like the Crips, prefer blue in their clothes. However, "ABZ Crips" are distributed mainly on the east coast of the United States. On the East Coast, the colors of the bandits' clothes are dark green, black, and yellow. The "Asian guys" also have a dragon head tattoo.

Based in Long Beach, California, a street gang and an organized criminal group consisting of Asians. The organized criminal group originated among Cambodian immigrants to the United States. TRG is considered to be the largest Asian street gang in the United States. Most of the members of the organized criminal group are Cambodians, and representatives of other Asian nations also belong to the TRG.The group engages in many types of criminal activities, the most common of which are extortion, robbery, theft and murder. While young TRG members are mainly involved in street and petty crimes, older gangsters are involved in serious organized criminal activities. Older lineups maintain business relationships with similar lineups of the Southeast Asian group Asian Boyz. Tiny Rascal gang has also formed alliances with some Chinese triads, such as the New York-based Ghost Shadows triad.

Unlike other criminal formations in the world, the Yakuza does not have clearly defined territorial zones of influence, it does not rely on family ties as the structural basis of its organization and does not seek to keep its internal hierarchy, size or leadership secret (most yakuza groups have their official emblems, do not hide the location of headquarters and names bosses, in addition, many of the groups are registered under the guise of various patriotic or far-right associations and associations). Since the 1950s, Japanese law enforcement agencies have been keeping records of the number of groups and official Yakuza members. If typical pre-war gangs usually consisted of one leader and bandits numbering up to 50 people, then post-war groups already united hundreds, and often thousands of gangsters.