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The Crips are a primarily, but not exclusively, African American gang founded in Los Angeles, California in 1969 mainly by 16-year-old Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams. What was once a single gang is now a loosely connected network of individual sets, often engaged in open warfare with one another.

The Crips are one of the largest and most violent associations of street gangs in the United states. with an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 members. The gang is known to be involved in murders, robberies, drug dealing, among many other criminal pursuits. The gang is notorious for its gang members' flamboyant use of the color blue in their clothing. However, this practice has waned due to contentious police crackdowns on gang members.

The Crips are known to have an intense and bitter rivalry with the Bloods as well as various Hispanic street gangs.

Crips have been documented in the US military, found in both US and overseas bases.

History

Stanley "Tookie" Williams, generally acknowledged as co-founder of the Crips, started his own gang called the Westside Crips. The Crips became popular throughout southern Los Angeles as more youth gangs joined; at one point they outnumbered non-Crip gangs by 3 to 1, sparking disputes with non-Crip gangs, including the L.A. Brims, Athens Park Boys, the Bishops and the Denver Lanes.

Along with friends, Williams and Washington created the initial intent of continuing the revolutionary ideology of the 1960s. These aspirations were unattainable because of a general lack of political leadership and guidance. Washington and Williams were never able to develop an agenda for social change within the community and instead became obsessed with protecting themselves from other gangs in the community.

By 1971 the gang's notoriety had spread across Los Angeles. The gang became increasingly violent as they attempted to expand their turf. By the early 1980s the gang was heavily involved with drug trade.

Crip on Crip violence

In 1971, a Crip set on Piru Street, Compton known as the Piru Street Boys was formed. After two years of peace, a feud began between the Piru Street Boys and the other Crip sets. It would later turn violent as gang warfare ensued between former allies. This battle continued until the mid 1970s when the Piru Street Boys wanted to call an end to the violence and called a meeting with other gangs that were targeted by the Crips. After a long discussion, the Pirus broke off all connections to the Crips and started an organization that would later be called the Bloods, a street gang infamous for its rivalry with the Crips.

Since then, other conflicts and feuds were started between many of the remaining sets of the Crips gang. It is a popular misconception that Crips sets feud only with Bloods. In reality, they fight each other — for example, the Rollin' 60s and 83rd Street Gangster Crips ("Eight-Tray") have been rivals since 1979. In Watts, Los Angeles, the Grape Street Watts Crips and the P Jay Crips have feuded so much that the P Jay Crips even teamed up with the local Bloods set, the Bounty Hunter Bloods, to fight against the Grape Street Crips.

References

1. U.S. Department of Justice, Crips, p.3.
2. ^ U.S. Department of Justice, Crips, p.1.
5. U.S. Department of Justice, Crips, p.2.
11. "Warden: Williams frustrated at end". CNN. 2005-12-13. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
12. Crip History
13. A Brief History of the Los Angeles based Crips
14. "War and Peace in Watts". LA Weekly. 2005-07-14. Retrieved 2007-05-04.

Reference publications

• U.S. Department of Justice (2002). Crips. U.S. Department of Justice. Copies can be requested here: Request Product number:2002-M0465-001.

See also

• Crip Walk

External links

• History of Crip Gangs in LA early formation of Los Angeles Crips
• Snopes Urban Legend – The origin of the name Crips
• L.A.-based gangs – An overview of LA-based gangs

• Crips
• 1969 establishments
• Gangs in New York City
• History of Los Angeles, California
• Modern street gangs