18th street
Founded	1959
Years active	since 1960
Territory	mostly in Los Angeles, the western and southern areas of California, Central America
Ethnicity	Hispanic (mainly Mexican)
Membership	8,000-15,000
Criminal activities	Drug trafficking, robbery, extortion, gun trafficking, murder, contract killing, etc.

18th Street Gang is a largely-Hispanic Los Angeles-based street gang. It is estimated that there are between 8,000 to 15,000 members of 18th Street gang in Los Angeles County alone, The latest figures from the NDIC 18th Street membership at 8,000 to 15,000 nationwide.^[1]

History

The 18th Street gang grew out of an older Los Angeles gang, the Clanton 14 street gang (after the street that was their home base) better known as Clanton 14 by locals^{citation needed}. In the 1940s, Clanton Street was changed to 14th Place due to the high number of zoot suit Pachucos 'hanging-out', as well as the war effort's need for simple addresses.

While the majority of the gang's activities occur in Los Angeles, the gang is active throughout the United States and other countries, including El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Mexico^{citation needed}.

The gang is divided into five subsets or 'sides': North, East, South, West and South Central Los Angeles^{citation needed}. Furthermore, each side has its own cliques or mini gangs^{citation needed}.

Membership/Hierarchy

Membership was originally open to Mexican nationals. Although most members tend to be of Mexican descent, membership has opened to other backgrounds, including Central American^{citation needed}. Currently, 18th Street has a loose hierarchical structure. Although the gang is well networked throughout the nation, Mexico, and Central America, there is no known central leadership nationally or internationally^{citation needed}. Cliques generally function independently, but will join forces when combating rival gangs or law enforcement^{citation needed}.

Gang markings

As with most gangs, 18th Street gang members can be easily identified by their tattoos. A common identifier is the number 18 (Spanish: dieciocho), which is usually represented in the Roman numeral (X8)(XVIII) (XV3) and sometimes they also use 666 or 99 (6+6+6=18 / 9+9=18)^{citation needed}. Some use the number 5 meaning the fifth letter of the Alphabet They also tattoo themselves with the word BEST, which stands for Barrio Eighteen St. (Street)^{citation needed}. Members engage in graffiti to mark their terrority.

Culture

18th Street gang members are required to abide by a strict set of rules. For instance, they are forbidden from using crack cocaine and other hard drugs^{citation needed}. Failure to obey the word of a gang leader, or to show proper respect to a fellow gang member, may result in an 18-second beating, or even execution for more serious offenses.^[2]

According to the LAPD, some factions of the 18th Street gang have developed a high level of sophistication and organization. This is attributed to the gang's connections with Mexican and Colombian drug cartels^{citation needed}. The 18th Street gang is occasionally referred to as the "Children's Army" because of its recruitment of elementary and middle-school aged youth.^[3]

18th Street gang members are most often seen wearing brown or black pants and a white T-shirt^{citation needed}. Alternatively, gang members also wear jerseys from professional sports teams.

Criminal Activity

18th Street is a well established gang that is involved in all areas of criminal activity. Some members have even become involved in producing fraudulent Immigration and Naturalization identification cards and food stamps^{citation needed}. Several 18th Street gang members have evolved into a higher level of sophistication and organization than other gangs. This progression is credited to the gang's close relationship with Mexican and Colombian drug cartels. They also have been linked to occurrences of murder, murder-for-hire, assaults, drug trafficking, extortion, vandalism, drug smuggling, prostitution, robbery, weapons trafficking, as well as other crimes^{citation needed}.

Media exposure

The gang has been featured in several television shows and movies. The gang was portrayed in an episode of Numb3rs, in which they were called the "18th Street Mexicali", in an episode of Shark as the "18th Street posse", and in the show Gangland (in the episode "Murder by Numbers")^{citation needed}. The gang was also in a scene in the movie Domino.

Location

The majority of 18th Street cliques operating throughout the United States and abroad are the result of Los Angeles members' migrating to other areas and establishing cliques under their leadership^{citation needed}. Members originally from Los Angeles tend to be more respected than those in other areas. 18th Street cliques have been identified in 37 states and the District of Columbia in the United States, as well as 10 foreign countries^{citation needed}.

Cliques

list of few Cliques in the Los Angeles area (some country/world wide)

West Side 18th Street LBZ Latino BoyZ

References

18th street LBZ Latino BoyZ

External links

• "The Day I First Found Love" - True story of an ex-gangbanger that found God
• 18th Street Gang in Los Angeles County
• BBC News: Gang life tempts Salvador teens
• Alonso, Alex (May 15, 2008). "18th Street is not 80% illegal", streetgangs.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-03. 
• BBC News: El Salvador swoops on street gang
• PBS Wide Angle: 18 With a Bullet 18th Street Gang in El Salvador
• Strohm, Chris (August 1, 2005). "DHS touts success of anti-gang operation", GovExec.com. Retrieved on 2006-03-14.