Crirbs Research Paper

The Cribs are a well-known gang that started in California by Raymond Washington and Stanley “Tookie” Williams III in 1969. Raymond Washington started the gang when he was 16 years old as a single gang. “It is now a loosely connected network of individual sets, often engaged in open warfare with one another,” according to Tracy E. Barnhart of corrections.com. Through the years the gang has grown to be one of the largest and most powerful gangs in the United States. The gang was originally named Baby Avenue to imitate older gangs and the activities they engaged in. The gang then took on the name of the Avenue Cribs. Soon after that they were called the Cribs because of the young age of the gang members, which eventually lead to the name of the Crips. According to corrections.com, this name was first introduced in the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper in a description by crime victims of young men with canes, as if they were crippled; hence the name Crips. Some people believe it was just a common misspelling, but either way the name stuck and is now known as one of the most notorious gangs in America.

Many of the surrounding rival gangs including the Pirus formed together and later became known as the Bloods. The two gangs have been feuding over territory, drugs, money and power since the mid 1970’s. The feud between these two gangs has caused a significant amount of damage to their society which has resulted in the death of hundreds of gang members and civilians as well. Almost all of the members of the Crips are African American males who have been in and out of trouble since a very young age. The members join to have protection on the streets from other gangs and to make money. Most of the gang members come from a poor and unstable upbringing. Many of the youth who are a part of the Crips have dropped out of high school and are