18th Street is made up of a loose coalition of two dozen cliques. ibid.
Here in LA – the gang capital of America – the biggest gang of them all, the notorious 18th Street, draws power from numbers. ibid.
The heart of 18th Street is the west side. ibid.
They’ve even embraced the twenty-first century with its own website. ibid.
They are one of the most notorious street gangs in the world. They spawned in LA to retaliate against an imposing enemy. Out-manned two-to-one by their rivals the Crips, the Bloods are the underdogs on the streets. Gangland s2e10: One Blood
Over thirty shots were fired into the group of trick-or-treaters. The incident became known as the Halloween Massacre. ibid.
Unity and revenge are key to their survival. The battle stretches across LA. ibid.
Bloods bought cocaine and turned it into Crack ... Crack was cheap and the profit margin was high. It was also very addictive which created a guaranteed client base. ibid.
While Tupac was not a Blood he hung out with the gang. ibid.
They share a common language. Blood street code includes hand codes unique to each set. ibid.
They are the most overlooked criminals in the United States. And amongst the most dangerous. They’re girls in gangs. Their reasons for a life of crime may be different. But like their male counterparts they crave money and respect. Here no rules apply. Gangland s2e25: From Girl to Gangsta
Approximately 800,000 people belong to gangs in the United States; of those an estimated 70,000 are women. In Los Angeles alone there are 5,000. ibid.
More women are committing crimes on the streets. ibid.
They were dubbed the Bloodettes and the Cripettes. ibid.
A new drug appeared on the streets and gang life would never be the same again ... Gangs were the engine that drove the crack epidemic. ibid.
Girls who are sexed in are less respected. ibid.
Being part of the gang is a family affair. Gangland s4e1: Highway to Hell
It’s also the gang capital of the world. A refuge for more than 150,000 gang murders. 3 miles north of downtown LA lies Highland Park, one of the oldest areas in the city. This predominantly Hispanic neighbourhood is bordered by Eagle Rock, Cypress Park ... Their turf stretches nearly 6 square miles. ibid.
The Avenues went on a killing spree. Callously murdering 3 black men who were in their neighbourhood. ibid.
The Avenues have existed in LA for more than a century. ibid.
Heroin flooded the streets. The Avenues became part of the lucrative drug trade. And grew increasingly violent. ibid.
In the 1990s Crack hit the streets. ibid.
In June more than 500 law enforcement agents descended on the Avenues in the largest gang take-down in recent history. ibid.
The Avenues is a way of life passed down from generation to generation who view it with honour. ibid.
As long as you’re feared, and as long as you can intimidate the community and other gang members, then you can more or less conduct your business how you see fit. Sergeant Fred Reynolds, LA Country Sheriff’s Department
Los Angeles: gang capital of the world. Home to 700 gangs and birthplace of the Bloods and the Crips ... Their common enemy the Latino gangs. Ross Kemp on Gangs s4e1: Los Angeles, Sky 2008
The Latino gangs are on the rise and I’m here to meet them. ibid.
Compton ... just over 5 gangs for every square mile. ibid.
The Bloods and the Crip gangs were formed in the seventies. ibid.
The police have told me that the ultimate control of street gangs comes from one place – a prison gang known as the Mexican Mafia. ibid.
The money is the power. ibid.
For two decades Monster was an icon on the hard streets of south-central and beyond … A career criminal renowned for chilling acts of violence. American Gangster: Monster Kody Scott, BET 2006-2009
Kody didn’t stop – two years later at age 13 he beat a man so badly police described it as the work of a monster. ibid.
By the late ’80s battles between the Rollin’ ’60s and Monster’s gang the Eight Trays were marked by brutal and routine acts of vengeance. ibid.
He was a best-selling author and a man with a message. ibid.
Monster: The Autobiography of an LA Gang Member … In August 2008 Grove Press released T.H.U.G L.I.F.E. a new novel by Sanyika Shakur. ibid.
November 1996: A rebel force propped up by the Reagan administration and run by the CIA … ‘Freeway’ Ricky Ross – the Crack king of LA. American Gangster: Ricky Ross & the Crack Connection
He claimed he moved over 100 kg a week. ibid.
By the time Stanley Tookie Williams was executed by the state of California in December 2005 he may have been the most famous Death Row inmate in California. American Gangster: Stanley Tookie Williams and the Rise of the Crips
The 35-year-old war between the Bloods and the Crips has become a way of life. ibid.
Young Tookie idolised Al Capone, and he and Ray Washington joined forces [Crips] in the spring of 1971. ibid.
By 1972 the Crips had morphed into eight sets, and was living out an infamous model. ibid.
70 people died from gang gunfire in 1974. ibid.
1992: Gang killings topping 800 for the first time. ibid.
A mastermind and his crack team of robbers. He planned it for months and took less than thirty minutes to pull it off. It was the largest cash heist in American history. Masterminds: The Dunbar Heist, truTV 2003
Companies like Dunbar – but armoured car companies don’t just transport money, they also store it for banks and businesses. ibid.
This robbery is a criminal masterpiece. It soon becomes clear to investigators how elaborate the robbery had been. The authorities suspected it was an inside job. ibid.
Allen Pace was found guilty and was sentenced to twenty-four years in prison. ibid.
$10,000,000 and only mastermind Allen Pace knows where it is. ibid.
This isn't Chicago! This is the wild fucking west! ... This is my destiny! Los Angeles is my fucking destiny. Gangster Squad 2013 starring Josh Brolin & Ryan Gosling & Sean Penn & Nick Nolte & Emma Stone & Robert Patrick & Anthony Mackie et al, director Ruben Fleischer, Mickey
In LA nobody touches you. Crash 2004 starring Karina Arroyava & Sandra Bullock & Dato Bakhtadze & Thandie Newton & Terrence Howard & Don Cheadle & Matt Dillon & Jennifer Esposito & Keith David et al, director Paul Haggis
In the late twentieth century hostile forces inside the United States grow strong. The city of Los Angeles is ravaged by crime and immorality. Escape from LA 1996 starring Kurt Russell & Steve Buscemi & Stacy Keach & Cliff Robertson & Valeria Golino & Peter Fonda & Pam Grier & Bruce Campbell & Georges Corraface & Michael Forbes et al, director John Carpenter, opening commentary
Los Angeles Island is declared no longer part of the United States and becomes the deportation point for all people found undesirable or unfit to live in the new moral America. ibid.
Welcome to LA. Welcome to the party. Kiss Bang Bang 2005 starring Val Kilmer & Robert Downey junior & Michelle Monaghan & Corbin Bernsen & Dash Mihok & Larry Miller & Rockmond Dunbar & Shannyn Sossamon & Angela Lindvall et al, director Shane Black, opening commentary
Hollywood’s streets are neither paved with gold nor safe. Crime is rife. Work is hard to come by. Drugs Inc s3e7: Hollywood High, National Geographic 2012
Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine come up from the border to this part of LA. Here it is kept in stash-houses. ibid.
The Mexican cartels exert a powerful grip on the drugs scene in Hollywood and LA as a whole. But they have competition. ibid.
The party-set prefer their heroin smoked. ibid.
LA Country has 1,000 [marijuana] dispensaries. ibid.
Total annual homeless in LA County is 200,000. ibid.
Crystal Meth: it’s one of the most addictive substances on the planet. It does more damage to the body than heroin or crack. It’s cheap, it’s easy to make, and it’s everywhere. ibid.