STG

An STG is a Security Threat Group, a term often used at prisons and correctioanl facilities to denote any type of gang activity.

The concept for Security Threat Group is to take away the recognition and publicity that the term "gang" connotates when referring to people who have an interest in undermining the system.

Most prison STG's do more than offer simple protection for their members. Most often, STG's are responsible for any drug, tobacco, or alcohol handling inside correctional facilities. Further, many STG's involve themselves in prostitution, assaults, kidnappings and murders.

STG's can also be responsible for laundering money from outside gangs, usually the "free world" branches of the same "inside" gangs.

Most correctional facilities have policies prohibiting the formation of STG's, however many STG's continue to operate with impunity.

Common STG's

• Aryan Brotherhood - A white supremacist STG, the inside equivalent of the Aryan Nation
• La Eme - The Mexican Mafia. "Eme" is the letter "M" in Spanish. The mexican mafia are composed mostly of hispanics, although some black and caucasian members exist. The Mexican Mafia and the Aryan Brotherhood are allies and work together to control prostitution, drug running, weapons, and "hits" or murders.
• La Nuestra Familia - "Our Family," another mostly hispanic prison STG that are constantly at war with La Eme
• The Texas Syndicate - A mostly Texas based STG that includes mostly hispanic members, but does allow caucasian and black members.
• Most African-American STG's retain their street gang names and associations. These commonly include Rollin' sets (named after streets, i.e. Rollin 30's, Rollin' 40's, etc.) that can identify with either Blood or Crip affiliations.

Blood in, Blood out

Most STG's follow the policy of "blood in - blood out."

• Blood In - This generally means that to gain entrance into an STG, one has to spill someone else's blood. Most often this requires a murder, although occassionally it can be only a serious assault. The idea is that law enforcement officials will refuse to carry out murder or serious assaults, therefore allowing the STG's to remain uninfiltrated.

• Blood Out - Most STG's are for life. Blood Out refers to trying to get out of an STG. Most often this means the member will be killed, although occassionally it can be a severe beating. In reality, for many STG members, once they are released from prison, if they choose not to continue in any STG or gang activity, they can usually walk away and not associate with any other member.

Identification

Many small STG's require members to recognize every other member of the organization. However, in larger STG's such as La Eme, the use of gang tattoos are used for identification. The tattoo must be earned and anyone found with an STG tattoo that they didn't earn will usually have it removed, commonly by cutting it out or by using an iron. Because tattooing is used for STG identification, many prisons have prohibited tattooing while inside the facility and issue severe penalties for any tattoo equipment or signs of recent tattooing.

External links

• Street and Prison Gang Information Site