Gangs, Security Threat Groups and Cars
With 122 federal prisons housing over 158,000 inmates, gangs are found in virtually every facility. However, due to their propensity for violence, you’ll find a larger number of gang members in high-security facilities, with a lower number in mediums and lows, and the least number in camps.
The Bureau of Prisons calls them Security Threat Groups, or STGs, and classifies and tracks them in an internal database called Sentry. However, adults in custody use the phrase “car” to refer to a gang. Members are said to “ride in their car.” The leaders of these groups are known as “shot callers.” In other words, they are calling the shots for their car. A typical conversation between BOP staff and a member of a car may sound like this: “What car do you ride with?’ or “Who do you run with?” And, “Who’s your shot caller?” Most of the time you’ll get a straight, honest answer.
The bureau also uses STG classifications to track other types of group associations, as well as criminal history. For example, there’s an STG for people charged with sex offenses, and a subgroup of STG for those with a history of rape. There are also STGs for people with ties to organized crime families and cartels, for those who have a history of assaulting or murdering staff or law enforcement officers, for those who murdered other prisoners, and for those who claim to be sovereign citizens. There are hundreds of these STG assignments. Additionally, a local facility may enter a separate STG for a Management Interest Group, which may include individuals involved in a local incident or event such as a disturbance, food strike or work strike.
The bureau also uses STGs to track people who have dropped out of a gang. In those cases, the person will be assigned to an STG, with a separate designation as a “dropout.” Thus, individuals often have more than one STG classification (one for membership and one for dropout). The STG system is also used to track individuals who associate with known gang members, thus alerting staff to a person who may soon become a full member.
Adults in custody who want to drop out of a gang participate in a formal debrief process, write an autobiography about themselves and their role in the gang, and provide information about their former affiliation. Once they are approved for this classification, they are transferred to a facility designated for dropouts, with the intent of separating them from persons who want to do them harm due to their dropout status. Dropout yards are specifically designated for High and Medium security facilities. Due to the lack of violence in low and minimum-security facilities, there are no specific dropout yards for these security level facilities.
Another STG subgroup is for members of gangs that are considered disruptive groups (DGs). DG’s have been identified by the Bureau as groups that consistently disrupt the orderly running of a facility. These specific groups are also monitored under the Central Inmate Monitoring Program (aka: CIM). DG’s are somewhat fluid, but the bureau currently classifies the following groups as DGs:
- Aryan Brotherhood (AB) Texas Syndicate (TS)
- Mexican Mafia (MM) Soldiers of Aryan Culture (SAC)
- Mexikanemi La Nuestra Familia (LNF)
Members of these DGs are only housed in high-security facilities, also known as penitentiaries. The bureau very closely monitors all DGs and their national leadership.
Historically, members of the Mexican Mafia (who are from Southern California) are at war with members of the Mexikanemi and Texas Syndicate (both from Texas). Accordingly, these groups must be housed separately from the other, and the bureau manages this war by designating its penitentiaries as either a Texas yard or a California yard. And since ABs are also from California, they are only housed on a California yard.
The exception to the Cali/Texas yard rule is La Nuestra Familia. LNF is a Northern California gang that associates with another gang from the same region called Nortenos. In fact, Nortenos are considered foot soldiers of LNF and frequently transition from the former to the latter. Since the Nortenos (Northerners) are at war with the Sureños (Southern California), the Nortenos and Sureños are kept in separate facilities from each other. In turn, the Sureños are foot soldiers to the Mexican Mafia. High-security Sureños will only be housed on a California yard with members of the Mexican Mafia, while high security Nortenos will only be placed in a Texas yard with LNF.
Confusing everyone are the varying gang subgroups. For example, ABs are from California and do not get along with ABs from Texas. Texas ABs are known as ABT and are housed separately from other ABs. High-security ABTs will only be housed on a Texas yard, while ABs are only placed in a California yard.
Additionally, the Mexikanemi is also known as the Texas Mexican Mafia. Frequently, staff mistake Texas Mexican Mafia (Mexikanemi) for Mexican Mafia and may place them on a California yard. This is why it is essential for institution staff to conduct a thorough pre-screening of all newly designated inmates.
Occasionally, the alliances between STGs shift. In January 2022, the MS13s, who were closely aligned with the Mexican Mafia and Sureños and only housed on a California yard, assaulted numerous Sureno prisoners at USP Beaumont, Texas, resulting in the death of two Sureños and serious injuries to two others. This incident resulted in the nationwide lockdown of all bureau facilities as the agency sorted out what occurred and why. Due to their close ties to the Mexican Mafia, MS13s already could not be housed on a Texas yard. And now, due to their assault on the Sureños, they also can no longer be housed on a Cali yard. And because of the action of the MS13s, the bureau now has the difficult job of trying to determine the safest yard for MS13s.
This article is based on an interview with a recently retired BOP administrator with direct gang experience. However, gang-related issues are always changing. It is written to provide education and context.