When defining or identifying certain characteristics within an Asian gang, many seem consistent but not always one-hundred percent accurate. First off, gang members are all male. There are females that hang around the Asian gangs, live in the same residents as gang members, even carry firearms for their boyfriends, but are never involved with criminal activities. Most commonly, female associates of Asian gangs are there usually to distract police officers or offer some sort of getaway once a crime has been committed.
Asian gangs tend to recruit members between the ages of twelve and seventeen. Like most other forms of gangs, younger children are more easily persuaded to join than the older crowd as most of the time it is the leaders of each gang that are in there twenties to early thirties. It is very common for the younger gang members to carry out random acts of violence (Chin, 1990).
Other characteristics include that most gang members are high school dropouts, with very few, if any, attend high school and keep an active gang membership. Most often this is due to that fact that when many Asian immigrants arrive in North America they have weak English skills and struggle in both school and the social aspects of life in an English speaking culture. Constable Albert Ku of the Edmonton police department reported on the youths that “they concluded that they don’t want to work in the restaurants and the laundries like the old Chinese guys,” (Runner, 2000).
Even though it has been noticed that Asian gang members go to great lengths to concealing their gang affiliation, most gangs do tend to favor the color black. This can include black boots, black shirts, or black leather jackets. Members tend to dress well and maintain a very high-class look with their dress style. As for distinctive markings, Asian gangs tend to lean toward scarring or mutilation opposed to ink tattoos to create specific gang markings.
Asian gangs use scarring as a method of marking, the most popular method used is cigarette burns. Every different style of markings have there own distinctive meaning to each Asian gang. Burns on the hand can be commonly associated with Filipino street gangs. Burns on forearms are Vietnamese or Cambodian. Burns on upper arm are usually Chinese, and when it comes to female branding, the most common area is either ankles or feet. Also, each of these markings has a certain explanation to each member. Single burns often represent a willingness to engage in criminal activity (Haddigan).
How big each gang is varies among groups. The average size of an Asian gang tends to be roughly twenty to fifty hardcore members (Chin, 1990). There are also times when gang conflict is intense in some areas, and some gangs are forced to seek reinforcements from other cities. The organizational structure tends to have four or five leaders who are often referred to as “tai lou,” or “big brother.”
This distribution of power is set by the Triad (or tongs) with the intentions that the leaders will oppose other leaders to make sure decisions are made for the best interest of the gang. As the gang leaders follow in power to the Triad, the associate leaders follow to the commands of the gang leaders. Their job is to look over the street soldiers, who are the working members of the gang that are at the bottom of the command chain. Their jobs are mainly to guard the streets, including gambling houses, nightclubs, prostitution rings and other crime outfits, as well as commit the actual crimes. Among the ordinary members on the bottom, there are those who are known to the gang as “shooters.”
These are the individuals, or thugs, who carry out the gang’s assaults. There is always one member within the gang that acts as a treasurer and maintains a count over the gang’s funds (Chin, 1990). This money is usually used towards rent, food, guns, bail, lawyer’s fees, and miscellaneous expenses. Within apartment buildings that are occupied by Asian gangs, one of the main purposes it serves as is for a gun and ammunition storage area. None of the leaders of the gang live in these facilities, but visit frequent to make sure everything is maintained. The tongs and members of the Triad are hardly ever seen (Chin, 1990).
Compared to the American Mafia, the Chinese Triads and their member exhibit a level of discipline and obedience unparalleled by any other group (Quinn, 2001). Foot soldiers are sworn to secrecy and according to Asian gang researcher Hal Quinn of McLean’s Magazine, “put the Triad’s interests above those of their families and even their own lives.” With vast networks ranging from American and Canadian cities to Hong Kong and other Eastern ports, along with strong financial backing, the Triads are responsible from mainly the smuggling of heroin and illegal immigrants into North America (Kaihla, 2001).
When asking the question on what causes Asian youths to join delinquent gangs, several researchers and criminologists have found three main factors; school problems, family problems, and the lack of employment opportunities. Along with these factors, the isolation and disorganization of the Chinese communities make it easy for gangs to prey on alienated youths (Le, 1999). It is no secret that Asian people show certain brilliance when it comes to academic achievement (Winkel, 2001).
But surveys show that most of these students are either born in North America or came to North America before their adolescent years. Those who do not come over as teenagers face problems with the language barrier, and usually drop out of high school. However, a few cases have shown that Asian gangs were formed in the schools where racial tensions were high and troubled students grouped together because they shared many educational problems.
The Asian Gang Profile for Investigators and Law Enforcement Officers shows that it is the family that is the most important social unit with Asian people (Haddigan). However, with new adjustments of living standards in North American society, the family is not always intact. Usually the family cannot afford to send everyone at once overseas to North America. Even if both parents do make it over, they barely see their children because of the long work days they have to put in just to survive in the new country. With this going on, the children are left alone most of the time and this leads a void in their lives when it comes to having a good role model in their lives.
This is a prime gateway to delinquency in not only Asian gangs, but other ethnic minority gangs as well. When young Asian immigrants are forced to or lead to dropping out of high school, they cannot take their problems to their parents. This once again is due to the fact that the parents are working such long vigorous hours; these youths tend to seek support from understanding peers who share similar problems. Eventually with these youths not being in school, they tend to find new places to hang around such as local coffee shops or arcades. Some are hired to run errands for the higher organized crime bosses in the area. These are prime steps that lead juveniles to a gang life (Le, 1999).
The final main factor that has influence on Asian youth and gang affiliation has to deal with employment opportunities. It is easy figure out that without a high school education, one would have limited or few good job opportunities, and with the language barrier experienced by many Asian youths, job opportunities are limited to low-income, minimum-wage jobs such as kitchen help or cooks.
Local Asian employers also prey on these types of workers because they can take advantage of cheap labor and avoid paying for insurance or benefits (Le, 1999). Many Asian immigrants really have no choice in this matter because most are unaware of the labor laws in North America. With all of these factors playing key roles in young Asian youth’ lives it is no wonder they look for an alternative, often found in gang life.
With youths the prime targets to recruiting into a gang, various methods are used to persuade them into the gang. With Asian gangs, they can be known to show both subtle and crude methods in their recruiting process for potential members. Gang recruiters may entertain the young recruits by showing them to expensive cars, flashing money around, or the companionship of teenage girls. According to Susan Moran of the Insight on the News, pretty Asian women in light, loose-fitting outfits cater to the young prospects in restaurants and massage parlors in the local Chinatown (Moran, 2003).
Those who are impressed with these types of bribes usually join the gang without much persuasion, however, those who are unimpressed or those who show no interest in joining the gang are often assaulted by gang street soldiers. By instilling fear upon the youth it shows them that they will be safer in the streets as part of the gang rather than to be alone. Once a youth decides to make that commitment to joining an Asian gang, his next step is to go through an initiation ceremony (Le, 1999).
Each initiation process differs from gang to gang, but what was found with Asian street gangs were that the ceremony is performed in a highly respectable and traditional manner. Initiation includes oaths of loyalties and blood ties and those that stray from the gang will be certain for death (Chaze, 2003). This and other ceremonies are usually passed down through Triad subcultures.
What usually distinguishes each gang from one another is usually the type of crime that they are involved in. Many Asian gangs tend to engage in a wide range of criminal activities including extortion, prostitution, gambling, and drug trafficking. However, robbery still maintains to be the most prominent form of Asian gang-crime activity. Various forms of robbery include break and entry into jewelry stores and Asian-owned restaurants, and using stolen or counterfeit credit cards to purchase expensive items for resale on the black-market (Kaihla, 2001).
The most common style of robbery amongst most Asian gangs is home invasions. As many profitable Asian business men are commonly know to keep large amounts of money in their homes rather than banks, Asian gang members often raid their houses and assault the homeowners until they receive the money. In one particular case a Vietnamese storeowner lost over $130,000 in one night and commented that the “gangs know who keeps money at home,” (Kaihla, 2001). When Asian homes are robbed, a close friend or member of the family is usually responsible for tipping off the invading gang, telling them precisely where the valuables are stored and when to break in (Long, 2002).
Drug trafficking is another instrumental criminal activity associated with Asian gangs The most popular drug sold and smuggle by Asian gangs is unquestionably heroin, as the majority of the heroin imported in to North America comes from either Thailand or Hong Kong. In recent years law enforcement has specifically targeted Asian gang smuggling of heroin but they have been unsuccessful in completely stopping their control of the heroin drug trade. Active drug smugglers, originally from Hong Kong, are now permanent American or Canadian residents. (Chin, Ko-Lin 2000). Once the drugs arrive in North America, they are swiftly distributed among to the youth gangs to be sold on the streets.
Prostitution rings have also been established by several mainstream Asian gangs. Massage parlors, barbershops, acupressure clinics, nightclubs, and modeling studios throughout the United States and Canada serve as fronts for Asian prostitution (Moran, 2003).
Moran states that “The gangs supply the houses with new girls, provide them with clients and protect them from extortion by other gangs and bust by the police.” The elders and member of the Triads are known to pay Asian parents for their unwanted children. Those that are extremely young are sold to pedophiles in Bangkok while the others are smuggled into the United States.
Bruce Nichol, coordinator for the Immigration and Naturalization Service on the Interagency Violent Gang Task Force claims that “The Triads are definitely involved in smuggling young Fukienese females into the United States for the purpose of prostitution.” Moran’s research suggests that of the estimated 100,000 Asians that are illegally smuggled into the United States each year, over 10 percent are women and of those, approximately 70 percent become prostitutes for Asian Gangs (Moran, 2003).
Gambling rings associated with Asian gangs are another steady and reliable source of income for many prominent Asian gangs. Makeshift casinos located in backrooms and basements of restaurants and cafes play host to high stake gambling houses. These outfits can generate up to $50,000 for the house as hundreds of thousands of dollars change hands throughout the night (Kaihla, 2001).
As Asian crime syndicates are growing in city centers throughout the continent, it seems that stopping this relatively new phenomenon is far from happening. Most of the criminal activity performed by Asian gangs is hard to keep track as most of the violence happens in the Asian community amongst other Asians. In many cases those that fall victim to the crimes are not likely to report it, often due to the fact that they are scared of what the gangs may do to them if they are reported. Another reason may be that they are unwilling to admit that they’ve been a victim and that they are afraid to be looked at as a shame in the community, as most Asian immigrants struggle for respect and acknowledgment in North America. (Lee, Bill 2004)
Threatening the lives of the victims along with excessive physical violence also has a very persuasive impact on the silence of many victimized Asians. Law enforcement struggle to successfully rid our nations of Asian gang violence as steps have been taken to prevent or stop Asian gang activities throughout North America. Community relations and education are two important steps in solving this problem as many Asian immigrants fear police officers and need to be educated that law enforcement officers are there to help.
Cultural awareness is another area that has been recognized as an area of improvement as many officers dealing with crime in the Asian community are unaware of the different cultures associated with it (Le, 1999). Asian gang crime is an area of gang related violence that is self contained and only affects the lives of others when “it would spill out of its geographical and ethnic boundaries,” (Runner, 2000). Regardless of its impact on the entire society, the Asian gang scene is one of the most organized gang scenes and continues to threaten the lives of many.
References
Chaze, William L. (2003). Asian gangs stake out turf in US. US News and World Report. V97 p82.
Chin, Ko-Lin. (2000). Chinese Subculture and Criminality: Non-Traditional Crime Groups in America. Westport, CT. Greenwood Publishing Group Inc.
Kaihla, Paul. (2001). Terror in the streets: ruthless Asian gangs bring a new wave of violence to Canadian cities. MacLean’s. v104 n12 p18.
Lee, Bill. (2004). Chinese Playground: A Memoir. San Francisco, Rhapsody Press.
Long, Patrick Du Phuoc (2002) The Dream Shattered: Vietnamese Gangs In America. Boston: Northeastern University Press
Moran, Susan. (2003). New world havens of oldest profession. Insight of the News. v9 n25 p12.
Quinn, Hal. (2001). Empire of the triads: an Asian mafia flexes its muscle. MacLean’s. v104 n12 p24
Runner, Paul. (2000). The death of Crazy Jimmy tells us a lot about Asian drug gangs. Alberta Report. v26 i46 p2.
Winkel, George. (2001). Straightening out the bell curve. Web.
Zhu, Lipping. (2005). No Need To Rush: The Chinese, Placer Mining, and the Western Environment. Web.