One of the reasons why prison gang members need to communicate on a regular basis is to facilitate smooth flow of criminal operations. Communicating with gang members who are not within the confines of prisons is a major setback in the fight against minimizing criminal activities. It is crucial to mention that the activities of most criminal gangs go beyond the state level. In other words, they usually spread out in various locations across the nation. Some of these gangs even penetrate national borders in order to facilitate their criminal activities. This explains why external communication among criminal gangs is the main source of vital information required to further execute acts of crime. Besides, external communication with other criminal gangs often facilitates rapid legal redress especially when hearings are still on-going. Prison gang members whose judgments have not been passed may have the opportunity to communicate with their colleagues outside prison when they require legal assistance.
Second, there are several instances when myriads of criminal offenses have been committed by external gang members largely due to thorough coordination between with imprisoned gang members. For example, money and other valuables can be transferred into prisons by gang members so that additional criminal activities can be undertaken. There are also cases when the same criminal gangs may opt to settle differences when some are already imprisoned. War can also be declared between the convicted and free criminal gangs.
The presence of various bridges of communication between gangs in and outside prison expounds why there is an escalating rate of crime even at the international level. Extortion mafias, fully-fledged drug gangs and money spinning syndicates are mainly prevalent in cases whereby prison gangs frequently communicate with their external counterparts.
On the other hand, internal communication among prison gangs may prove to be valuable since it is the only source of inspiration for both convicted gangs and those who are still awaiting their trials to be concluded. Internal communication among gangs has led to the worsening state of security both at the local and national levels. When internal gang members communicate, they can swiftly organize criminal activities outside prison bearing in mind that they coordinate quite well with the rest of street gangs. Communication among criminals behind bars is also a major factor in the growth and development of sophisticated criminal activities inside jails. In spite of the lack of freedom, the jailed prisoners can still harmonize their knowledge and skills and eventually devise better techniques for executing various acts of crime.
In terms of comparisons and contrasts, it is pertinent to mention that both internal and external communications are similar in such a way that they aim at executing crime. In addition, gangs use coded language that cannot be easily understood by the rest of the society (Miranda, 2011). However, internal communication among imprisoned gangs are usually less sophisticated compared to external communication since prison walls are closely guarded throughout day and night. External communication also requires efficient coordination between the two groups of gangs. Direct messengers may be required in some scenarios.
It may not be easy to prevent communication among criminal gangs bearing in mind that they use complex methods to attain their objectives. Perhaps, the most likely achievement that can be attained by prison authorities is to minimize coordination and communication between different categories of gangs (Miranda, 2011).
Reference
Miranda, N. (2011). No more Facebook for California inmates. Web.