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Why We Have Prison Gangs

asteriskmag.com · 4,201 words · saved by 1 readers

America’s prison gangs first emerged in the late 1950s. Why did they form? What keeps them going? And how do they govern themselves?

Why We Have Prison Gangs—Asterisk America’s prison gangs first emerged in the late 1950s. Why did they form? What keeps them going? And how do they govern themselves? Asterisk: I wanted to start by asking you about your work on prison gangs in California. How did these gangs come to be? David Skarbek: Gangs play a dominant role in the California prison system and have a big impact on the day-to-day life of people working and living within them. But that hasn’t always been the case. California had prisons for more than 100 years with no prison gangs. But today, when someone enters prison in Cal

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