Street gangs are very fluid in nature, and while it is fairly easy to develop intelligence information about them, many times the information is outdated almost before it is disseminated to the proper individuals. The key to gaining knowledge about individual groups is to talk directly with persons involved. In order to help reduce this problem, school authorities, police officials, government administrators, churches, and the community as a whole must band together, put aside our individual differences and prejudices, and work to make this a better place for us. If not for the adults, we must create a safe environment for children of this generation to grow up in. The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta has been monitoring the black male homicide rate for children ages 15 -24 as an epidemic. The rate has reached unbelievable proportions in the United States as well as in Pulaski County. In 1993, a New York Times article stated that Little Rock was one of a growing number of cities of comparable size experiencing an incredible escalation in juvenile crime and homicides. The Times featured the city on a front page article which stated that Little Rock's homicide rate per capita equals that of New York City and Los Angeles. Most of the carnage is being wreaked by and upon young African American males.

Gangs in one form or another have been around for hundreds of years. Pirates were probably some of the original bad gangs. The groups that traditionally come to mind when one thinks of modern day gangs are the Crips and the Bloods from California. The origins of the Crips and Bloods can be traced to the late 60's, and the gang culture is so ingrained on the west coast that many families have three and even four generations of gangsters residing in the same residence. Depending on whose figures you listen to (government officials have a tendency to downsize the numbers), L.A. gangs number between 800 and 1000, with anywhere from 120,000 to 220,000 members. As of January, 1993, we have identified about 40 named street gangs in Pulaski County with 800 - 1000 identified members. These numbers are often debated, and depending on whose criteria is used to decide who is and is not a gangbanger. The figures could be considerably higher.

It is believed that one of the Little Rock Blood gangs, the Highland Court Crew, has been in existence in one form or another since 1984. Graffiti and other intelligence were noted around 1987. Most other area gangs formed in the late 80's and early 90's with the biggest growth year being 1990. Even though we have identified around forty gangs, almost all of them identify with the four major gangs from other states. Those are: 1) Crips; 2) Bloods; 3) Folk Nation; and 4) People Nation. The Crips and Bloods are Los Angeles oriented while the Folk Nation and People Nation are Chicago oriented. A more detailed discussion of these groups will follow. The Black Gangster Disciples (a sub-group of the Hoovers)

My Mom jus passed away Monday 23th Oct. 2006 at duh age of 35, because of a brain aneurism. She wuz lik my older sista n she wuz alwayz der to pic me up wen i wuz down. My mom wuz a strong women, multi-talented, n hav 1 of duh biggest hearts evr n existance. She treated all my friends lik her on sons, she treated all my friend-guhs n guhfriends as her on daughters, she treated all her nephews n nises as her biological children. She gav her hearted tu my sistas n brother, dat wasnt hers but treated lik dey wer her very on. Altho my mom didnt hav muc tu giv me n my other two rel brothers, she try as hard as she cood tuh mak sure we had wat we need. N I will Always have my mom with me n my heart, n my soul, n my dreams. Now she can get dat rest she deserve, cause she cood neva sleep at night, but now she can lay her head n duh Lords Hand. SHE AS MY QUEEN, LIVE ON sleep tight n peacefully Muh. Tammy Evette Frazier-Cardine ~Blackie BlackCat~(January 3, 1971- October 23, 2006)