Gangs in Prison National Geographic Documentary HD 720p medium.webm

Most prison gangs do more than offer simple protection for their members. Most often, prison gangs are responsible for any drug, tobacco or alcohol handling inside correctional facilities. Furthermore, many prison gangs involve themselves in prostitution, assaults, kidnappings and murders. Prison gangs often seek to intimidate other inmates (pressuring them to relinquish their food and other resources) and bribe or intimidate prison staff (to ensure they can go about their activities without interference, and to create links to the outside).

In addition, prison gangs often exercise a large degree of influence over organized crime in the "free world", larger than their isolation in prison might lead one to expect. Since the 1980s, larger prison gangs have used their influence inside prison systems to control and profit from drug trafficking on the street. This is made possible based upon the logic that individuals involved in selling illegal drugs face a high likelihood of serving a prison term at some point or in having a friend or family member in prison.