A Wikipedea of world-wide crime

The Avenues, also known as Avenidas or AVE's, is a Mexican/Mexican American criminal street gang mostly in Los Angeles County, California. They originally started as a social club for local Latino youths to protect themselves from other violent youths. The Avenues, like most Mexican gangs in Los Angeles, are under the direct control of the Mexican Mafia when sent to State, County, or Federal prisons.

The 38th Street gang is an American criminal street gang in Los Angeles, California, composed mainly of Hispanic-Americans. The 38th Street gang is one of the oldest street gangs in Los Angeles and has been occupying its territory since the 1920s. They engage in many criminal activities. The Mexican Mafia controls and routinely uses 38th Street gang members to carry out their orders.

The Diablos Motorcycle Club, or Diablos MC for short, is a "one-percenter" outlaw motorcycle club that has chapters in cities across the United States.

John E. Irvin, president of the Diablos' San Fernando Valley chapter, and Thomas E. Pastor, a former Connecticut chapter member, were convicted of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime after they were found to be in possession of two loaded weapons and eight packages of methamphetamine when searched by Illinois State Police officers near Collinsville, Illinois on January 5, 1995.

On September 24, 1998, Diablos club member Raymond "Stoney" Stone and seven other members were charged with various crimes (including Stone's confession in his involvement in the 1992 murder of rival gang member Mike D'Amato of Wallingford, Connecticut's James Gang MC for which he would be sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment).

Keith Gallagher, the vice president of the Diablos' national chapter, was indicted in Massachusetts on charges of cocaine trafficking on January 24, 2006.

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The Beltrán Leyva Organization (also known as the Beltrán Leyva Cartel (BLO); Spanish: Cártel de los Beltrán Leyva (CBL)) was a Mexican drug cartel and organized crime syndicate, formerly headed by the five Beltrán Leyva brothers: Marcos Arturo, Carlos, Alfredo, Mario Alberto, and Héctor. Founded as a Sinaloa Cartel, the Beltrán Leyva cartel was responsible for transportation and wholesaling of cocaine, heroin and marijuana (and the production of the last two). It controlled numerous drug trafficking corridors, and engaged in human smuggling, money laundering, extortion, kidnapping, murder and gun-running.

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The Sinaloa Cartel (Spanish: Cártel de Sinaloa), also known as the CDS, the Guzmán-Loera Organization, the Pacific Cartel, the Federation and the Blood Alliance, is a large international drug trafficking, money laundering, and organized crime syndicate established in Mexico during the late 1980s as one of a various number of "plazas" operating under a predecessor organization known as the Guadalajara Cartel. It is currently headed by Ismael Zambada García and is based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, with operations in many world regions but primarily in the Mexican states of Sinaloa, Baja California, Durango, Sonora, and Chihuahua. It also has a notable presence in a number of other regions in Latin America, such as Colombia; as well as in cities across the U.S. The United States Intelligence Community generally considers the Sinaloa Cartel to be the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the Western Hemisphere, making it perhaps even more influential and capable than the infamous Medellín Cartel of Colombia was during its prime. It has repeatedly been said to be one of the strongest criminal organizations in the world and indisputably the most powerful in Mexico since at least the late 2000s and early 2010s by various sources including the Los Angeles Times.

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The Satanas Gang (aka Ese Te Ese or STS) is a Filipino American street gang in Southern California, founded in 1972. It is believed to be the oldest Filipino-American street gang in Los Angeles.

Public Enemy No. 1 (abbreviated as PEN1; pronounced /ˈpiːnaɪ/), also known as PENI Death Squad (or PDS), is a prison and street gang formed in Long Beach, California and now based in Orange County, California. In 2004, the California Department of Justice described PEN1 as "one of the most powerful and fastest-growing gangs inside and outside prison", and reported it had about 200 members statewide. The gang's main activities include identity theft, credit card fraud, and methamphetamine sales.

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The Nazi Lowriders (or NLR, or The Ride) are a Neo-Nazi, White supremacist organized crime syndicate, and prison and street gang based primarily in metro Los Angeles and several areas around Texas. They also are believed to have spread to other states, having small rural and suburban factions. They are allies of the larger and more notorious gangs, the Aryan Brotherhood and the Mexican Mafia and fellow peckerwood gang Public Enemy No. 1. Their main rivals are the Bloods, the Crips, the Black Guerrilla Family, MS-13, Norteños, and Nuestra Familia.^{[citation needed]} The Nazi Low Riders operate in and outside of prison. Methamphetamine abuse is common among members of the group. NLR violence has struck the general public, including police officers.

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Peckerwood is a term used in the Southern United States for a woodpecker which is also used as an offensive epithet toward white people, especially poor rural whites. Originally an ethnic slur, the term has been embraced by a subculture related to prison gangs and outlaw motorcycle clubs. The term was in use as an inversion of woodpecker by the 1830s, with the sense referring to white people documented from the 1850s. African-American folklore in the 1920s contrasted the white "peckerwood" bird with the African-American blackbird. The word became a common term in Jive.

Norteños (Spanish: [noɾˈteɲos] meaning Northerners; Norteñas for females) are the various, affiliated gangs that pay tribute to Nuestra Familia while in California state and federal correctional facilities. Norteños may refer to Northern California as Norte Califas. Their biggest rivals are the Sureños from Southern California. The statewide north–south dividing line between Norteños and Sureños has roughly been accepted as Bakersfield, California. The gang's membership consists primarily of Mexican Americans.

Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, in the 1970s and 1980s. Originally, the gang was set up to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the Los Angeles area. Over time, the gang grew into a more traditional criminal organization. MS-13 is defined by its cruelty, and its rivalry with the 18th Street gang.

Many MS-13 members were deported to El Salvador after the close of the Salvadoran Civil War in 1992, or upon being arrested, facilitating the spread of the gang to Central America. The gang is currently active in many parts of the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America. Most members are Central American, Salvadorans in particular.

As an international gang, its history is closely tied to United States–El Salvador relations. In 2018, the gang's US membership of up to 10,000 accounted for less than 1% of the 1.4 million gang members in the United States, and a similar share of gang murders. The gang is often referenced by the United States' Republican Party to advocate for stricter immigration policies.

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The Pirus, also known as P-Phonks (PFunk), and formally known as the “Piru Street Boys”, are a Black American street gang alliance based in Compton, CA. Pirus soon spread throughout Los Angeles county and state wide. Piru sets make up most of the original Blood Alliance in Los Angeles. Pirus identify with burgundy as their color, but they also wear red for their Bloods alliance.

The Pirus comprise various sub-groups known as "sets" between which significant differences exist such as colors, clothing, operations, and political ideas which may be in open conflict with each other. Since their creation, the Pirus gangs have branched throughout the United States.

The Mongols Motorcycle Club, sometimes called the Mongols Nation or Mongol Brotherhood, is a "one-percenter" outlaw motorcycle club. The club is headquartered in Southern California and was originally formed in Montebello, California, in 1969. Law enforcement officials estimate approximately 2,000 full-patched members are in the club. The Mongols' main presence lies in Southern California, but they also have chapters nationwide in 14 states and internationally in 11 countries.

Menace of Destruction (MOD), formerly known as Masters of Destruction, is a Hmong street gang created in 1988. Today, it is active in California, MidWestern United States, and many places with large Hmong communities. It is known for murders, fights, shootings, and weapon and drug trafficking (mostly marijuana and methamphetamine).

MOD is the oldest active Asian street gang in Northern California and the largest Hmong gang in America. MOD is known as one of the most violent and notorious Asian gangs, it is the only Hmong gang that is officially recognized by the United States Government. MOD has its largest presence in California with members residing in the cities, Sacramento, Merced, Stockton, and Fresno.

The Los Angeles crime family, also known as the L.A. Mafia or the Southern California crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in California as part of the larger Italian-American Mafia. Since its inception in the early 20th century, it has spread throughout Southern California. Like most Mafia families in the United States, the L.A. crime family gained power bootlegging alcohol during the Prohibition Era. The L.A. family reached its peak strength in the 1940s and early 1950s under Jack Dragna, although the L.A. family was never larger than the New York or Chicago families. The Los Angeles crime family itself has been on a gradual decline, with the Chicago Outfit representing them on The Commission since the death of Boss Jack Dragna in 1956.

The sources for much of the current information on the history of the Los Angeles Cosa Nostra family is the courtroom testimony and the published biographies of Aladena "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno, who in the late 1970s became the second member - and the first acting boss - in American Mafia history to testify against Mafia members, and The Last Mafioso (1981), a biography of Fratianno by Ovid Demaris. Since the 1980s, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act) has been effective in convicting mobsters and shrinking the American Mafia; like all families in the United States, the L.A. Mafia now only holds a fraction of its former power. Not having a strong concentration of Italian-Americans in the region leaves the family to contend with the many street gangs of other ethnicities in the city. The Los Angeles crime family is the last Mafia family left in the state of California.

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The Bloods are a primarily African-American street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs.

The Bloods comprise various subgroups known as "sets", among which significant differences exist, such as colors, clothing, operations, and political ideas that may be in open conflict with each other. Since the gang's creation, it has branched throughout the United States.

The Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN, ALKN, or LKN) is one of the largest Hispanic and Latino street and prison gangs worldwide. The gang was founded by Puerto Ricans in Chicago, Illinois in 1954.

The Bahala Na Gang (BNG) is a street gang founded in the Philippines which subsequently spread to the United States.

The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Common nicknames for the club are the "H.A.", "Red & White", "HAMC", and "81". With a membership of between 3,000 and 3,600 and 467 chapters located in 59 countries, the HAMC is the largest motorcycle club in the world.

Numerous police and international intelligence agencies, including the United States Department of Justice and Europol, consider the club to be an organized crime syndicate.

The Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club (GJMC), are a "one-percenter" motorcycle club that was originally formed in San Francisco, California on April Fool's Day, 1956. Though founded in the United States, the MC expanded more successfully overseas is now one of the most notorious motorcycle clubs in Australia, Germany, South Africa and Norway.

Prominently featured in Hunter Thompson's book Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, they were the second most powerful outlaw motorcycle club in California until they were forced out of the San Francisco Bay Area by the Hells Angels. They have also been in Washington state since 1966, and relocated to Oregon in 1967, taking up temporary residence in Lincoln City, Oregon. The club has since spread to Australia, Germany, South Africa and Norway. There are approximately 35 chapters worldwide. In response to proposed anti-"bikie" laws in Australia, a protest rally was held in 2009, including a show of support by many other outlaw bikers, even among rival gangs.

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The Abergil crime family (Hebrew: משפחת הפשע אברג'יל) is a crime organization based in Israel, and located around the world, founded by Ya'akov Abergil. The group was headed by Ya'akov Abergil (Hebrew: יעקב אברג'יל) until his death in 2002, and is now run under the auspices of Itzhak (Itzik) Abergil (Hebrew: יצחק (איציק) אברג'יל), and his brothers Meir Abergil (Hebrew: מאיר אברג'יל) and Avraham (Ibi) Abergil (Hebrew: אייבי אברג'יל). Its illicit activities include drug trafficking, both in Israel and the US, murder, extortion, embezzlement, money laundering, the control of illegal casinos and other crimes. Considered one of the six major organized-crime cells in Israel, and one of the world's top 40 biggest drug importers to the United States, the Abergils have been arrested and detained multiple times worldwide.

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Galloping Goose Motorcycle Club (GGMC) is a one-percenter motorcycle club that began around a motorcycle racing team and friends based out of Los Angeles, California in the United States in 1942. The group was informal and not chartered until 1946. Soon after, the organization spread out from southern California, establishing chapters in Illinois, Missouri, Montana, Indiana, Wyoming, Kansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida.

Members of the Galloping Goose MC were at the 1947 Hollister Rally which was the basis for the 1954 film The Wild One. This led to the beginning of the highly visible and structured 1% or outlaw motorcycle clubs, along with the Boozefighters MC when the AMA forbade club members to participate in AMA events unless they took off their patches. Original members of the club had a MC shop in Jacksonville and raced in numerous events including the Daytona race when it was still run on the beach.

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18th Street, also known as Calle 18, Barrio 18, Mara 18, or simply La 18 in Central America, is a multi-ethnic (largely Central American and Mexican) transnational criminal organization that started as a street gang in Los Angeles. It is one of the largest transnational criminal gangs in Los Angeles, with 30,000 to 50,000 members between the United States, Mexico, and Central America and is also allied with the Mexican Mafia, another US-based crime organization.^{[citation needed]} A United States Department of Justice report featured the following statement regarding 18th Street and rival gang MS-13, "These two gangs have turned the Central American northern triangle into the area with the highest homicide rate in the world."

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Fresno Bulldogs, or BDS for short, also known by the abbreviations FBD and 624, are a primarily Mexican American criminal street and prison gang located in 559, California. They are considered to be one of the biggest drug gangs in Central California with membership estimated to be around 12,000 in the city of Fresno. They are engaged in a wide range of criminal activity and have been subject to many high-profile cases over the years. Fresno Bulldogs are largely conflicted with other prison gangs and are the biggest Hispanic gang in California unaffiliated with Sureños nor with Norteños.

Nuestra Familia (Spanish for "our family") is a criminal organization of Mexican American (Chicano) prison gangs with origins in Northern California. While members of the Norteños gang are considered to be foot soldiers of Nuestra Familia, being a member of Nuestra Familia itself does not signify association as a Norteño. Some law enforcement agents speculate that the Nuestra Familia gang, which operates in and out of prisons, influences much of the criminal activity of thousands of Norteño gang members in California. The gang's main sources of income are distributing cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine within prison systems as well as in the community and extorting drug distributors on the streets.

The Devils Diciples Motorcycle Club (DDMC) is an outlaw motorcycle club that was founded in Fontana, California in 1967. The word outlaw carries a specific meaning which does NOT mean criminal intent. Such clubs are not sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and do not adhere to the AMA's rules. The club originally had six members, there is a misconception that the word "disciples" was intentionally misspelled to distance themselves from any type of religion. However, in the early days of the club, some founding members went to Mexico to have their patches made, and the misspelling was unintentional, but stuck. Their insignia is a motorcycle wheel with two tridents crossing over it. In the United States, the club has chapters in Alabama, Arizona, California, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, and Ohio.

The Black Guerrilla Family (BGF, also known as the Black Family, the Black Vanguard, and Jamaa) is an African-American black power prison and street gang founded in 1966 by George Jackson, George “Big Jake” Lewis, and W. L. Nolen while they were incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison in Marin County, California.

The Tongan Crip Gang, or West Side 102st Tonga Crip Gang, is a street gang that is a subset of the Crips gang. The gang is active in the U.S. states of California, Utah and others, as well as a presence in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. Tongan Crip Gang members are primarily of Pacific Islander descent, mainly Tongan.

The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as the Brand or the AB, is a neo-Nazi prison gang and an organized crime syndicate which is based in the United States and it has an estimated 15,000–20,000 members both inside and outside prisons. The Anti-Defamation League calls it the "oldest and most notorious racist prison gang in the United States". According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Aryan Brotherhood makes up an extremely low percentage of the entire US prison population but it is responsible for a disproportionately large number of prison murders.

The gang has focused on the economic activities which organized crime entities typically engage in, particularly drug trafficking, extortion, inmate prostitution, and murder-for-hire. The organization of its whites-only membership varies from prison to prison but it is generally hierarchical, headed by a twelve-man council which is topped by a three-man commission. The Aryan Brotherhood uses various terms, symbols, and images in order to identify itself, including shamrocks, swastikas, and other symbols. In order to join the Aryan Brotherhood, new members may swear a blood oath or take a pledge; acceptance into the Aryan Brotherhood is aided by a prospect's willingness to kill another inmate.

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Sons of Samoa is a Crips-affiliated street gang based in Long Beach, California, United States. Its membership mainly consists of Samoan Americans with other Pacific island members.