Although tattoos have become normalized in popular culture and body art in general is trendy in the general population, tattoos have traditionally served a central purpose in gang life. Gangs, including the Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, MS13, Black Gangster Disciples, Aryan Nation, Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, White Supremacists, Vice Lords, Yakuza, and Radical Islamists have all used tattoos for various reasons. This review of literature shows how criminal gangs use tattoos in a general sense, by drawing on the literature in psychology and sociology. Moreover, this literature review shows how different gangs may employ tattoos for different reasons using the symbolism meaningful to them. Finally, this review of literature shows how scholarly literature on gangs and tattoos can be applied to fields like criminal justice, healthcare, and education to aid in the identification of gang members and possibly even to prevent violence. Thesis: By identifying and understanding the functions and symbols of gang tattoos, it may be possible to identify high-risk individuals and prevent crimes from taking place.
Tattoos are of course not the only visual indicator of gang membership. Haircut, clothing, and the verbal and nonverbal language used can also be key indicators of one’s allegiance to a specific gang. However, tattoos remain a common indicator of gang membership. Mallon & Russel (1999) point out, “tattoos may indicate gang membership, a history of incarceration or drug abuse, sexual orientation, and more,” (p. 21). One of the reasons tattoos have been common as a visual marker of gang membership is that they can be subtle. As Struyk (2010) points out, “gang members are becoming subtler in their display of signs and paraphernalia,” (Struyk, 2010, p. 11). Phelan & Hunt (1998) also note that tattoos are integral to “communicating gang membership, status, rank, and personal accomplishments; they reflect a person's past career accomplishments and possible future career objectives,” which generally include...
277). Therefore, contemporary and emerging methods, styles, and motifs in gang tattoos may be more complex and potentially less obvious than they have been in the past in order to retain anonymity. Conveying personal and collective identities is the key to understanding gang tattoos and preventing the problems linked with gang proliferation.
Some of the specific symbols used in different gangs range from the obvious, such as swastika or double lightening bolts among white supremacist/neo-Nazi gangs (Struyk, 2010). These are groups most notable for their commitment to race-related violence. Other less obvious gang-related symbols include geographic symbols, or special arrangements of dots and lines (Jacques, 2016). These are less indicative of specific crimes being committed than other types of gang tattoos. In many cases, the symbols used in gang tattoos can seem common or innocuous and used in non-gang tattoos as well. For example, the scales of justice, the tragedy/comedy theater symbol, skeletons, spider webs, and helicopters can all be symbols of gang identity but they are also symbols used by the general public (Jacques, 2016; Struyk, 2010). Gang tattoos can also represent each person’s rank within a gang, or level of seniority. Stuyk (2010) found that older or more veteran gang members can receive certain symbols like spider webs and headstones that are not available for newer gang members.
Level of seniority in a gang is most often linked with the number and severity of crimes committed, the most important of which is homicides or attempted homicides of rival gang members (Jacques. 2016; Phelan & Hunt, 1998; “15 Prison Tattoos and Their Meanings,” 2014). Likewise, tattoos signifying the number of homicides one has committed are not uncommon among gang members. For example, Jacques (2016) found that among Nuestra Familia members, some individuals with veteran experience killing have tattoos of a mustachioed bandolier with “a sombrero that covers his face and…
