select one (1) of the prison threat groups listed below from those operating in an adult U.S. state prison system of your choice with one exception. You may not select the State of Maryland for this essay assignment.
• Aryan Brotherhood
• Black Guerilla Family
• Mexican Mafia
• Nuestra Familia
• Mara Salvatrucha
Provide background information including the history and development of this group including an emphasis on the history and development within the state you have chosen to investigate. For example, if a gang began in a state such as California (as the Aryan Brotherhood did) then there should be a detailed section concerning the history and development in California. If you are researching another state, however, then you should also discuss how that gang began and developed in this other state under study (this speaks to proliferation of the gang). This discussion would include the membership characteristics, gang goals, mission, reason for the group’s existence, etc. This is a good issue to use peer review journals in addition to the departmental web sites for documentation. Avoid web sites with no authors, etc. because there is no way to confirm or challenge that data. Evaluate the degree to which this group is a threat to that prison system and the communities of the particular state you have selected for study. Discuss the strategy used in that state to identify and control gang membership and activity. In addition, discuss a variety of options and strategies used by at least two other specific states you must name (best practices) to control and contain threat groups. Identify the names of their programs, names of their specific databases, etc. Be specific in their approach to gang control. Finally, arrive at a conclusion as to whether the current strategy is working in the jurisdiction you have selected for study and provide any alternative approaches that have a proven track record that the state should consider.
