E/S BLACC BANDIT CRIPS:
The E/S Blacc Bandit Cripsare a primarily African American street gang that are situated in East Side Long Beach; a section of Long Beach which is also claimed by Longos 13. Their hood spans from 10th Street to 4th Street, between Alamitos Avenue and Cherry Avenue. The Blacc Bandits are composed of two main cliques the 7th Street (Siete) Murda Gang and the 10th Street Dime Blocc, but their hood stretches south to 4th Street, which is one of the most active areas of their section. For that reason, the Blacc Bandits claim '4x' as opposed to being associated with one of the typical Crip cards.
The Blacc Bandits are the new generation of what was once the E/S Outlaw Crips. The Blacc Bandits, alternatively known as 2BC, began to gain members and pick up activity in the 2010s, although the Outlaw Crips were established in the 1990s. They have a similar generational structure to the Insane Crips, the older members being part of the Outlaws and the younger; the Bandits. The Blacc Bandits have several rival sets across Long Beach, but their primary adversaries are the Brick Boy Crips, Longos 13, West Coast Rollin 80's Crips and the Boulevard Mafia Crips. Like most LBC sets, they are rivals to any and all hispanic gangs - in the 'mK vs nK' war which has lasted decades. They have very few hispanic members. The Blacc Bandits are allied with the Insane Crips, Filthy Crips and 19st Linden Blocc Crips.
VESPUCCI BEACH 2021:
gangb*nging in Vespucci Beach is still very much alive in the year 2021. The area is packed full of rival sets: the Insane Crips, Blacc Bandits, Rollin 20s Crips, West Coast Crips, Longos 13, Brick Boy Crips, Sons of Samoa and the ABZ. These street gangs have intricate alliances and feuds which have lasted from their initial emergence. The area is a catalyst for the illegal operations of a street gang; its low income housing, underfunded police force and looming threat of gentrification has resulted in continuation of the gang activity that peaked in the 1990s. From 2003 to 2013, Vespucci Beach saw a decrease in the number of gang killings per annum, but that began to rise again by 2014. In efforts to try and control gang activity in the area, the LSPD have placed several injunctions on gang members as well as employed additional recruits into their gangs and violent crimes division.
Despite their efforts however, cuts in police funding have made such operations unsustainable and with Vespucci Beach's rising commercial sector, increased land value has resulted in low income households being driven into poverty. Street gangs stand against the modern-day struggles of low income households in such areas, they create a sense of community and companionship. Of course however, the anger within these impoverished communities and the hatred for their rivals is often deep seated, self-fulfilling and inevitably impairs the community further.
POLY HIGH:
Parents of students at Vespucci Beach PolytechnicHigh were warned via FaceBrowser to 'not allow [their] children to walk down 10th St & Gaviota Avenue' on their way to
school. This warning came after a series of violent incidents which have occurred over the past two weeks, most of which are believed to be due to racial conflict. According to parents however, such issues have been present since the 1990s, since they themselves attended the high school. Social media has played a significant role in the recent increase in violence, with several videos circulating of students being jumped - most of which are between black and hispanic students.
Students and parents who are not involved in the violence have began to protest for better security measures at the high school in order to protect students. They insist that it is not a racial issue and are campaigning for the safety of all students, not just the groups involved in the conflict. A resident of Vespucci Beach who attended Poly Highstated that the root of the violence is intertwined with the systematic disenfranchisem*nt, poverty and racism that black and latino people have experienced for decades. A representative of the LSPD stated that measures were going to be put into place to resolve the 'growing tension' between certain groups at the high school; some of which are gang affiliated.
Edited by noel