Crips
Crip gang member with tattoos.
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| Founded by | Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams |
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| Founding location | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Territory | United States |
| Ethnicity | Mostly African American |
| Membership (est.) | 30,000 to 35,000 |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, robbery, extortion, murder, burglary, prostitution, theft |
| Allies | Folk Nation,Gangster Disciples,La Raza Nation,Black Guerrilla Family,Juggalos |
| Rivals | Bloods, Sureños (certain sets), Norteños People Nation, Ñetas |
The Crips are a primarily African-American gang. They were founded in Los Angeles, California in 1969 mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams. What was once a single alliance between two autonomous gangs is now a loosely connected network of individual sets, often engaged in open warfare with one another. Its members traditionally wear blue clothing, a practice that has waned somewhat due to police crackdowns on gang members.
The Crips are one of the largest and most violent associations of street gangs in the United States, with an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 members. They have been involved in murders, robberies and drug dealing, among other crimes.
Crips have a long and bitter rivalry with the Bloods. Crips have served in the United States armed forces and on bases in the United States and abroad.
Stanley Tookie Williams met Raymond Lee Washington in 1969, and the two decided to unite their local gang members from the west and east sides of South Central Los Angeles in order to battle neighboring street gangs. Most of the members were 17 years old. Williams discounted the sometimes cited founding date of 1969 in his memoir, Blue Rage, Black Redemption. Gang activity in South Central Los Angeles has its roots in a variety of factors dating back to the 1950s and '60s, including post-World War II economic decline leading to joblessness and poverty, racial segregation leading to the formation of black "street clubs" by young African American men who were excluded from organizations such as the Boy Scouts, and the waning of black nationalist organizations such as the Black Panther Party and the Black Power Movement.
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