Gang affiliations
Ohio has three classifications for affiliation with a security threat group or gang: passive, active or disruptive. Most Ohio gang-affiliated inmates are considered passive. Here are the numbers and definitions:
Passive: 6,775 inmates
The inmate at time of reception has tattoos, brand or scars identified as symbols of a street gang; the inmate admits he/she is or was a member of a gang or the inmate has had prior active or disruptive gang participation during current incarceration.
Active: 762 inmates
The inmate at reception or while incarcerated has had gang photos, new gang tattoos or gang contraband in his or her possession; has attempted to recruit, organize or direct inmates for control; information has been received from other law enforcement agencies that indicates inmate is a member of a security threat group or has been convicted of participating in a criminal gang.
Disruptive: 634
Inmate is considered a disruptive member of a criminal threat group if one or more of the following is true: Inmate functions as a leader, enforcer or recruiter of a gang that is actively involved in violent or disruptive behavior; the inmate has threatened or assaulted a staff member or another inmate; the inmate has participated in encouraging/creating an uprising or activity that disrupts the normal operations/security of the institution; the inmate is involved in the conveyance or attempted conveyance of major contraband excluding gang contraband; the inmate is found to be in possession of a weapon, cellular telephone/device or any item that aids in an escape; and/or the inmate has conducted disruptive acts (extortions, thefts, robberies, etc.) while incarcerated.
Nearly 800 inmates held at Lebanon Correctional Institute are members of prison gangs — the highest number at any of the state's 28 prisons, according to a new report issued Tuesday on "security threat groups."
The Correctional Institution Inspection Committee said in its report that 8,171 Ohio inmates, or 16.2 percent, are affiliated with security threat groups such as the Heartless Felons, Gangster Disciples, Aryan Brotherhood and Konvicted Family but that gang membership is down 12.9 percent this year compared with 2012.
Prison gangs are highly organized with membership symbols such as tattoos, codes of conduct, hierarchies, and the capacity to communicate within and between prisons, the report said. To promote power and prestige, they’re engaged in criminal activity such as assaults, thefts, gambling, extortion and trafficking in drugs, tobacco, cell phones and other contraband, the report said.
The majority of the gang members are considered passive while 9 percent are active and 7.7 percent are disruptive, the report found.
Gang membership in the state’s two women’s prisons — Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville and Dayton Correctional Institution — is less than 3 percent of the population.
Gang activity is grounds for transferring an inmate to a higher security prison. As a result, the percentage of inmates in gangs climbs dramatically in the high security prisons: 62.6 percent at the Ohio Penitentiary in Youngstown, 48.5 percent at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville and 42.1 percent at Toledo Correctional.
At Lebanon Correctional, 792 inmates, or 30.6 percent, are considered to be in gangs while at Warren Correctional 449 prisoners, or 32 percent, are in them.
Prison officials classify inmates when they first arrive and monitor them for gang activity during their imprisonment.
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