Eight Tray Gangster Crips

Crips

Crip gang member with tattoos.
Founded by	Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams
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 in 2008
Criminal activities	Drug trafficking, robbery, extortion, murder, burglary, racketeering, illegal gambling, theft
Allies	Folk Nation,Gangster Disciples,Tiny Rascal Gang, La Raza Nation,Black Guerrilla Family,JuggalosAsian Boyz, D.C. Blacks
Rivals	Bloods, United Blood Nation, Pirus, Piru Street Boys, Sureños (certain sets), Norteños, Latin Kings,People Nation, Ñetas, Tree Top Pirus, Avenue Piru Gang

The Crips also known as Original Crip Homies (OCH) 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 in 2008. They have been involved in murders, robberies and drug dealing, among other crimes.

Crips have a long and bitter rivalry with the Bloods.

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.

By 1978, there were 45 Crips gangs, called sets, operating in Los Angeles. They were heavily involved in the production of PCP, marijuana and amphetamines. On March 11, 1979, Stanley Tookie Williams, a member of Westside Crips, was arrested for four murders and then on August 8, 1979, Raymond Washington was gunned down. Washington had been against Crip infighting and after his death several Crip sets started fighting against each other. The Crips leadership was dismantled prompting a deadly gang war between the Rollin' 60 Neighborhood Crips and Eight Tray Gangster Crips which began causing nearby Crip sets to choose sides and align themselves with either the Gangster Crips or Neighborhood Crips waging an all out war in South Central and other cities. The East Coast Crips and the Hoover Crips directly severed their alliance after Washington's death. By 1980 the Crips were in turmoil, warring with the Bloods and against each other. The growth and power of the gang really took off in the early 1980s when crack cocaine hit the streets. In the early 1980s Crips sets began distributing crack cocaine in Los Angeles. The huge profits from distribution of crack cocaine induced many Crips to establish new markets in other cities and states. As a result, Crip membership grew steadily and by late 1980s it was one of the largest street gangs in the country. In 1999, there were at least 600 Crips sets with more than 30,000 members transporting drugs in the United States.