This is Maraenui, Napier’s poorest suburb. There are now 1,128 patched gang members in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne – up 40% from two years ago. 12,000 but the Fresno Police Department estimate that number is as high as 20,000 in the city. “We’re finding firearms on a weekly basis and weapons that they carry in their cars ... baseball bats, wheel braces.”. “It’s all about communication, involving them in what we’re doing. As the gang expanded in numbers, acts of violence began to rise against weaker protective custody inmates with sex crimes. “I used to not worry about them at all, they were just going about their business. The Fresno Bulldogs, or BDS for short, also known by the abbreviations FBD and 624,[4] are a primarily Mexican American criminal street gang located in Fresno, California. 491-492). Many Bulldogs broke off from NF. When recessions hit in the 70s and 80s, the jobs went and, with no family to fall back on, the gangs grew, says Gilbert. Gangs have existed for decades in New Zealand but poverty and unemployment have helped drive up membership. “So we have a small area with lots of new gang members. That all changed with the arrival of Australia’s largest motorcycle gang in 2008. But now I’m second-guessing their intentions.”, Scooping up her son and heading home she says: “If they’re going to fight at a park or a shopping centre … who knows where it will end.”, Making meth: how New Zealand's knack for 'P' turned into a homebaked disaster, 'People are fearful': New Zealand police admit gang violence is out of control. [11] The Fresno Police Department and the Fresno County Sheriff's Department have tried various different crackdowns on Bulldog gang activity. More than two-thirds of residents are Māori or Pacific islander and unemployment, poverty and gang affiliation are high. But Foster says police cannot “arrest their way out of this” and calls for a co-ordinated approach between government and social agencies. The recent conflict has come as a shock after years of the gangs operating discreetly. Back in Maraenui, Daniel Murfitt, the principal of the local high school William Collenso College, is also hopeful. They are considered to be one of the biggest drug gangs in Central California with membership estimated to be around 6,000 in the city of Fresno. Burlington, MA: Anderson Publishing. [14], One rising concern in the California State Prison System as well as the Fresno County Jail is gang violence between the large Hispanic gangs, particularly the Fresno Bulldogs, Norteños, and Sureños. Columns & Blogs. “We tend to look as gangs as the problem. A huge red billboard depicting the gang’s logo – a bulldog wearing a German “Stahlhelm” helmet – covers the side of the two-storey house. But after a violent period in in the 1980s, members grew older and had families, and a period of relative calm ensued. The Nuestra Familia formed out of turmoil within the Mexican Mafia. The F-14ers began using the bulldog name and mascot of Fresno State University including the paw print and bulldog head image in their graffiti and tattoos. “Things are still simmering and that’s throughout the eastern district,” Foster says. Gangs have existed for decades in New Zealand but years of low-key activity has been shattered by recent wars between rivals, Last modified on Tue 24 Mar 2020 20.19 EDT. [8], Fresno Bulldogs do not have any allies and are one of the few Mexican-American gangs in California that claim neither Sureños nor Norteños affiliation. NBA & Hawks. [12][13] The Fresno Police Departments efforts have led to 2,422 felony arrests of Bulldog gang members and associates. [20][21] Officials say the Bulldogs are the highest security threat in the Fresno County Jail. The Nazi Low Riders had a rebel faction called “Fuck The Brand” (FTB), who mocked the power of the AB.