Origin

During the 1960’s, many gangs were involved in a violent crime wave that swept through South Central Los Angeles. Two individuals, Stanley “Tookie” Williams and Raymond Washington formed one of these gangs called the “Baby Avenues,” whose name was eventually changed to the “Avenue Cribs.” By early 1972, the name “Crib” was gradually substituted with “Crip,” Various stories exist on the gang name’s actual origin. Crip is believed to have originated from “Crib,” however, it might also have been derived from the “Tales of the Crypt” television series. Crip is also thought to be an ancronym standing for Common Revolution in Progress.

Crips activity started on Los Angeles high school campuses including such sets as the “East Side Crips,” the “West Side Crips,” the “Compton Crips,” etc. Also, several existing gangs incorporated the Crip name into their current gang set’s name; for example, the “Main Street Gangstas” became the “Main Street Crips. Other Crips sets included the “Kitchen Crips,” the “Deuce Crips, ”the “Rollin'’ 20 Crips,” etc. Although these gangs adopted the Crips name, some remained independent and maintained their own leadership and members. Furthermore, these sets constantly fought each other, engaging in various criminal activities including extortion, assault, robbery, etc. Additionally, with the influx of the crack cocaine trade in the 1980’s, the Crips, along with many other street gangs, became heavily involved in the narcotics trafficking / distribution scene, which necessitated their need for firearms and other weapons.

History in NYC

The Crips continued to steadily expand across the United States, their criminal activity being first observed in New York City in 1993. The first Crips set forming in the city was the Harlem Crips; with some of these members having arrest histories in California. Furthermore, the Harlem Crips eventually became renamed to the Rollin'’ Thirties Crips, which is directly connected to the Los Angeles based Crips set. The Rollin'’ Thirties Crips organized a lucrative narcotics operation in the city, creating turf wars with existing gangs such as the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation, the Bloods, etc. Members receive tremendous respect if they commit violence against other rival gang members or law enforcement.