Before

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

, New Orleans gangs tended to be small violent local groups divided among its 17 voting districts known as "wards". NOPD classified these groups as drug organizations or "cliques," with about 10-15 members. The most infamous criminal organizations formed in the city during the turbulent mid-1980s, with the Glenn

Metz Gang The Metz Gang was a notorious drug ring founded by Glenn Metz and his brother Cordell "Jethro" Metz; Glenn Metz is currently serving life in prison. From 1985 to mid–1992, The Metz Gang distributed approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine in ...

, the Sam Clay Organization,

Hardy Boys The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in a series of mystery novels for young readers. The series revolves around teenage amateur sleuths, solving cases that often stumped their adult counterparts. ...

and the Richard Pena Organization being the most notorious. Other drug crews like the Balley Boys and the Hankton Organization were also active during the 1990s. Part of the 2004 "Cycle of Death" series. According to

New Orleans Police Department The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has primary responsibility for law enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The department's jurisdiction covers all of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, Orleans Parish, while the city itself is div ...

, gang related homicides spiked in 2007, which drove the city's homicide rate to a record high. Some of the most violent cliques, like the Dooney Boys and the 9th ward G-Strip Gang, moved to other cities and clashed with each other in violent gun battles. New Orleans drug crews became involved in violent crime and murders and spread throughout the drug trade in host cities and states such as

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

and

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. In 2012, Mayor Mitch Landrieu formed the Multi-Agency Gang (MAG) Unit, which is the key enforcement component of the Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS). The MAG Unit identifies the most dangerous and influential gang members and removes them from the community.

Post-Katrina

39ers Gang The "39ers gang," is a “hybrid” force of the Upper 9th Ward's G-Strip (Gallier Street) gang and 3-N-G, a notorious Central City drug gang named for its stronghold around Third and Galvez streets. Several of the alleged members also hailed fr ...

, multi-state *

110ers The "110ers Gang" is a criminal organization located in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are one of the most violent gangs operating out of the 11th and 10th Wards which is located in the Uptown area. Some of the original members grew up in the old ...

, Lower Garden District * Byrd Gang, Central City * Joesphine Dog Pound, Central City * Dumaine Street Gang (also known as "D-Block"), Treme * Ride or Die, St. Roch * Taliban Gang, Pigeon Town (inactive) * Big 8s, St Roch * Glock Boyz * Young Glock Slingers, also known as 150, Algiers * Wild Side Gangstas, Treme * Ghost Gang, Central City (inactive) * Young Melf Mafia, Central City * International Robbin Crew (IRC), multi-state (inactive) * Hot Block, Algiers (inactive) * FnD Gang, Seventh Ward (inactive) * Deuce Gang Goonies, Iberville (inactive) * Grave Diggers, Iberville * Guap Boyz, Algiers * PCB, Seventh Ward. (inactive) * Mob Pirus * Mid City Killers, Mid-City

Pre-Katrina

* Dooney Boys, multi-state (inactive) * Whitney Boys, Algiers (inactive) * D-Block Boys, Algiers (inactive) * 3-N-G, Central City (merged with G-Strip) * G-Strip, Ninth Ward (merged with 3-N-G) * Phillip and Clara Crew, Central City (inactive) * Hot Boys, Central City. * Dorgenois and Dumaine Crew (now known as D' Block) * Fischer Fools, Algiers (now known as 150) * Cuthroat Posse, Lower Garden District * Florida Posse, Ninth Ward (inactive) * 7th Ward Hardheads, Seventh Ward (inactive) * Deslonde Boys, Ninth Ward (inactive) * Porch Boys, Central City (inactive) * Josephine and Danneel Crew, Central City * Cutt Boys, Central City (inactive) * Gotti Boys, Central City (inactive) * Cutoff Posse, Algiers * 11th Ward Hustlers, Irish Channel * Gertown Hounds, Gertown * Eagle Street Crew, Hollygrove * Melph Mafia, Central City

References

* https://www.nola.com/news/article_0c820a69-b7a0-52ca-982c-781132011480.html Retrieved Aug 14 2009 * https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_06f42396-4b4d-5042-985b-8d5f8d106504.html {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324033755/https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_06f42396-4b4d-5042-985b-8d5f8d106504.html , date=2022-03-24 Nola.com. New Orleans gangs

gangs A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collecti ...