For instance, the tattoo could indicate the crime the person has committed that resulted in their incarceration. Typically, these are placed somewhere highly visible and impossible to hide, such as the person’s face.įor criminal groups in prisons, tattoos have further meanings. Sometimes, they are used as punishment, often given forcibly (without the person’s consent). These tattoos are done voluntarily, meaning the individual has to agree to receive the tattoo.īut gang tattoos aren’t always a ‘positive’ thing.
Some gang tattoos are meant as tokens of recognition for the individual’s rank and experience, the specific skills they have, or the crimes they’ve committed in the course of their activity within the group. These tattoos and their meanings vary from group to group, as every gang has its own ‘tattoo language’, so to speak. Members of certain criminal gangs and mafia groups in and out of prison carry tattoos imbued with highly specific meanings. Tattoos serve a range of purposes in criminal gangs, and every gang has a more or less secret set of meanings associated with specific designs.Īs mysterious as they are intriguing, gang-related tattoos have aroused interest and curiosity for decades.
