Prison Tattoo Prison Tattoos are used among criminals to show membership of gangs and record the wearer's personal history - such as his or her skills, specialities, accomplishments and convictions. They are also used as a means of personal expression. Certain tattoo designs have developed recognised coded meanings. The code systems can be quite complex and, because of the nature of what they encode, they are often not widely recognised. acab tattoo British Prison Tattoo ACAB is an acronym often integrated into prison tattoos in the United Kingdom. It is most commonly rendered with one letter tattoo between the knuckle and first joint of each finger, sometimes as tattoo symbolic small dots with or without the accompanying letters. ACAB can stand for All Coppers Are Bastards, or Always Carry A Bible, but most likely All Cops Are Bastards depending on who is asking and whether the bearer is trying to make a good impression. Japanese Prison Tattoo Extensive body tattoos ('body suits') are commonly worn by Yakuza members. These traditional prison tattoos are known as irezumi in Japanese. Their size and elaborate nature show not only the wearer's affiliation, but also his ability to endure pain. Starting in the Kofun period (300-600 A.D.), prison tattoos began to assume negative connotations. Instead of being used for ritual or status purposes, tattooed marks began to be placed on criminals as a punishment (this was mirrored in ancient Rome, where slaves were known to have been tattooed with mottos such as "I am a slave who has run away from his master"). Whereas in ancient Greece, spies used to be tattooed. At the beginning of the Meiji period (1868-1912 A.D.) the Japanese government, wanting to protect its image and make a good impression on the west, outlawed tattoos, and irezumi took on connotations of criminality. Nevertheless, fascinated foreigners went to Japan seeking the skills of tattoo artists, and traditional tattooing continued underground. Tattooing was legalized by the occupation forces in 1945, but has retained its image of criminality. For many years, traditional Japanese prison tattoos were associated with the Yakuza and many businesses in Japan (such as public baths, fitness centers and hot springs) still ban customers with tattoos. Filipino Gangs Prison Tattoo A tattoo of a Question Mark located on any part of the body is a mark of the infamous Filipino gang BNG or Bahala Na Gang ("Come What May"), known for being especially violent and dangerous. North American Prison Tattoo A prison tattoo of three dots in a triangle, usually found on the skin between the thumb and forefinger, stands for "mi vida loca" ("my crazy life"). Along with the pachuco cross, it is a popular "generic" tattoo among Latino teenagers, and has no direct connection to gangs. The tattoo has also been adopted by Vietnamese teenagers, along with the similar interpretation of "toi khong can gi ca" ("I need nothing"). See Three Dots Tattoo. A teardrop tattoo is said to indicate that the wearer has killed someone or a friend of his/hers was killed in prison. It is worn by the eye. A prison tattoo of a shamrock is associated with the white supremacist prison gang founded in California known as the Aryan Brotherhood. The Aryan Brotherhood is also known to use 12 as an identifier, with the 1 symbolizing the letter A, and the 2 symbolizing the letter B. Another white supremacy gang, the Aryan Circle, uses 13 as their symbol, with the same derivation. A prison tattoo of an ace of spades was mainly adopted by the Aco Town and Asian Boyz gang, but has been widely used by Asian youths in California. Often an "A" is placed in the middle of the spade: the "A" symbolizing Asian and the spade symbolizing thievery. A prison tattoo of the number "13" might indicate membership in the Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS13) gang, who copied and learned the Mexican gang culture. Because many Central Americans began moving into southern California, the gang was created for protective purposes against the Mexican gangs out numbered them. Sureņos, created in the California Prison system to show sepration between Southern Californians from Northern Californians. The boundary line that seprates South and North is in the Bakersfield area. Blue is used by 13 and red by 14. Crips and Bloods later copied the colors for themselves. The 13 or X3 stands for Mexican, M being the thirteenth letter of the alphabet. The Mexican Mafia, called La EME, and affiliated with the Sureņos, uses a double M insignia or a hand (usually black). A prison tattoo of the number "14" is associated with the prison gang Nuestra Familia, which is associated with the Northern California street gang the Norteņos. Sureņos and Norteņos are sworn enemies both in prison and on the streets. A prison tattoo of "13 1/2" means 12 jurors plus 1 judge plus a half-assed lawyer. It is a common practice for California street gangs of all races and ethnic backgrounds to have the telephone area code of their neighborhood tattooed, e.g. 213, 818, 310, 714, 415, 510, 619; with the frequent changes in California area codes, this can quickly become outdated. A prison tattoo of a clock with no hands is often found on the upper arm of a convict. A spider web prison tattoo (usually on the elbow) is a sign by white supremacists indication that they have killed or severly injured an "opponent". Russian prison tattoo Russian prison tattoos have a complex system of symbols which can 'read' to give quite detailed information about the wearer. Not only do the tattoo symbols carry meaning but the area of the body on which they are placed may be meaningful too. The initiation prison tattoo of a new gang member is usually placed on the chest and may incorporate a rose tattoo. A rose tattoo on the chest is also used within the Russian Mafia. Prison Tattoos done in a Russian prison have a distinct blueish color and usually appear somewhat blurred because of the lack of instruments to draw fine lines. The ink is often created from burning the heel of a shoe and mixing the soot with urine. In addition to voluntary tattooing, prison tattoos are used to stigmatise and punish individuals within the criminal society. 'Grins' may be placed on an individual who fails to pay debts in card games and often have very blatant sexual images, embarrassing the wearer.

Sub-Categories:     >> Tear Tattoo