Fresno Bulldogs, or BDS for short, also known by the abbreviations FBD and F-14, are a primarily

Mexican American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

criminal

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of di ...

and

prison gang A prison gang is an inmate organization that operates within a prison system. It has a corporate entity and exists into perpetuity. Its membership is restrictive, mutually exclusive, and often requires a lifetime commitment. Prison officials and ot ...

located in 559, California. They are considered to be one of the biggest drug gangs in

Central California Central California is generally thought of as the middle third of the state, north of Southern California, which includes Los Angeles, and south of Northern California, which includes San Francisco. It includes the northern portion of the S ...

with membership estimated to be around 39,000 in the cities of Fresno, Fowler, Selma, Kerman, Sanger, Clovis, Madera, San Joaquin, Coalinga, Huron, Mendota, Parlier, Dinuba, Orosi, Orange Cove, and Avenal. They are engaged in a wide range of criminal activity and have been subject to many high-profile cases over the years. Fresno Bulldogs are largely conflicted with other prison gangs and are the biggest Hispanic gang in California unaffiliated with

Sureños Sureños (; Spanish: ''Southerners'')‍, Southern United Raza, Sur 13 or Sureños X3 are groups of loosely affiliated gangs that pay tribute to the Mexican Mafia while in U.S. state and federal correctional facilities. Many Sureño gangs have ...

Norteños Norteños (Spanish: meaning ''Northerners''; ''Norteñas'' for females) are the various, affiliated gangs that pay tribute to Nuestra Familia while in California state and federal correctional facilities. Norteños may refer to Northern Cali ...

History

The Fresno Bulldogs can be traced back to the 1970s but did not become an independent street gang until the 1980s. Their independence developed in the California prison system during the prison wars of 1984—1985. Back when there were still allegiance between Norteños and F-14ers, the gang was known as F-14. In 1986 the F-14ers went to war with the Norteños, which led to a violent war in the California prison system known in gang folklore as "The Red Wave". The F-14ers began using the bulldog name and mascot of

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

including the paw print and bulldog head image in their graffiti and tattoos. They also bark to one another as a call sign, "Bulldog Calling" and address each other as "Dog", "Perro" or "Efe". They also adopted Fresno State apparel as de facto uniforms; causing a tenfold increase in royalties to the university from licensed merchandise sales from the 1990s to late 2000s (decade).

Location and sets

They are in some of the minor cities outside of Fresno CA, but with less frequency. There are bigger sets located in Fresno Ca Maple ave.93702.

Culture

Fresno Bulldogs do not have any allies and are one of the few USA American Indian Chicano gang in California that claim neither

bloods The Bloods are a primarily African-American street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols, includ ...

crips The Crips is an alliance of street gangs that is based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips were initially a single alliance ...

and

affiliation.

Criminal activity

Their main revenue is from the street level distribution of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various t ...

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...

, and

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamp ...

. The Fresno Police Department and the Fresno County Sheriff's Department have tried various different crackdowns on Bulldog gang activity. In November 2006, Operation Magic was launched to wipe out the Bulldog street gang. The operation has led to thousands of arrests, but the independent nature of the gang has complicated police efforts to contain crimes attributed to gang members. The Fresno Police Departments efforts have led to 2,422 felony arrests of Bulldog gang members and associates. However, even with increased gang suppression tactics the Bulldog gang continues to exert its influence on the community. Bulldogs gang members sometimes fight each other because of affiliation with a rival Bulldog gang set.

In prison

One rising concern in the

California State Prison System The California State Prison System is a system of prisons, fire camps, contract beds, reentry programs, and other special programs administered by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Division of Adult Institutions t ...

as well as the

Fresno County Jail The Fresno County Jail is a detention center made up of three different adjacent complexes, located at 1225 M. Street, in downtown Fresno, California, operated by the Fresno County Sheriff's Department. The facility is made up of the Main Jail, th ...

and Fresno County Juvienile is gang violence between the large Hispanic gangs, particularly the Fresno Bulldogs,

, and

. At the heart of the problem is the Fresno Bulldogs, who have participated in over 32 battles with other prison gangs from 2018 to 2019, ranging from small fights to full-scale

prison riots A prison riot is an act of concerted defiance or disorder by a group of prisoners against the prison administrators, prison officers, or other groups of prisoners. Prison riots have not been the subject of many academic studies or research inqui ...

, according to data prepared for the AP by the inspector general's office. Many correctional officers have often stated the members of Fresno's notorious Bulldogs gang have been particularly resistant to peacemaking, with gang members brawling in what critics labeled “gladiator fights”. Officials say the Bulldogs are the highest security threat in the

. The Bulldogs are also considered one of the highest security threat groups in many of California's State Prisons, such as

Corcoran State Prison California State Prison, Corcoran (COR) is a male-only state prison located in the city of Corcoran, in Kings County, California. It is also known as Corcoran State Prison, CSP-C, CSP-COR, CSP-Corcoran, and Corcoran I. The facility is just nor ...

Pleasant Valley State Prison Pleasant Valley State Prison (PVSP) is a minimum-to-maximum security state prison in Coalinga, Fresno County, California. The facility has housed convicted murderers Sirhan Sirhan, Erik Menendez, X-Raided, and Hans Reiser, among others. Hist ...

Soledad State Prison Correctional Training Facility (CTF), commonly referenced as Soledad State Prison, is a state prison located on U.S. Route 101, north of Soledad, California, adjacent to Salinas Valley State Prison. Facilities The institution is divided i ...

, and

Valley State Prison Valley State Prison (VSP), previously the Valley State Prison for Women (VSPW), is a state prison in Chowchilla, California. It is across the road from Central California Women's Facility. It was formerly a prison for women. It is north of Do ...

. Within the last 5 years, the Bulldogs have started small-scale to large-scale riots in each of these prisons.

References

{{Reflist Street gangs Latino street gangs Gangs in California Organizations based in Fresno, California Hispanic-American gangs