When it comes to the Bloods and Crips, the definition of the Justice Department puts it best -

"The Bloods/Crips are an association of structured and unstructured gangs that have adopted a single gang culture."

In other words, the Bloods and Crips may have thousands of members but there is often no connection between the different sets. Neither gang is a monolithic organization, nor are the majority of the sets even loosely connected.

That said, there are gangs with even more members than the Bloods or Crips. And more organized too.

Check out the links below:

Street Gangs
http://www.justice.gov/criminal/ocgs/gangs/street.html

Prison Gangs
http://www.justice.gov/criminal/ocgs/gangs/prison.html

Motorcycle Gangs
http://www.justice.gov/criminal/ocgs/gangs/motorcycle.html


In Japan, recent reports have said that Yakuza membership has fallen to an all time low. According to the National Police Agency, the combined membership of the 21 largest Yakuza groups is now 58,600 - 25,600 identified as full members of recognized groups and 33,000 classified as "associate members." This is down from approximately 80,000 in recent years and a high of 184,000 back in the 1960's. Back in March, the Yamaguchi Gumi (well known as the largest Yakuza group) was said to have nearly 24,000 men. But it seems to me that both members and the Yakuza-equivalent of associates are included in these numbers. If that's the case, these figures aren't necessarily any bigger than those of other major international crime groups around the world.