The proliferation of gang development has increased since the 1950s (Fong and Buentello, 1991). An attempt to understand prison gangs in 1985 demonstrated that they were dangerous and unorganized entities. National Gang Intelligence estimates that there are approximately 230,000 gang members incarcerated in federal and state prisons nationwide (page 30). This is important because gangs represent a serious problem not only in prison environments, but also because of their influence on the community. Research has revealed that prison gangs are more likely to reoffend than those who are not gang affiliated. Additionally, housing inmates costs the state government an average of $22,500 (Dooley, Seals, and Sharbek 2014). The 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment found that “prison-related crime and violence in the nation's prison system pose a significant threat to facility employees and a growing threat in many communities.” This literature review will explore the question of how personal safety in prison increases the likelihood of inmates joining a gang. The prevalence of gangs in prison appears to offer protection to inmates to some extent, but gang membership is related to victimization within prison. The criminal justice system must effectively train correctional officers about prison gangs and discourage their development through education, job skills, and appropriate reintegration into the community. PRISON GANGS AND PRISON ENVIRONMENT Gang protection laws, organizations and associations The prison environment has a great impact on the behavior of prisoners. When inmates arrive in prison they bring with them characteristics and behaviors from the street. This influence is known as importation theory, which is defined as “the subculture within the prison is brought into the middle of the paper… which more needs to be done in this area of ​​study. However, it may still pose a challenge due to the identity of the gang member and the norms they may abide by. Furthermore, gang members do not want to collaborate with researchers or officials because they do not want to be classified as informants. More importantly, further studies are needed to determine whether the strategies implemented work to discourage their presence in correctional institutions, “it is extremely difficult to define a successful intervention in any prison” (Carlson, 2001). This indicates that what may work for one prison institution may not work for others. And the ones that work, how well do they work? Further research should be conducted in this area. Pyrooz et al. (2011) predicted that greater collaboration between correctional institutions should be prevalent for the persistence of these groups.