A few generations ago, most tattoos were viewed as potential gang tattoos – whether or not they were actually gang related. That’s because tattooing was relatively uncommon among the mainstream public, and having a tattoo almost automatically meant that you had some sort of criminal association.

Gang and prison tattoos work like a sort of code and speak a language of their own. Numbers and letters are important gang symbols. They indicate for example what status a member has in the group or what a prisoner is in for.