Category: Prison vocabulary

STG is a TDCJ acronym for “security threat group.” TDCJ defines the term as “Any group of offenders TDCJ reasonably believes poses a threat to the physical safety of other offenders and staff due to the very nature of said Security Threat Group.

It is important to note that a “threat” to some is a “family” and safety to others.

TDCJ currently identifies these groups as STGs:

• Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT)
• Aryan Circle (AC)
• Barrio Azteca
• Bloods
• Crips
• Hermanos De Pistoleros Latinos
• Mexican Mafia (EME)
• Partido Revolucionario Mexicanos
• Raza Unida
• Texas Chicano Brotherhood
• Texas Mafia
• Texas Syndicate

TPI often uses “prison association” or “prison organization” to refer to prison groups in general as a less stigmatizing general term and because not all groups may be officially recognized under TDCJ’s STG classification.

Groups that are common in Texas but are not classified as STGs include (according to this source): Tango / Tango Blast (regional groups for Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, and West Texas), 18th Street Gang, Gangster Disciples, Latin Kings, Mandingo Warriors, Mara Salvatrucha, Mexicles, Surenos, Tri-City Bombers, and White Knights.

A “kite” is a note sent to someone else inside. In some cases, a kite can refer to official communications, such as a Sick Call Request, but we most often see it used in TDCJ to refer to informal communications between prisoners. In some contexts, a kite can connote revealing something secret, or snitching. Apparently in some prisons, a kite refers sending a letter to a non-extent address with a return address of another prisoner as a way of sending a letter to another prisoner (in many jails and prisons, this is illegal). In TDCJ, this is generally known as a “boomerang” instead of a kite. A kite is often thrown to another cell attached to a string, which allows retrieval of a bad throw and of a response. That is probably how the term kite originated.

KOP refers to medication and generally stands for “keep on person.” Some will also define it as “carry on person.” In most prisons, medications that have recreational use or trade value will be distributed a single dose at a time, and in TDCJ these are generally provided at the pill window on the building where one is housed. Prescriptions for medications that have little recreational use or trade value will be issued KOP so it is not necessary to go to the pill window for each dose.

Running a team usually refers to initiating some sort of crisis response group. In TDCJ, this is generally an ICS (Incident Command System) team. In the federal system, it’s a SORT, or Special Operations Response Team. In the Texas system, an ICS can be initiated in case of any crisis situation, including a suicide threat. “Running a team” is generally meant to indicate the ICS is called to intimidate, harass, or assault a prisoner.