PRISON TATTOOING
Identify Members
Tattoos have always been used as a means to identify members with particular gangs. Members use tattoos for several reasons. Some members will have numerous tattoos, particularly if they have spent time in prison. These tattoos may include one or more symbols that has been adopted as something unique to identify it’s members.Hepatitis C Risk
The perils of tattooing in prison have not gone unheeded, at least by the medical community, health departments, and activists for health-related issues. Prison administrators in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and other countries have been asked by authors of reports on prison tattooing to accept the reality that prisons are playing a key role in the hepatitis C epidemic. Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a 2003 report, recommend that "all prisoners be asked about hepatitis C risk factors, and that all prisoners who report hepatitis C risk factors be tested for hepatitis C antibodies.