Russian Prison Tattoo

According to the book of Genesis, God placed a mark on the world’s first murderer before sending him into exile. The mark of Cain indelibly branded its bearer as a criminal and social outcast.

 

It is not known when tattooing first became a common practice in Russian prisons and Stalinist Gulags. Soviet researchers first discovered and studied this underground activity in the 1920s; photographs of prisoners from that period suggest an already elaborate and highly developed subculture. More than simple decoration, the images symbolically proclaim the wearer’s background and rank within the complex social system of the jailed.

 

The Russian prison population is one of the largest in the world. From the mid-1960’s to the 1980’s, thirty-five million people were incarcerated, and of those, twenty to thirty million were tattooed. The tattoos display inmates’ contempt for official justice and retribution– phrases and images directly mock the political system and the absence of any possibility for “reform” within the jails. “For a convict, prison is a crime college,” reads one typical statement. Convicted female gang members sometimes prefer the simple declaration, “People are wild animals.”

 

Barbed wire tattooed across the forehead signifies a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole.

 

 

 

The drawing above shows the spelling of a man’s name, Vasia, in Cyrillic characters. The symbols on each finger have specific coded meanings: “In life, only count on yourself,” is the meaning of the symbol on the first finger, and the three skulls on the third finger symbolize murders committed by the criminal.

 

Monasteries, cathedrals, castles, and fortresses are often tattooed on the chest, back, or hand. The number of spires or towers can represent the years a prisoner has been incarcerated, or number of times they have been imprisoned. The phrase, “The Church is the House of God,” often inscribed beneath a cathedral, has the metaphorical meaning, “Prison is the Home of the Thief.”

 

A spider or spider’s web symbolizes drug addiction.

 

Military insignia and epaulet tattoos are often used to signify criminal accomplishments or some other aspect of a prisoner’s history. Skulls generally designate murderers. The crest in the drawing above refers to the White Guard– troops who fought against the Red Army in the Russian Revolution– and can mean that a prisoner was a high ranking criminal or had some special status as a criminal before their incarceration. The epaulet in the drawing below indicates that a prisoner has done time in solitary confinement. Nazi imagery is very common. An SS insignia can indicate that a prisoner is respected for never having confessed to anything.

 

Images chosen by the prisoners borrow from popular art and the rich tradition of Russian icon painting. Churches, kittens, images of saints or the Madonna and Christ, portraits of Russian political leaders and Soviet architecture, death’s heads and barbed wire are transmuted into a clandestine social and political language that can be decoded by fellow inmates and by ex- cons outside of the prison walls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A cat tattoo represents a prisoner’s past life as a thief. A single cat signifies that the criminal acted alone, while several cats together show that the criminal was part of a gang. The head of a tomcat is considered to bring good luck to a thief. It can also serve as a warning not to mess with the wearer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The writing on this arm reads, “I don’t care about the Soviet laws–the only rules I follow are the ones I make up in my head. Many of the people sitting in here have no destiny, but I am not one of those.” Personal statements of this kind are common. The phrase “My mother taught me to steal in the industrial zones” is quite popular.

 

 

 

A cross can indicate bondage, subordination, or slavery. Some tattoos are given involuntarily, as warnings or punishment for transgressions–sex offenders, for example, are frequently branded with a dagger running across their shoulder blades and through their necks.

The tattoos are painfully applied with needles and electric shavers, using ink made from urine, soot, and shampoo. Infection from the procedure is frequent, and death not uncommon.

[source article]

 

 

Prison Gang Tattoos

Tattoos have long been used to identify people in many cultures. The gang culture of today is no different. Gangs members use tattoos for several reasons. First, gang members will frequently have numerous tattoos, particularly if they have spent time in prison. These tattoos may include one or more symbols that the gang has adopted as something unique to identify the gang and it’s members.

The tattoos can be as subtle as the numbers on a tombstone tattoo, which indicate how many years a prisoner has served. Or spider webs on the elbows or shoulders, which bespeak the imprisoned life. To outsiders, a simple ‘88’ tattooed on someone’s arm may seem innocent enough. But those in the know understand that H is the eighth letter of the alphabet, and that HH is an acronym for Heil Hitler. Prisoners use all kinds of symbols, words, and numbers to show their affiliations to other convicts.

Second, tattoos are worn and used for intimidation. Many members, particularly if the gang has a propensity for violence, will have the gang name tattooed in large bold letters so that other persons or gang members will know what gang the person represents.

Wearing an unauthorized gang tattoo could be hazardous to a person’s health, particularly in prison. Prison gang inmates have been known to remove unauthorized tattoos on non-gang members by cutting the tattoo from the person’s flesh.

 

Tattoo recognition and interpretation is a valuable tool when dealing with state prison parolees. A convict’s ink will tell you three sweet pieces of info about him. Who he is, what he’s done and where he’s been.

Many times the convict will have his name or street name on him. I have even heard of having one’s CDC # put on. Also a loved ones name may help you ID him. What he’s done often relates to his crimes. For example if he carries a gun, a picture of the weapon maybe on him. If the gun is pictured from the side this means he carries a gun. If the weapon is pointed outward, this means he is a shooter. Where he’s been has to do with the joints he has called home. The ink in relation to the joints he’s been in will be landmarks. Landmarks such as walls, gun towers, cell doors or windows and bob wire. Remember to take your time and read the ink.

Joint ink starts out as one color. Blue. It may turn black or purple according to the sun and the skin pigment but it usually starts out blue. If you see other colors besides blue, or it’s variations, the tat probably is not a true joint tat.

There are two ways of giving a tat. Free hand, which most are, or machine. Free hands a no brainer. You get some ink, usually out of a pen, and you dip a needle, usually a straight pen, and you use the Polynesian method. That is a series of dots to form a picture or word. These tats are crude and sloppy and very noticeable.

The second method is the machine. A home made tat machine consists of a slot car motor, a hollowed out ball point pin, some guitar string, a 9 volt battery and the ink. The hollowed out pen is wired or taped to the motor facing away from it. The guitar string is wrapped around the arm of the motor and run through the pen so it sticks out about a 16th of an inch out the end. Hook up a flashlight battery and its tat time. When the battery is hooked up, the motor arm vibrates which moves the guitar string back and forth rapidly in and out of the end of the pen and as long as you keep dipping the end in the ink, you can create a tattoo. Machine ink jobs are more detailed because of the method but also because they are usually done with stencils. Getting caught giving a tat or getting one in the joint is a serious crono.

 

Tattoos and their Meaning

 

Clock faces without handsTombstones with numbers on themTombstones with numbers and RIPSpider or cob webs on elbows or shouldersEight ballsOne laughing face, one crying faceSWPPeckerwoodFeatherwoodViking themesGranite block walls100 % pureCell window with sun or bird showingFace of female cryingSURNorteanoPrison block wall with bricks falling outward

Doing timeThe years they were insideMourning the death of a friendDoing timeBehind the eight ball or bad luckPlay now, pay later or my happy life, my sad lifeSupreme white powerWhite pride ( males )White pride ( females )Common Caucasian tatTime in Old Folsom PrisonPure white or angloWaiting to get outHas someone on the outside waitingSouthernerNorthernerInside wanting to get out

 

 

Kid vs Monster

This is the definition of cuteness! And the way she talks, kind of resembles how perhaps the Mafia from areas like Brooklyn might sound.

Prison Gangs

A prison gang is an unofficial term used to denote any type of gang activity in prisons and correctional facilities. Prison officials and others in law enforcement use the term Security Threat Group, or STG.

The concept for the “Security Threat Group” name is to take away the recognition and publicity that the term “gang” connotates when referring to people who have an interest in undermining the system.

Most prison gangs do more than offer simple protection for their members. Most often, prison gangs are responsible for any drug, tobacco, or alcohol handling inside correctional facilities. Furthermore, many prison gangs involve themselves in prostitution, assaults, kidnappings, and murders. Prison gangs often seek to intimidate the other inmates, pressuring them to relinquish their food and other resources.

In addition, prison gangs often exercise a large degree of influence over organized crime in the “free world”, larger than their isolation in prison might lead one to expect. Since the start of the “War on Drugs” in the 1980s, which led to both massive increases in the prison population and high profits for drug trafficking, larger prison gangs have consciously worked to leverage their influence inside prison systems to control and profit from drug trafficking on the street. This is made possible based upon the logic that individuals involved in selling illegal drugs face a high likelihood of serving a prison term at some point, or in having a friend or family member in prison. The cooperation of drug dealers and other criminals can be secured due to the credible threat of violence upon incarceration if it is not provided. Prison gang members and associates who are released are usually expected to further the gang’s activities after their release, and may face danger if they refuse and are returned to prison, such as on a parole violation. The War on Drugs also led to large numbers of drug addicts serving prison terms, providing gangs with a significant method of asserting control within prisons, by controlling the drug trade.

Prison gangs can also be responsible for laundering money from outside gangs, usually the free world branches of the same gangs “on the inside”.

Most correctional facilities have policies prohibiting the formation of prison gangs; however, many prison gangs continue to operate with impunity. Many members are serving life imprisonment (a few are on Death Row) for various crimes, thus they have no incentive to leave a gang or to integrate with the general prison population.

 

Common prison gangs in the United States

It should be noted that prison gangs often have several “affiliates” or “chapters” in different state prison systems that branch out due to the movement or transfer of their members. Smaller prison gangs may associate with or declare allegiance to larger ones. In addition, some prison gang “chapters” may split into antagonistic groups that become rivals, as the Mexican Mafia did in Arizona (into the “Old” or “Original” Mexican Mafia associated with the original California gang and the “New Mexican Mafia”, a rival group).

 

• Aryan Brotherhood – A white prison gang that originated in California’s San Quentin prison in 1964. Perhaps out of their ideology, and the necessity of establishing a presence among the more numerous Black and Hispanic gang members, the AB has a particular reputation for ruthlessness and violence. Since the 1990s, in part because of this reputation, the AB has been targeted heavily by state and federal authorities. Many key AB members have been moved to “supermax” control-unit prisons at both the federal and state level or are under federal indictment.

 

• Nazi Lowriders – A newer white prison gang that emerged in California after many Aryan Brotherhood members in that state were sent to the Security Housing Unit at Pelican Bay or transferred to federal prisons. NLR is associated with members originally from the Antelope Valley of Southern California, and is known to accept some light-skinned or Caucasian identified Hispanic members.

 

• La Eme – The Mexican Mafia. “Eme” is the letter “M” in Spanish. The Mexican mafia are composed mostly of Hispanics, although some black and caucasian members exist. The Mexican Mafia and the Aryan Brotherhood are allies and work together to control prostitution, drug running, weapons, and “hits” or murders. Originally formed in the 1950s in California prisons by Hispanic prisoners from the southern part of that state, Eme has traditionally been composed of US-born or raised Hispanics and has retained ties to the Southern California-based “Sureños”. During the 1970s and 80s, Eme in California established the model of leveraging their power in prison to control and profit from criminal activity on the street.

 

• Nuestra Familia – “Our Family,” another mostly hispanic prison gang that is constantly at war with La Eme, and was originally formed from Northern-California or rural-based hispanic prisoners opposed to domination by La Eme, which was started by and associated with Los Angeles gang members.

 

• The Texas Syndicate – A mostly Texas-based prison gang that includes mostly Hispanic members, but does allow Caucasian and black members. The Texas Syndicate, more than La Eme or Nuestra Familia, has been more associated or allied with Mexican immigrant prisoners, such as the “Border Brothers”, while Eme and Familia tend to be composed of and associate with US-born or raised Hispanics.

 

• Most African-American prison gangs retain their street gang names and associations. These commonly include Rollin’ sets (named after streets, i.e. Rollin 30’s, Rollin’ 40’s, etc.) that can identify with either Blood or Crip affiliations. The Black Guerilla Family represents an exception, as an originally politically-based group that has a significant presence in prisons and prison politics.

 

• Gang gongs-Filipino gangs. Ilonngo Gangs.

 

Blood in, Blood out

Most prison gangs follow the policy of “blood in – blood out.”

 

 

• Blood In – This generally means that to get into a prison gang, one has to spill someone else’s blood. Most often this requires a murder, although occasionally it can be only an aggravated assault. The idea is that law enforcement officials will refuse to carry out murder or aggravated assaults, therefore allowing the prison gangs to remain uninfiltrated.

• Blood Out – Most prison gangs are for life. Blood Out refers to trying to get out of a prison gang. Most often, this means the member will be killed, although occasionally it can be a severe beating. In reality, for many prison gang members, once they are released from prison, if they choose not to continue in any prison or outside gang activity, they can usually walk away and not associate with any other member. They may face danger, however, if they return to prison having refused to cooperate with gang activities on the outside.

 

Identification

Many small prison gangs require members to recognize every other member of the organization. However, in larger prison gangs such as La Eme, gang tattoos are used for identification. The tattoo must be earned and anyone found with a prison gang tattoo that they didn’t earn will usually have it removed, commonly by cutting it out or by using an iron. Because tattooing is used for prison gang identification, many prisons have prohibited tattooing while inside the facility and issue severe penalties for any tattoo equipment or signs of recent tattooing. Tattoos can also be used to ‘validate’ a suspected prison gang member for transfer to a ’supermax’ or ‘SHU’ facility where identified gang members are segregated. As a result, some prison gang members may carry a ‘brand’ or gang identifier on a piece of paper or some means other than a tattoo for identification.

[source article]

 

The Kiss of Death

Béla Kiss (1877 – 19??) was a Hungarian serial killer. He is thought to have murdered at least 24 young women and attempted to pickle them in giant metal drums that he kept on his property. In English “Kiss” means “Little”.

Béla Kiss was a tinsmith who had lived in Czinkota (nowadays part of Budapest), Hungary since 1900 with his wife Marie, a pretty woman 15 years his junior. His neighbors considered him a pleasant man to live with. Kiss was an amateur astrologer and allegedly fond of other occult practices.

This man’s nefarious activities started with his wife’s infidelity. She took up with a neighbor, and in 1912 they both disappeared. Kiss told his neighbors that Marie had run off with her lover. In place of his wife, Kiss hired an elderly housekeeper, Mrs Jakubec. She, in turn, learned to ignore the parade of women who came to spend time with Czinkota’s newly-eligible bachelor.

Around this same time, Kiss began collecting large metal drums, informing the curious village constable that they were filled with gasoline, expected to be scarce with the approach of war in Europe.

Budapest authorities, meanwhile, were seeking information on the disappearance of two widows, named Schmeidak and Varga, who had not made contact with their friends or relatives for several weeks. Both of them told others before they disappeared that they were meeting a man by the name of Hoffman. Yet the police could never locate such a person for questioning. Rumors floated around Kiss’s town, but no one linked them to him.

Kiss was drafted in 1914 into the military service. Before he left, he closed the smithy, locked the doors and barricaded the windows. He went for the front as soon as he was sworn into the ranks and issued gear.

He was forgotten by the townsfolk until June, when soldiers visited Czinkota in a search for stockpiled gasoline. The village constable remembered Kiss and his cache of metal drums, and led a squad of soldiers to the dead man’s home. Inside the house, the searchers turned up seven drums… but they contained no gasoline. When they jerked the lid of the nearest container, they backed, astonished. The stench was terrible. The boldest of them dared to glance what was inside of it. Each drum contained the naked body of a woman, folded up, the rope that had strangled her, still around her neck and preserved in alcohol. The other barrels held the same content.

The house was searched, a huge pile of women’s clothes were found, and a large amount of jewelry was also discovered. The drawers of Kiss’s bureau overflowed with cards and letters from women responding to newspaper advertisements, purchased by Kiss in the name of Hoffmann, a self-described “lonely widower seeking female companionship.” The quantity of found objects seemed to indicate there were more than seven victims. Czinkota’s constable recalled that there had been more drums — and many more, at that. A search of the surrounding countryside revealed another seventeen, each with a pickled corpse inside. Authorities from Budapest identified the missing widows, and Marie Kiss occupied another drum; her lover, Paul Bikari, was the only male among the twenty-four recovered victims.

Detective Chief Charles Nagy took over the investigation and the army’s administration service was asked for more information about him. It seemed he would have been sent to Serbia and been deadly hit.

On October 4th, 1916 Nagy received a letter that stated that Kiss was recuperating in Serbian hospital. Nagy arrived too late — the nurse who had taken care of the dying Kiss, described him as a young soldier, not even 20 years old. Kiss was 42 when he gave himself up for service. Kiss had fled and substituted a dead body of another soldier in his bed. Nagy alerted all the Hungarian police. Unfortunately, all the sightings police could check proved to be wrong.

On several later occasions, speculation arose that Béla Kiss had perhaps faked his death by exchanging identities with a dead soldier during the war. He was supposedly sighted numerous times in following years and there were various rumors about his fate, including that he had been imprisoned for burglary in Romania or he had died of yellow fever in Turkey.

In 1920 a soldier in the French Foreign Legion reported on another legionnaire named Hoffman (the name Kiss had used in some letters) who had boasted how good he was at using a garrote, and who fit Kiss’ description. “Hoffman” deserted before police could reach him.

In 1932, homicide detective Henry Oswald was certain he had seen Kiss coming out of Times Square Subway in New York City. Nicknamed “Camera Eye” by colleagues, after his uncanny memory for faces, Oswald was unshakable in his belief that Kiss — who would have been approaching 70 — was living somewhere in New York. Unfortunately, Times Square crowds prevented Oswald from pursuing Kiss, and he could only watch in helpless rage as his intended quarry disappeared.

In 1936, a rumor spread that Kiss was working as a janitor, in some apartment buildings on Sixth Avenue. Again, he managed to evade police, and there the trail grew cold. Whatever finally became of Bela Kiss, if he was ever in New York at all, remains a mystery, beyond solution with the passage of a full half-century.

The fate of Béla Kiss remains unknown. In Hungary, he is remembered as the one who got away. One thing’s for sure: Bela Kiss has never paid for his crimes.

 

Secrets for Life

There’s an old saying that goes, “Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead.” This is a truth that probably cuts against the grain of what you’ve been told about human nature and goodwill. Some people think this is only the washed-up thought of a jaded person, but this single fact has saved me from making bad business decisions and given me the upper hand over jerk-offs and babbos. The rule is simple: Never trust anyone with your secrets.

You are the only person you can trust. The people you work with are no more worthy of trust than those who share your home. Blood may be thicker than water, but bullsh*t has the same viscosity in the boardroom as it does in the bedroom. This policy of mine makes no exceptions for any special type of person whose daily path intersects with my life. I give no leeway to my boss, my employees, my kids, my childhood friends or my third wife. Trust none of these people with the innermost pieces of you.

I have said before that trust is nothing more than a series of repeat appearances where a person follows through on what he said he would do. However, as my stuffy-suited broker tells me (usually when he is delivering bad news), “Past performance does not guarantee future results.” Those you trust today can become your bitter enemies tomorrow, and then your secret becomes a powerful asset for them.

If this seems hard-hearted, you either haven’t been burned or enjoy the abuse. As for me, I learned this lesson by mixing my money with my friends. A guy I knew from grade school needed a place to live, so I housed his broke ass in one of my apartments. Out of the goodness of my heart, I spotted him rent for the first three months, and for that I caught hell from my first wife (may she rest in peace). At night, my friend and I talked about my business, and because I believed he was a stand-up guy, I mentioned a few deals that I was going to make over the next few months. Suddenly, my friend cooked up an investment opportunity and said he needed some cash to get moving. My wife said, “Do not give that man another dollar,” and I defended him, promising her that he was a trustworthy cat. She threw up her hands as I wrote out a check for a substantial amount of money — at least, it was quite a lot of money for me at the time. And that money walked right out the door as he went out and undercut me on every deal I had in the pipeline. This was unfortunate because I didn’t get the return on investment that I wanted. I had to settle for a pound of flesh instead.

In other words, if you have secrets, keep them secrets. Mum’s the word. Here’s some things to keep your yapper shut about.

 

A serious betrayal

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you’ve betrayed someone, be prepared to have the guilt start eating you alive. If you play the part of Judas to get 30 pieces of silver, you’ll get his guilt as payback. And, now that you’re a lying, no-good prick, do not unload your conscience by spilling the beans to a confidant. Swallow hard and bury the truth underneath a compost of justification. Learn to live with what you’ve done, because should you choose to tell someone about your act of betrayal, that person will have leverage on you for the rest of your natural life and even after you’re dead.

 

A character weakness

Everyone is bad at something, and there are cafones out there who are going to use it against you. You should examine yourself and have enough honesty to admit where you lack skills. I have a nephew who can’t do math in his head very well. He once admitted this weakness to someone in a business setting and, immediately after that, he started getting short-changed as clients spun voodoo tales of numbers into his head. Needless to say, he should have kept his mouth shut.

 

A secret ambition

When it comes to work, people usually have goals besides money. Your ultimate goal — be it to become head night janitor or state senator — should be kept to yourself. Notifying the world of your ambition earmarks your every move thereafter. If someone sees you working hard, they’ll think it’s only because you want to get to the top. Climb the ladder quietly; don’t allow your big mouth to set great expectations that you may never achieve.

 

Personal problems

No one at work ever needs to know that your personal relationships are anything but perfect. The perception is more important than the reality. As they say with fine Italian food, “Presentation is everything.” The more stable you appear to be outside of work, the more likely the management will be to promote you. You’ve heard these babbos who come to the office and bad-mouth their spouses. What that tells me is that they can’t keep their mouths shut about home while they’re at work, so how can I expect them to keep their mouths shut about work at home?

 

Your vices

If you have a vice — and I’m talking booze and women here — keep it locked behind closed doors. If you can’t go a night without hitting the bottle, it’s best to keep it a private act. Moreover, booze lends itself to diarrhea of the mouth and loose lips that sink ships. As far as women go, whatever your personal fetish — if you like to be beaten or any other sick kind of crap — no one needs to know about it. No one wants to know except your call girl or goomah.

 

Bedroom tales

Ever met a guy who has to tell you every chick he’s nailed since he was 15? Personally, it seems to me this kind of information should be saved for personal review only. About the only person in history who got any street cred for his bedroom escapades was a guy from Venice named Casanova and he’s dead. Capisce?

 

so keep your trap shut

If you want to live your life like an open book, then be advised that your secrets can become life’s little jack-in-the-boxes that will pop out at the most inopportune moments. What you did when you were 20 might have been cool at the time, but when you’re 40 and your boss asks you about it, you won’t be laughing. Keep your secrets as quiet as your bank account, and that way no one can make things uncomfortable for you.

[source article]

Contract Killing

A contract killing (also contract murder or murder-for-hire) is a murder in which a killer is hired by another person to murder for material reward, usually money. A person who carries out a contract killing is sometimes known as a contract killer, hit man (sometimes hitman), or assassin.

In most countries with judicial systems, a contract to kill a person is unenforceable by law (in the sense that the customer cannot sue for specific performance and the contract killer cannot sue for his pay).

Both the actual killer or hitman and his customer can be found guilty of homicide. In some jurisdictions with capital punishment, a contract killing may be a special circumstance that allows for a murder to be tried as a capital crime.

Contract killing appeals to some criminals partially because it can be used to establish an “airtight” alibi for the person who takes out the contract–at the time of the killing, this person can plan to be far away and in a place where many people will see him. At the same time, the person who actually commits the murder may have little or no direct connection to the victim, making it much more difficult for investigators to establish what has happened. By contracting out a murder, a criminal can also avoid personally committing murder, which some may be unwilling or incapable of doing, especially if they had a close relationship with the victim.

Contract killings are often, though not always, associated with organized crime, primarily because career criminals are likely to know contract killers, and believe contracting a murder will lessen the likelihood of being caught. Depending on the region and era, contract killers have frequently been used to silence witnesses testifying against criminals or to eliminate rival criminals or politicians who refuse to take a bribe (plata o plomo – a Spanish phrase meaning literally “silver or lead” which usually translates into “money or bullet” — “accept a bribe or face assassination”).

Others contract a murder in an attempt to reap some kind of financial windfall–usually as a beneficiary of the victim’s insurance policies, or as heir to their estate. However, the most common motive usually involves simply ending an intimate relationship, albeit for an array of reasons.

Contract killers may make their crime an obvious murder, but may also try to make the death appear to be a suicide or even an accident, or may hide or destroy the body so that it is not clear to authorities that the victim is dead, only that they have disappeared.

Payment for the actual killing (usually referred to as a “hit”), is usually divided by paying part of the total price to the contract killer beforehand, and the remainder after the successful completion of the hit. This is usually done like a security bond or deposit, ensuring for the hit man, that they will receive some portion of the pay should the client refuse to pay him or other issues arise and client cannot pay the full amount; after the killing has been completed, and also to establish a binding relationship between the client and the hit man.

The actual amount for a particular hit will obviously vary considerably based on things such as: the hit man in particular and his standards and usual fee, the difficulty and danger in accomplishing the actual “hit” based upon who the person to be killed is, where they are and any likely police, security and media attention, and also specifically if the client wants the target to be killed in a specific manner (to appear as an accident for example). Though commonly stated figures in the media, and from criminology studies would suggest the usual fee would be in the tens of thousands, for example in American Dollars; it is difficult to ascertain an average price due to the obviously clandestine nature of hit men and the world of contract killing.

In some countries law enforcement agents will sometimes pose as contract killers to arrest the people trying to hire them.

 

Statistics

A study by the Australian Institute of Criminology of 162 attempted or actual contract murders in Australia from 1989 to 2002 showed that the most common reason for murder for hire was “in relation to the dissolution of an intimate relationship”. The study also found that the average payment for a “hit” was AU$12,700 and the most commonly used weapons were firearms. Contract killings accounted for 2% of murders in Australia during that time period.

Contract killings make up a relatively similar percentage of all killings elsewhere. For example, they made up about 5% of all murders in Scotland from 1993 to 2002.

[source article]