Bloods sets operate independently of each other, and are currently located in almost all States. During the rise of crack cocaine, the gang's focus shifted to drug production. The Pirus are therefore considered to be the original founders of the Bloods. To assert their power despite this difference in numbers, Bloods sets became increasingly violent, especially against rival Crips members. At the time, Crips sets outnumbered Bloods sets by three to one.
The origin of the Bloods and their rivalry with the Crips dates to the 1970s, where the Pirus street gang, originally a set, or faction, of the Crips broke off during an internal gang war, and allied with other smaller gangs to found the gang that would eventually become known as the Bloods.
