187 (slang)

This article is about slang use of the term '187'. For the law on murder in California, see Murder (California).

Section 187 (often referred to in slang simply as 187) of the California Penal Code defines the crime of murder. The number is commonly pronounced by reading the digits separately as "one-eight-seven", or "one-eighty-seven", rather than "one hundred eighty-seven".

The number "187" has been used by gangs throughout the United States and elsewhere as a synonym for murder; this usage has been documented in Florida,[1] Wisconsin,[2] the United Kingdom,[3] Germany[4] and Norway.[5] It also features widely in hip-hop culture, such as in Dr. Dre's "Deep Cover" or, YNW Melly's "Murder on My Mind".

  1. ^ Scarcella, Michael A. (August 13, 2005). "Rival gangs shoot it out: Manatee cracks down as violence escalates". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. A1.
  2. ^ Hall, Andy (June 19, 2005). "A Primer on Local Gangs". Wisconsin State Journal. p. A12. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012.
  3. ^ Scheerhout, John (April 2, 2012). ""You thought I was joking": Facebook fury of jealous knifeman who stabbed 74-year-old woman at Chorlton bus stop". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  4. ^ Bromberg, Wiebe (February 22, 2011). "Messer-Angriff in der Sternschanze: Attacke im Florapark: Es ging um eine Frau" [Knife assault in the Sternschanze: Attack in the Flora Park: It was about a woman]. Hamburger Morgenpost (in German). Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved March 13, 2020. [...] the perpetrator belongs to the "187" gang.
  5. ^ NTB, Mario Andrés Neira Torres (January 19, 2021). "23-åring dømt til fengsel for trusler mot Frp-politiker Jon Helgheim". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved January 19, 2021.