Cobweb tattoos are very old
The interpretations that have been given to the spider web tattoos in prisons. I think that some do not have to exclude others, like all tattoos, the motivation of each person is unique regardless of whether there is a determined symbolism for some spider web tattoos that is the one that I am going to expose.
Meaning of cobwebs in prisons
The first meaning is that of spider web as prison in which a person is entangled, like a trapped insect, wants to flee but cannot, struggles and becomes more entangled, the threads of the cloth are like the bars of the cell.
Perhaps for this reason, it is also said that each ring from the cobweb symbolizes a year spent in prison, for all to know.
Member of the Mara Salvatrucha
Another of the meanings of the spider web alone is that of drug addiction, the prisoner is trapped in dependence on some drug. It is the insect.
However, for others the cobweb symbolizes that es the prisoner the dangerous, the trap, the spider that will hunt its prey.
It is assumed that according to tattooed area (codo, neck, back, ear, hand, face) the cobweb also symbolizes one thing or another. The other day I was explaining the supposed meanings of the tattoo on the elbow, which sometimes served as a warning of being a murderer and in others a member of the skinheads,
Russian prison tattoo
In russian gulags the prisoners tattooed cobwebs and spiders with another meaning; usually between the thumb and forefinger, to indicate that they were thieves. If it included a spider, it symbolized drug addiction (unlike the previous one, which does not include a spider and symbolizes the same thing). On the neck, isolation punishment for violating prison rules on numerous occasions. I do not know its meaning in other parts of the body.
I have not been in jail, nor do I belong to a mafia, nor am I part of a group that I have mentioned, so everything I have said is based on texts from others that I consider valid. If any of you want expand the information or correct it, it's welcome.