Defining Street Gangs in the 21st Century

Defining Street Gangs in the 21st Century
Author: C.E. Prowse
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 65
Release: 2012-07-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1461443075

In contrast to the pattern of long-standing occidental street gangs modelled in the North American paradigm, new-age gangs have appeared as loosely organized, with a high degree of interchangeability of their membership. Associated with this structural fluidity is an equally significant geographic mobility, which paradoxically does not appear to diminish the intensity of personal bonds formed within and between ‘new-age’ gangs. The dimensions of fluidity of gang membership and geographic mobility across police jurisdictions is increasingly seen as the organizational pattern of emerging gangs, in large part shaped by worldwide patterns of human migration and globalization. While the structure of new-age gangs appears as loose-knit, what must be emphasized is that this characteristic is reflective of a criminal network of economic commodity-based ‘turf’ as opposed to a close-knit geographically anchored ‘turf’ that has characterized the prevailing North American (occidental) gang model. This volume illuminates the structure and organization of increasingly emergent, fluid and mobile, new-age gangs within the context of transnational networks. The implications for law enforcement agencies is two-fold: i) the fluidity of new-age gang players challenges investigative techniques that remain predicated on suspect recognition through modus operandi repetition by those involved, and; ii) the movement of new-age gang players across police jurisdictions challenges the sharing of police information. This innovative work will be of interest to researchers in Criminology and Criminal Justice, as well as related disciplines including Sociology and Anthropology studying gangs and group-organization. It has strong implications for practitioners and professionals working in law enforcement, public policy, or with at-risk youth/young adults.

Studying Youth Gangs

Studying Youth Gangs
Author: James F. Short
Publisher: Rowman Altamira
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2006
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780759109391

Provides an introduction to the study of gangs how we define them, what we know and not know about gangs. This title offers both a domestic and international view of processes of delinquency and gang formation and identity. It is suitable for criminal justice, sociology and social work, parole practitioners, and public defenders.

Street Gang Patterns and Policies

Street Gang Patterns and Policies
Author: Malcolm W. Klein
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2010-04-12
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0199890102

In the past two decades, many prevention and suppression programs have been initiated on a national and local level to combat street gangs--but what do we really know about them? Why do youths join them? Why do they proliferate? Street Gang Patterns and Policies is a crucial update and critical examination of our understanding of gangs and major gang-control programs across the nation. Often perceived solely as an urban issue, street gangs are also a suburban and rural dilemma. Klein and Maxson focus on gang proliferation, migration, and crime patterns, and highlight known risk factors that lead to youths form and join gangs within communities. Dispelling the long-standing assumptions that the public, the media, and law enforcement have about street gangs, they present a comprehensive overview of how gangs are organized and structured. The authors assess the major gang programs across the nation and argue that existing prevention, intervention, and suppression methods targeting individuals, groups, and communities, have been largely ineffective. Klein and Maxson close by offering valuable policy guidelines for practitioners on how to intervene and control gangs more successfully. Filling an important gap in the literature on street gangs and social control, this book is a must-read for criminologists, social workers, policy makers, and criminal justice practitioners.

Street Gangs

Street Gangs
Author: Max G. Manwaring
Publisher:
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2005
Genre: Electronic government information
ISBN:

The primary thrust of the monograph is to explain the linkage of contemporary criminal street gangs (that is, the gang phenomenon or third generation gangs) to insurgency in terms f the instability it wreaks upon government and the concomitant challenge to state sovereignty. Although there are differences between gangs and insurgents regarding motives and modes of operations, this linkage infers that gang phenomena are mutated forms of urban insurgency. In these terms, these "new" nonstate actors must eventually seize political power in order to guarantee the freedom of action and the commercial environment they want. The common denominator that clearly links the gang phenomenon to insurgency is that the third generation gangs' and insurgents' ultimate objective is to depose or control the governments of targeted countries. As a consequence, the "Duck Analogy" applies. Third generation gangs look like ducks, walk like ducks, and act like ducks - a peculiar breed, but ducks nevertheless! This monograph concludes with recommendations for the United States and other countries to focus security and assistance responses at the strategic level. The intent is to help leaders achieve strategic clarity and operate more effectively in the complex politically dominated, contemporary global security arena.

Global Organized Crime

Global Organized Crime
Author: Mitchel P. Roth
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 549
Release: 2017-01-20
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317267176

In the maelstrom of globalization and cyberspace, organized crime continues to defy definition. A diverse array of activities is perpetuated by criminal organizations, criminal groups and associations, and gangs, and it is clear that one specific label is no longer adequate. This book offers a uniquely global approach to organized crime and the multitude of forces that shape it in the 21st century. As well as discussing definitions of and the historical roots of organized crime, this book examines various forms of organized crime around the world in the US, Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, Russia and Europe, Asia and Africa. This revised and updated new edition includes coverage of: the rise of the ’Ndrangheta in Italy and their global expansion; the impact of drug legalization on organized crime and the problem of methamphetamine; organ trading, money laundering, and animal poaching; changes in gang traditions and gangland penitentiaries; the decentralization of Mexican cartels, the growth of opium production in Myanmar, and the drug war in Africa; and the advancement of ISIS and the emergence of the Silk Road and the Dark Net. This book is essential reading for students engaged in the study of global and transnational organized crime, with features including chapter overviews, key terms, critical thinking questions, and case studies.

Youth Gangs in International Perspective

Youth Gangs in International Perspective
Author: Finn-Aage Esbensen
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2011-12-14
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1461416590

As a steady source of juvenile delinquents and an incubator for future adult offenders, the youth gang has long been a focus of attention, from their origins and prevalence to intervention and prevention strategies. But while delinquent youth form gangs worldwide, youth gang research has generally focused on the U.S. Youth Gangs in International Perspective provides a needed corrective by offering significant studies from across Europe, as well as Trinidad-Tobago and Israel. The book spans the diversity of the field in the cultural and scholarly traditions represented and methods used, analyzing not only the social processes under which gangs operate and cohere, but also the evolution of the research base, starting with the Eurogang Program’s definition of the term youth gang. Cross-national and gender issues are discussed, as are measurement concerns and the possibility that the American conception of the youth gang is impeding European understanding of these groups. Among the topics covered: Gang dynamics through the lens of social identity theory. Defining gangs in youth correctional settings. Gang gender composition and youth delinquency. From Stockholm: a holistic approach to gang intervention. Gang membership as a turning point in the life course. The impact of globalization, immigration, and social process on neo-Nazi youth gangs. Filling a critical gap in the literature, Youth Gangs in International Perspective will find a wide audience among criminologists, policymakers specializing in youth crime, and researchers and graduate students in criminology, political science, and youth studies.

Youth Gangs

Youth Gangs
Author: James C. Howell
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 22
Release: 1998
Genre: Law
ISBN:

The United States has seen rapid proliferation of youth gangs since 1980. During this period, the number of cities with gang problems increased from an estimated 286 jurisdictions with more than 2,000 gangs and nearly 100,000 gang members in 1980 (Miller, 1992) to about 4,800 jurisdictions with more than 31,000 gangs and approximately 846,000 gang members in 1996(Moore and Terrett, in press). An 11-city survey of eighth graders found that 9 percent were currently gang members, and 17 percent said they had belonged to a gang at some point in their lives (Esbensen and Osgood, 1997).Other studies reported comparable percentages and also showed that gang members were responsible for a large proportion of violent offenses. In the Rochester site of the OJJDP-funded Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency, gang members (30 percent of the sample) self-reported committing 68 percent of all violent offenses (Thornberry, 1998). In the Denver site, adolescent gang members (14 percent of the sample) self-reported committing 89 percent of all serious violent offenses (Huizinga, 1997). In another study, supported by OJJDP and several other agenciesand organizations, adolescent gang members in Seattle (15 percent of the sample) self-reported involvement in 85 percent of robberies committed by the entire sample (Battin et al., 1998).This Bulletin reviews data and research to consolidate available knowledge on youth gangs that are involved in criminal activity. Following a historical perspective, demographic information ispresented. The scope of the problem is assessed, including gang problems in juvenile detention and correctional facilities. Several issues are then addressed by reviewing gang studies to provide aclearer understanding of youth gang problems.An extensive list of references is provided for further review.

The History of Street Gangs in the United States

The History of Street Gangs in the United States
Author: James C. Howell
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 179
Release: 2015-06-09
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1498511333

This book is an historical account of the emergence of youth gangs and the transformation of these into street gangs in the United States. The author traces the emergence of these gangs in the four major geographical regions over the span of two centuries, from the early 1800s to 2012. The author’s authoritative analysis explains gang emergence and expansion from play groups to heavily armed street gangs responsible for a large proportion of urban crimes, including drive-by shootings that often kill innocent bystanders. Nationwide, street gangs now account for 1 in 6 homicides each year, and for 1 in 4 in very large cities. In recent years, the number of gangs, gang members, and gang homicides increased, even though the U.S. has seen a sharp drop in violent and property crimes over the past decade. The author’s historical analysis reveals the key contributing factors to transformation of youth gangs, including social disorganization that occurred following large-scale immigration early in American history and urban policies that pushed minorities to inner city areas and public housing projects. This analysis includes the influence of prison gangs on street gangs. The first generation of prison gangs emerged spontaneously in response to dangers inside prisons. The second generation was for many years extensions of street gangs that grew enormously during the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in large urban areas in which public housing projects have served as incubators for street gangs. The third generation of prison gangs is extremely active in street-level criminal enterprises in varied forms, often highly structured and well managed organizations that are actively involved in drug trafficking. In recent years, returning inmates are a predominant influence on local gang violence. Now, prison gangs and street gangs often work together in street-level criminal enterprises. This book identifies the most promising ways that gang violence can be reduced. The best long-term approach is a combination of gang prevention, intervention, and suppression strategies and programs. Targeted suppression of gang violence is imperative. Street-workers that serve as violence interrupters can break the cycle of contagious gang violence.

Gang Prevention

Gang Prevention
Author: James C. Howell
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 24
Release: 2011-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1437944825

This report presents an overview of gang research and programs in the United States and examines how gangs form and why youth join them. It is based on information on research findings and prevention strategies disseminated by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention as part of its comprehensive anti-gang initiative. This report describes how community members can start assessing their gang problems and enhance prevention and intervention activities to help prevent delinquency and gang violence. It identifies promising and effective programs for gang prevention. Illustrations. This is a print on demand edition of an important, hard-to-find publication.

Alt-Right Gangs

Alt-Right Gangs
Author: Shannon E. Reid
Publisher: University of California Press
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2020-09-22
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0520300440

Alt-Right Gangs provides a timely and necessary discussion of youth-oriented groups within the white power movement. Focusing on how these groups fit into the current research on street gangs, Shannon E. Reid and Matthew Valasik catalog the myths and realities around alt-right gangs and their members; illustrate how they use music, social media, space, and violence; and document the risk factors for joining an alt-right gang, as well as the mechanisms for leaving. By presenting a way to understand the growth, influence, and everyday operations of these groups, Alt-Right Gangs informs students, researchers, law enforcement members, and policy makers on this complex subject. Most significantly, the authors offer an extensively evaluated set of prevention and intervention strategies that can be incorporated into existing anti-gang initiatives. With a clear, coherent point of view, this book offers a contemporary synthesis that will appeal to students and scholars alike.