ARMIES OF THE STREETS - A REPORT ON THE STRUCTURE, MEMBERSHIP AND ACTIVITIES OF YOUTH GANGS IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK

• NCJ Number: 19851
• Author(s): T H MCDONALD
• Date Published: 1974
• Length: 21 pages
• Corporate Author: New York State Assembly
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS STUDY REPORT OF THE NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE FAMILY COURT PROVIDES A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE CAUSES, DEVELOPMENT, ATTITUDES, AND ACTIVITIES OF NEW YORK CITY YOUTH GANGS.

Abstract

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE YOUTH GANGS OF THE 1950'S AND THE YOUTH GANGS OF THE 1970'S ARE OUTLINED. IT IS NOTED THAT THE GANGS OF THE 1970'S RESORT TO MORE VIOLENT MEANS, ARE MORE LIKELY TO USE FIREARMS, AND ARE MORE INVOLVED IN SUCH CRIMES AS ROBBERY AND BURGLARY THAN WERE THEIR EARLIER COUNTERPARTS. THE POSSIBLE CAUSES OF THE RISE OF YOUTH GANGS - MEDIA VIOLENCE AND DESIRE FOR SOCIAL STATUS - ARE ALSO REVIEWED. THE REPORT STATES THAT GANG MEMBER MAY RANGE IN AGE FROM 7 TO 30 YEARS. ALTHOUGH MANY GANG MEMBERS ARE FROM POORER SOCIAL BACKGROUNDS, AN INCREASING NUMBER OF MIDDLE-CLASS YOUTHS HAVE BEEN JOINING THESE GROUPS. THE REPORT DETAILS THE TYPICAL YOUTH GANG ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE, DESCRIBES GANG RECRUITMENT ACTIVITIES, AND PROVIDES SEVERAL EXAMPLES OF COMMON YOUTH GANG ACTIVITIES. A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON YOUTH GANGS IS PROVIDED IN THE APPENDIX.