NCJ Number
109076
Journal
Contemporary Crises Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: (1987) Pages: 129-158
Date Published
1987
Length
30 pages
Annotation
The relationship between Chicano gangs, crime, the police, and the Chicano community is complex. Neither the 'problem' of youth gangs nor the specialized police units created to cope with this problem arises in a social vacuum.
Abstract
Rather, both emerge from a particular historical structuring of social, economic, and political relations. This paper investigates how and why a 'moral panic' arose concerning Chicano youth gangs in Phoenix in the late 1970's and early 1980's. A variety of qualitative and quantitative data from media reports, interviews, and juvenile court records are used to assess whether it was the actual behavior of Chicano youths or the social imagery surrounding them that formed the basis for the 'gang problem' in Phoenix. The author suggests that the image of gangs, and especially Chicano gangs, as 'violent' converged with that of Mexicans and Chicanos as 'different' to create the threat of disorder. In addition, it was in the interests of the police department to discover the 'gang problem' and build an even greater sense of threat so as to acquire Federal funding of a specialized unit. (Author abstract)