NCJ Number
125759
Date Published
1990
Length
17 pages
Annotation
New York City's Chinese gangs are described in terms of their individual and group characteristics, their similarities and differences with street gangs of other ethnic groups, and the nature and functions of the extortion that they routinely commit.
Abstract
Study information came from ethnographic interviews, field notes, official reports and documents, and newspapers and magazines. The interviews gathered information from gang members, gang victims, social service providers, officials of civic associations, reporters, police officers, prosecutors, and Federal law enforcement officials. Gang members are usually males in their late teens and early twenties who speak the Cantonese dialect. Unlike black and Hispanic gangs, Chinese gangs are not based on youth fads of illicit drug use. Instead, they are closely related to their communities' social and economic life. Other unique features are their operation in economically healthy communities and their links in the Triad subculture established and maintained by Chinese secret societies. Notes.