NCJ Number
149213
Date Published
1992
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Based on quantitative and semistructured qualitative interviews with 73 Chinese gang members in the San Francisco area, this paper explores the connection between Chinese youth gangs and organized crime groups in Chinese communities in America as well as in Asia.
Abstract
Over the last few years, policymakers and law enforcement officials have been concerned about youth gangs in general and the organization and activities of Asian gangs in particular. This study gathered information from two-stage interviews with 64 active and nine retired gang members. Participants were selected through a snowball sampling approach. Results revealed great variability in the composition, duration, and organization of the nine groups with which participants reported affiliation. Results suggest that Asian street gangs on the west coast are not entrenched in the heroin trafficking network, nor are they taking part in any organized way in illicit activities with tongs or triads. Instead, individual members of Asian gangs may establish loose informal connections with individual members of tongs or triads for specific legitimate or illegal purposes. At best, such groups provide the context for establishing connections between individuals. Nevertheless, heroin trafficking is taking place. However, this is a different reality from recent characterizations of the threat of Asian gangs and the Chinese Mafia in the United States. 32 references