DELINQUENCY AND THE GANG OR MASKED INTIMACY - ADULT DELINQUENT GANGS IN A CHICANO COMMUNITY - FINAL NARRATIVE REPORT

• NCJ Number: 54901
• Author(s): R HOROWITZ
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 40 pages
• Grant Number(s): 77-N1-99-0066
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE ROLE OF THE GANG IN THE LIVES OF ITS MEMBERS IN AN INNER-CITY CHICANO COMMUNITY WAS STUDIED. MEMBERS OF THE GANG WERE ADULTS BETWEEN 22 AND 26 YEARS OF AGE.

Abstract

THE 1977 STUDY WAS A FOLLOWUP TO AN EXAMINATION OF ONE GANG OVER THE 1971 TO 1973 PERIOD. INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED WITH GANG MEMBERS AND WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY WORKERS WHO KNEW MEMBERS WELL. THE HIGHEST DROPOUT RATE FOR THE GANG OCCURRED IN 1973 TO 1974 WHEN MOST MEMBERS WERE 18 OR 19 YEARS OLD, AND MEMBERSHIP SUBSEQUENTLY STABILIZED. AN INCREASING PERCENTAGE HAD MARRIED OR FATHERED CHILDREN, AND THERE WAS A GRADUAL MOVEMENT INTO THE WORK FORCE. MEMBERS WERE STILL INVOLVED IN MAINTAINING THEIR REPUTATION ON THE STREET AS A GANG AND WERE ALSO INVOLVED IN CERTAIN ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES AS A GROUP, IN ADDITION TO ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES AS INDIVIDUALS. MOST PROFITABLE ILLEGITIMATE OPPORTUNITIES WERE IN THE DRUG MARKET. NORMATIVE EXPECTATIONS OF GANG MEMBERS STRUCTURED THEIR ACTIVITIES IN ORDER TO ALLOW THEM TO BE INVOLVED IN SEVERAL SPHERES. ACTIVITIES WERE ALSO STRUCTURED SUCH THAT MEMBERS WOULD NOT BECOME OVERCOMMITTED TO ONE PARTICULAR SET OF ACTIVITIES. THOSE WHO DID BECOME OVERCOMMITTED TO ILLEGITIMATE ACTIVITIES WERE ASKED TO ACCOUNT FOR THEIR BEHAVIOR. THROUGH NORMATIVE EXPECTATIONS AND PATTERNS OF INTERACTION AMONG GANG MEMBERS, INDIVIDUALS KEPT THEIR OPTIONS OPEN AND DID NOT FOCUS THEIR LOCUS OF COMMITMENT. THE CODE OF HONOR FOLLOWED BY MEMBERS CONCENTRATED ON MANLINESS. WITH MANY WIVES WORKING, THE DOMINANT BEHAVIOR OF THE YOUNG MEN WAS FREQUENTLY REFLECTED IN ATTEMPTS TO MAINTAIN THEIR AUTONOMY BY STAYING AWAY FROM HOME OR IN THE PHYSICAL ABUSE OF THEIR WIVES. THE MUTUAL OBLIGATION NETWORK WAS CONSISTENT WITH THE WAY GANG MEMBERS VIEWED THEMSELVES AND WITH THE WAY THEY WANTED OTHERS TO SEE THEM. THIS NETWORK, HOWEVER, PLAYED ONLY A MARGINAL ROLE IN THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SURVIVAL OF MEMBERS. MATERIAL EXCHANGES SERVED, WITHIN THE CULTURAL CONTEXT, TO CONCEAL THE PROBLEMATIC NATURE OF GANG SOLIDARITY. IN REFLECTING ON WHY THE GANG REMAINED A GANG RATHER THAN VIEWING THEMSELVES AS A SOCIAL CLUB, IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE PRIMARY PAYOFF IN GANG MEMBERSHIP IS EXPRESSIVE AND NOT UTILITARIAN. THE CONTINUITY OF GANG MEMBERSHIP IS BASED ON THE NATURE OF GROUP SOLIDARITY. SUPPORTING DATA AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE INCLUDED. (DEP)