NCJ Number
171597
Date Published
1998
Length
112 pages
Annotation
This concise look at gangs contains a series of essays that provide a context for discussing gangs, their activities and society's response.
Abstract
In the 19th century, overcrowded immigrant areas in several eastern American cities gave rise to the first youth gangs. As the country developed from an agrarian to an industrial society, low-income farm workers from southern and southwestern States headed north and west, creating in more cities the same negative effects: overcrowding, deteriorating conditions, poverty and gangs. The book discusses whether the existence of gangs in the United States is a serious problem, the factors that encourage gang behavior, and how gangs can be eliminated. Individual sections propose and discuss the following: (1) savagery and violence are inherent in gang life; (2) gang violence is overblown by the media; (3) gangs are active in business and the military; (4) gangs are not confined to urban areas; (5) young people join gangs to find a family, to gain respect, to become wealthy; (6) Federal and local law enforcement must get tough on gangs; (7) gangs do not need to be eradicated; (8) gang communities themselves can eradicate gang violence; and (9) schools can solve the gang problem. The book includes study questions based on the material presented. Notes, figures, appendixes, references, bibliography, index