Gangs, Drugs, and Violence (From Drugs and Violence: Causes, Correlates, and Consequences, P 160-176, 1990, Mario De La Rosa, Elizabeth Y Lambert, Bernard Gropper, eds. -- See NCJ-128781)

• NCJ Number: 128789
• Author(s): J Moore
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 17 pages
• Grant Number(s): DA03114
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services; Superintendent of Documents
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This analysis of research on the relationships among youth gangs, drugs, and violence concludes that common stereotypes are erroneous.

Abstract

The stereotypes reflect information conveyed by the media and police, but this information is almost always sensationalized. In contrast, research on traditional Mexican-American gangs in East Los Angeles showed that gang-related violence was more often a function of intergang conflict than of the drug trade. In addition, most youth gangs were not involved in drug-related violent criminal activities. Moreover, drug-related violence stemmed from drug dealing by individual gang members or former gang members more than from activities of the youth gang as an organized entity. Furthermore, most of the gangs identified by law enforcement officials as heavily involved in drug-related criminal activities did not emerge from traditional youth gangs established in black and Hispanic communities before the great increase in crack use. Instead, these groups grew out of criminal organizations formed solely for crack distribution and have few if any of the behavioral characteristics found among more traditional youth gangs. Table and 35 references