NCJ Number
173307
Date Published
1998
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Characteristics of street gangs, gang structures, and gang members are discussed; theories of gang existence, membership, and proliferation are addressed; and several approaches to gang intervention are described.
Abstract
Street gangs are informal social groups and do not usually have membership rosters, organizational charts, or written criteria for membership. Street gangs manifest a wide variety of structures but are loosely characterized as being composed principally of minority young males and as being generally located in urban areas. Street gangs usually exhibit highly versatile illegal behaviors, define themselves as oriented to crime, and are only moderately cohesive with distributed or unclear leadership. Traditional gangs regenerate themselves through two or more generations of members over 20 years or more. Compressed gangs have a shorter life, generally 10 years or less, and are far smaller than traditional gangs. Specialty gangs, also ordinarily under 10 years duration, do not develop subgroups but may develop rather distinct crime roles for individual members. Because of differences in size, traditional gangs generate almost twice as many arrests as do compressed and specialty gangs, yet specialty gangs yield almost twice the number of arrests per member as do traditional gangs. Although street gangs have generally been considered a big city problem, they have also been located in smaller urban centers over the years. Gang members often engage in antisocial and criminal activities, and this facet of their lives draws the most public and official attention. Gang violence is committed more frequently against other gang members than against the general public, the lethality of gang violence has increased with the ready accessibility of handguns, and most gang violence is not committed in furtherance of organizational pursuits other than intergang rivalry and revenge. Gang theories are reviewed in terms of what causes gang formation, why young people join gangs, drug-related gang activities, the urban underclass as a cause of gang formation, and the diffusion of gang culture. Approaches to gang intervention are described that pertain to law enforcement suppression, gang databases, civil legal procedures, gang truces, and community organization. 39 references and 2 notes