Youth Street Gangs

Gangs have been heavily pathologized in the last several decades. In comparison to the pioneering Chicago School's work on gangs in the 1920s we have moved away from a humanistic appraisal of and sensitivity toward the phenomenon and have allowed the gang to become a highly plastic folk devil outside of history. This pathologization of the gang has particularly negative consequences for democracy in an age of punishment, cruelty and coercive social control. This is the central thesis of David Brotherton’s new and highly contentious book on street gangs. Drawing on a wealth of highly acclaimed original research, Brotherton explores the socially layered practices of street gangs, including community movements, cultural projects and sites of social resistance. The book also critically reviews gang theory and the geographical trajectories of streets gangs from New York and Puerto Rico to Europe, the Caribbean and South America, as well as state-sponsored reactions and the enabling role of orthodox criminology. In opposition to the dominant gang discourses, Brotherton proposes the development of a critical studies approach to gangs and concludes by making a plea for researchers to engage the gang reflexively, paying attention to the contradictory agency of the gang and what gang members actually tell us. The book is essential reading for academics and students involved in the study of juvenile delinquency, youth studies, deviance, gang studies and cultural criminology.

In the quarter century since the first edition of this book, scholarship on gangs in general, and especially youth gangs, has grown exponentially. This massive expansion of the literature on youth gangs, especially in the past decade, warranted this expanded and updated fourth edition. The first chapter has an expanded discussion of definitional issues, plus recent data from the National Youth Gang Survey, material on the evolving economic nature of gangs, and gang use of internet and social media. The second chapter continues by examining gang violence and drug involvement, and the extent to which they are intercorrelated, with new material on victimization of gang members and gang involvement in drug use and sales. Chapter 3 focuses on racial and ethnic decadences in gangs and the important role of race and ethnicity on gang membership and gang behavior in the U.S. The fourth chapter examines female gangs and gang membership and the changes that have taken place in the nature and extent of female gang membership over time. The fifth and sixth chapters place contemporary American gangs in the historical and international perspective. Chapter 5 includes a new section on youth gangs in the new millennium, and Chapter 6 has been reorganized, particularly to reflect the burgeoning research on European and other international gangs since the turn of the millennium. Chapter 7 has been expanded to include recent developments in the actual and potential application of biosocial, psychological, and life course developmental theories to gangs. Chapter 8 provides a comprehensive, multilevel theory of gangs with updates including new propositions, and new evidence for both the new and old propositions, based on more recent work in theory development and theory testing for gangs. The ninth and tenth chapters’ revisions focus on legislative and justice system efforts to deter gang crime and membership. Chapter 10 also focuses on intervention and assistance programs outside the justice system, including discussion of the Gang Resistance Education and Training program. The final chapter concludes by considering the future of youth gangs in the U.S. and elsewhere in light of historical and cross-national evidence, theory, and experience with gang interventions and programs, considering more recent developments in those areas, and whether they justify any change and for what would be expected of the future of youth gangs.

In this absorbing new collection, Short and Hughes and their distinguished coauthors investigate why and how we study youth gangs. Over the last half-century of research by criminologists, sociologists, and gang experts, investigations of gang behavior have become increasingly specialized and isolated from studies of delinquency and deviance. The authors challenge popular and inaccurate definitions of gangs vs. non-gang youth groups, and show how the amazing diversity of gangs_both domestic and international_demands more rigorous study. This book stimulates thinking about valid methods of defining and interpreting gang behavior, in order to better understand delinquent and criminal behaviors, and their control. It is an ideal text for criminal justice, sociology, and social work courses, and a resource for law enforcement, probation and parole practitioners, and public defenders.

This unique volume by eminent gang researchers presents valuable new data on European youth gangs, describing important characteristics of these groups, and their similarities and differences to American gangs. Their findings from the Eurogang Research Program highlight the impact of immigration and ethnicity, urbanization, national influences, and local neighborhood circumstances on gang development in several European countries. It is an important resource on crime, delinquency and youth development for criminologists, sociologists, youth workers, policy makers, local governments, and law enforcement professionals.

This systematic analysis of the youth gang problem in the USA focuses on current patterns of gang behaviour, with reference to historical and cross-cultural dimensions. The author integrates his own theory and practices with material on research programmes set up to address the problem.

This book is an examination of contemporary gangs in American cities. Gangs have proliferated over the past ten years and pose a new set of challenges to public officials, law enforcement agencies, and urban educators. Most major cities are now confronted with serious problems derived from gang violence, drug traffic, and disruption of the public educational system. In the face of deindustrialization and deepening recession, many minority youngsters view gangs as attractive alternatives to a futile search for employment in a deteriorating urban economy. Perhaps most significant, gangs are now beginning to emerge in small and medium-sized cities. Some of the nation’s leading scientists and scholars have been brought together in this book to examine the contemporary contours of America’s gang problem, including Daniel J. Monti, Joan Moore, Scott Cummings, Howard Pinderhughes, Diego Vigil, Ray Hutchison, Felix Padilla, Jerome H. Skolnick, Pat Jackson, and Robert A. Destro. New material dealing with wilding gangs, migration and drug trafficking, and public educational disruption appear in this volume. Other topics covered include how gangs are organized, what social function they serve, their relation to conventional society, and the social and psychological factors that contribute to their rise. The relationship of the contemporary gang problem to past research is explored, and a rich variety of case histories and comparative analysis is presented. The book also includes a section on public policy.

Drawing on extensive interviews with gang members, this book provides a vivid portrayal of gang life. Topics include the profiles and motivations of gang members; the processes of gang evolution, organization, and recruitment; gang members' uses of violence, media, and technology and the role of gangs in the drugs trade and organized crime

"[Gangs in America′s Communities] is one of the most comprehensive treatments of gangs in the marketplace. . . . I highly recommend its adoption as you will not be disappointed and, most importantly, neither will your students." —Elvira White-Lewis, Texas A&M University-Commerce Gangs in America′s Communities, Third Edition blends theory with current research to help readers identify essential features associated with youth violence and gangs, as well as apply strategies for gang control and prevention. Authors Dr. James C. Howell and Dr. Elizabeth Griffiths introduce readers to theories of gang formation, illustrate various ways of defining and classifying gangs, and discuss national trends in gang presence and gang-related violence across American cities. They also offer evidence-based strategies for positioning communities to prevent, intervene, and address gang activity. New to the Third Edition: A series of new case studies document the evolution of numerous gangs in large cities, including the community aspect, evolutionary nature, and how cities influence levels of violence. New discussions highlighting the role of social media, insights into how gangs use it to recruit members, and the response from law enforcement. Current nationwide gang trends are discussed to encourage readers to analyze and interpret the most recent statistics for which representative data is available. Updated macro and micro gang theories enable readers to explore a recent encapsulation of leading developmental models. New discussions around female gang members offer readers potentially effective programs for discouraging females from joining gangs—along with highly regarded delinquency prevention and reduction programs that have the potency to be effective in reducing gang crimes among young women. A comprehensive gang prevention, intervention, and suppression program in Multnomah County, Oregon shows how theory was successfully applied to reduce gang activity in a local community. New research on "gang structures" and their rates of crime illustrate the connections between violent crimes and the amount of violent offenders within a gang. Additional discussion of distinguishing features (e.g., typologies) of major gangs, and numerous examples of gang symbols, tattoos, and graffiti has been added to help readers identify and differentiate various types of gangs. Instructors, sign in at study.sagepub.com/howell3e for a Microsoft Word test bank, Microsoft PowerPoint slides, and more!