CHAPTER THIRTEEN

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

• GANGS AND DELINQUENCY

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History of Gangs

• Frederick Thrasher
• 1927 study of 1300 Chicago gangs
• 1st to look at as organized with purpose
• Why do juveniles develop groups?
• How do they turn into gangs?
• What did Thrasher conclude?

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Gangs in the 1950s and 1960s

• Satisfied need of juveniles
• Viewed as substitute for unattainable rewards
• Acceptance for delinquent behavior
• Seemed to disappear in 60s
• Successful community based programs
• Police gang control units
• What happened in the mid 1960s?

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What Happened in the 1970s?

• Reemerged
• Why?
• Drug profits
• Organized business
• Economic times
• Changes in the family

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What Did the 1980s Bring?

• Gangs more violent
• Public concerned
• Small towns and rural areas
• Diversity in composition
• Dangerous weapons
• Role of gangs in drug trafficking

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Gang Expansion

• Correlates with other transitions
• Industrial revolution
• Prohibition
• Wartime
• Social unrest of 1960s
• From 1972 to 1980 gang membership doubled
• 199930,500 gangs with 816,000 members
• California has the most, followed by Texas

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What is a Gang?

• A self-formed association of peers, bound
  together by mutual interests, with identifiable
  leadership, well defined lines of authority who
  act in concert to achieve a specific purpose
  which generally includes illegal activity and
  control over a particular territory, facility or
  type of enterprise.

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Reasons for Joining a Gang

• Associate with peers
• Money
• Protection

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Types of Gangs

• Hedonistic
• Uses drugs
• Little involvement in other delinquency
• Instrumental
• Commit property crimes
• Use drugs, but dont usually sell
• Predatory
• Serious, violent offenses
• Use and sell drugs
• Least prevalent

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Characteristics of Gang Members

• Age
• 8 to 55
• Involved by 10, member by 12
• By age 13 half have
• Fired a gun
• Gotten a gang tattoo
• Been arrested
• Seen someone killed or seriously injured
• Why are gang members aging?

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Characteristics of Gang Member (contd)
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Racial and Ethnic

• Asian gangsmost victimization if in own ethnic
  group
• Anglo gangs
• Most often alienated middle-class youths

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Gender and Gangs

• Females traditionally auxiliary unit
• Role
• Look out for males committing crimes, carrying
  guns or drugs
• Girlfriend of male gang members
• 20-30 of gang members now female
• Autonomous female gangs

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Gang Migration

• Most in urban areas
• 15,000 in small cities, suburbs and rural areas
• WHY?
• Massive movement from cities
• Make up of cities
• Some homegrown gangs in small towns
• Franchises

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Gang Communication

• Clothing
• Team logos connected to gangs
• Kids who wear this attire
• How do schools combat gang attire?
• Graffiti
• Whats the purpose?
• How can it lead to violence?
• Police graffiti interpreters

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Response to Gangs

• Mesa, Az. Project
• Task force
• Police
• City representatives
• Adult and juvenile probation
• Boys and Girls clubs
• Treatment agencies
• Work with youth in gangs or at high risk
• Monitored daily
• Gang education
• Mentoring
• Computer skills
• Tattoo removal

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Controlling Gang Activity

• Law enforcement
• Sweeps
• Surveillance
• Aggressive patrol
• Intelligence gathering
• Follow-up investigation
• Gang Resistance Education Training
• In school
• Resolve conflict and help understand how gangs
  and violence impact quality of lives

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Prosecution of Gangs

• Difficulties
• Cooperation of victims and witnesses
• Intimidation by gang members
• Credibility of victims and witnesses
• Specific laws
• Gang participation
• Gang recruitment
• Gangs and weapons
• Drive-by shootings
• Graffiti
• Public nuisance

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Public Nuisance

• Arizona example
• Whole gangs be declared a nuisance
• Court order requiring them to abide by
  restrictions
• No weapons
• No fighting
• No graffiti
• No gang paraphernalia
• No association with gang members
• If violate, arrest

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New York Gang Law

• Misdemeanor to make graffiti or possess graffiti
  instruments
• Gang assault 1st and 2nd degree
• An assault when aided by 2 or more people
• Level of the offense is higher

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Review

• What happened with gangs in the 1960s?
• Where are most gangs located?
• What is the definition of a gang?
• What are the reasons for joining a gang?
• What are the 3 types of gangs, and which is the
  most serious?
• What distinguishes Asian gangs?

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Review

• How have female gang members changed?
• What is the purpose of graffiti?
• What characterizes the Mesa, AZ gang project?
• What types of laws are used to prosecute gangs?
• What is the NY gang law?

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GANGS AND DELINQUENCY

• END CHAPTER THIRTEEN