Criminal Violence:
Patterns, Causes, and
Prevention
Riedel and Welsh, Ch. 11
“Gangs and Gang
Violence”
A Problem of Definition

No consensus on the meaning of the term

Definition provides indication of the number
of gangs


Gang member vs. gang motive
Definition provides information for resource
allocation and public fear of crime
Cities may deny there is a gang problem for
political and social reasons.
 Awareness of gang problems hurts tourism.

Focusing the Definition

“A street gang is any durable, streetoriented youth group whose involvement
in illegal activity is part of its group
identity” (Klein & Maxson, 2006, p. 4)


Definition has been agreed upon by more
than 100 American and European researchers.
Minimal definition is sufficient for
distinguishing street gangs from other youth
groups.
Are You a Gang Member?

Self-nomination One method of
determining who is a gang member is to
ask adolescents.
Research done indicates that as definitions
involved more gang characteristics,
respondents became more antisocial.
Self-nomination has been shown to be a
useful technique.
Are You a Gang Member?
(cont.)




Law enforcement uses crimes committed
as an important criterion.
Also uses self-nomination technique to
designate individuals
Rural counties rely on display of tattoos,
colors, or other symbols.
Self-nomination and crimes committed are
two most important measures.
Growth and Change in Gangs
Figure 11.1
Percent Change in the Estimated Number of Gangs,
2002-2007
70
64.4
60
50
Percent
40.9
40
30
20
25.5
15.3
17
10
0
Larger Cities Suburban Cnts. Smaller Cities
Area
Rural Cnts.
Total
Size of the Problem

Number of gangs increased to 27,300
by 2007.
Decreased to 20,100 by 1995, then increased
Figure 11.1 shows greatest change from
2002 to 2007 has been in rural counties.
Compared to total number of gangs, rural
counties have the smallest number while
larger cities have the largest number.
Demographics




Age: Percent of gang members over 18
has consistently increased, to 63.5% in
2006.
Gender: Over 90% of gang members are
males.
Race/Ethnicity: Hispanic or Latino gang
most frequent, followed by AfricanAmerican gangs
White gangs are the fewest in number.
Gang Organization and
Violence

Five types of gangs : Traditional,
Neotraditional, Compressed, Collective,
and Specialty
Specialty gang is narrowly focused on specific
set of criminal acts such as burglary or drugs.
Gang Violence: Most frequent crimes are
drug sales, aggravated assaults, and
robberies.
Gang-related homicides are 5% to 7%.
Explanations

Strain Theories: Based on Merton’s
theory
Cohen: Lower-class rejection of middle-class
values
Cohen’s delinquent acts were “malicious,
nonutilitarian and negativistic”
Cloward and Ohlin: Saw a conflict
between lower- and middle-class values and
limited structural opportunities
Posited illegitimate opportunity structures
Explanations (cont.)

Cultural deviance theories emphasize
conflicts in cultural beliefs
Walter Miller’s theory emphasized focal
concerns: cultural values that coincidentally
conflicted with middle-class beliefs
Marvin Wolfgang and Franco Ferracuti
postulated a subculture of violence theory:
Lower-class youth use violence as a method of
solving interpersonal problems
Explanations (cont.)


Social control theories try to explain
why people do not commit crimes and
violence.
Travis Hirschi focused on the social
bond:
What are the social forces and institutions
that “keep people in line”?

James Vigil and Steve Yun applied
social control and multiple marginality to
Mexican gangs.
Interventions

Five Types of Intervention
Suppression includes arrest, incarceration, and other
forms of criminal justice.
Social Intervention includes social and psychological
approaches, street workers, and religious conversions.
Organizational Change and Development
Community Organization
Opportunities Provision refers to job training, increasing
opportunities for employment, and assistance with school.
Operation Ceasefire

Boston Police Department started
program to reduce gang violence.
Focused on small number of serially
offending, gang-involved youth
Emphasis was on gun trafficking within the
state.
“Lever pulling” meant that any violent
event would set off a coordinated response by
police and social services.
Evaluations were positive and programs
in other cities were started.