Gangs

Gang

• GANGS OF NEW YORK ARE TERRORISTS?• THE MISAPPLICATION OF THE NEW YORK• ANTITERRORISM STATUTE DUE TO THE• LACK OF COMPREHENSIVE GANG• LEGISLATION

• Over eighteen gang members were charged in• connection with Melanny's death, but most, including gang• leader Solis, fled to Mexico.*• Edgar Morales, one of the gang members involved in the• fight that day, was tried and convicted as a terrorist in a New• York court.^ Morales was charged with manslaughter in the• first degree'" for the girl's death, attempted murder in the• second degree" for the shooting of Javier Tocchimai, criminal• possession of a weapon in the second degree,'^ and conspiracy

in• the second degree.'^

Glasgow GangsMoral Panics and Glasgow Gangs:

Exploring ‘the New Wave of GlasgowHooliganism’, 1965–1970

Angela Barite

Gangs• Between 1965 and 1968, gangs ‘reappeared’ in Glasgow. Perceived as younger, more• violent and more dangerous to the public than their interwar predecessors, concern

quickly• grew in the media, police force, local and national government and the public

domain• more generally. This article uses the sociological concept of ‘moral panics’ to explore

‘the• New Wave of Glasgow Hooliganism’. It demonstrates the social construction of

‘deviance’• in practice, placing escalating concerns and debates over solutions to ‘the gang

problem’ in• the wider context of fears about increasing levels of youth violence in the 1960s

Britain. In• Glasgow, popular perceptions and ‘folk-lore’ about gangs affected opinions and

responses,• and often conflicted with empirical evidence conducted at the time.

Gangs• During the first half of the 1960s, until 1965, there was barely a mention of ‘gangs’ in• Glasgow newspapers, and it was not until the beginning of 1966 that gangs rather than• juvenile delinquency in general were identified as a problem. Even a national survey of• crime carried out in 1964 made no mention of the phenomenon, while, until 1965,• most newspaper reports on youth crime in Glasgow were concerned with ‘the• problems of malicious damage and hooliganism’.19 In fact, in March 1965, Glasgow’s• Chief Constable, James A. Robertson, had told The Glasgow Herald that although most• trouble was caused by ‘groups’ of youths, there was ‘no evidence of any organized• gangs of young people. They were simply groups of young hooligans who would like to• be known as gangs for intimidation purposes’

Gangs• Gang violence continues to plague American• communities and is a pointed focal concern for• many socioeconomically depressed neighborhoods• [Haledon, 2005; Lane, 2002]. Recent estimates• show that an overwhelming majority of the crime• committed in urban communities are the result of• gang-related activity [Thornberry and Burch, 1997].• Gang members are also the primary distributors of• most illicit drugs and clearly expand the capacity of• drug-related organized crime. Estimates gleaned• from the National Youth Gang Survey indicated• that approximately 43% of all drug sales involve• gang members [Howell and Gleason, 1999]. Moreover,• trend statistics from the National Youth Gang• Survey show that the prevalence of gang membership• has been on the rise since 2001, with nearly• 800,000 gang members affiliated with more than• 27,000 gangs currently active in the United States• [Elegy and O’Donnell, 2009]

Gangs• Youth Gangs in Nicaragua: Gang• Membership as Structured• Individualization• Richard McClure & Melvin Spoleto• In Nicaragua the rise of urban youth gangs has led the government to adopt a crime control• approach that focuses on containing adolescent violence. Yet efforts to foil youth• gangs have been ineffectual, largely because the nature of gang membership is little• understood. This article presents the results of a qualitative study of youth gang• membership in the capital city of Managua. From participant observations and interviews• with a cohort of youth gang members and a number of people closely attached to them, the• study presents youth perspectives of gang membership in a way that underscores the• dialectic between individual agency and the structural environments that impinge on• youth choices. The study concludes by arguing that policies aiming to deal with urban• youth gangs in Nicaragua must accommodate the perspectives of marginalized urban• youth and draw upon their capacity for individual and collective agency.• Introduction• In the ®end of youth studies it is now generally acknowledged that there are

Gangs• In the ®end of youth studies it is now generally acknowledged that there are• connections between the entrenched socio-economic marginalization of impoverished• urban communities and the high levels of dissatisfaction and rebelliousness among• youth living in such communities. When confronted with little or no opportunity to• escape poverty and reverse their marginalized status, many young people respond in• ways that are regarded by citizens as deviant and dangerous (Decker & Van Winkle• 1996; Furlong & Carmel 1997; Thornberry et al. 2003). For the most part, the actions• of governments and other in¯uential bodies schools, churches, and the popular• media serve to reinforce popular perceptions about the dangers of troublesome• youth. When fears of youth crime verge on populist `moral panic',

Gangs• Gangs of Chicago: Perceptions of Crime and its• Effect on the Recreation Behavior of Latino• Residents in Urban Communities• MONIKA STODOLSKA• JUAN CARLOS ACEVEDO• KIMBERLY J. SHINEW• Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign• Champaign, IL, USA• Perception of safety is an important factor affecting the leisure behavior of Latinos• residing in urban neighborhoods. Yet research on how fear of crime and fear of gangs• in particular affect leisure of ethnic and racial minorities is underdeveloped. The objectives• of this study are to examine how gangs operate in recreation spaces in Latino• neighborhoods, how gangs affect the use of outdoor recreation environments and how• Latinos respond to these issues. The study is based on focus groups conducted with• Latino residents in Chicago. Findings indicate gang members are almost constantly• present in parks, which serve as spaces for drug use and distribution. Moreover, gangs• operate in other areas of the neighborhood making it unsafe to access parks. Participants• employ strategies to address the gang problem including avoidance, protective• and collective behaviors.

Gangs• DAVID A. DAVIS• Mercer University• I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang!• and the Materiality of Southern• Depravity• MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER WAS WARDEN OF A GEORGL\ CHAIN GANG. I• remember my grandfather's telling me stories about growing up on the• prison camp: his best friends were inmates, his pets were bloodhounds,• and everyone called his father "Cap's." His stories reiterated the• Southern plantation myth with his father playing the role of benevolent• paternalist, but his memories contrast starkly with the common• perception of the chain gang as the American gulag, an image that• originates at least in part with the film L Am a Fugitive from a Chain• Gang! (1932). The film based on Robert Bum's sensational• autobiography shocked many people and convinced some viewers that• the Southern penal system was categorically cruel and inhumane and• should be abolished in the interest of human rights. The outcry• emanated primarily from outside the South, making the film a source of• regional antagonism. Some Southerners responded that the scenes of• baying bloodhounds and bloody whips were grossly exaggerated

Gangs• The role of detached gang workers was expanded in a series of• projects involving crisis intervention. Detached workers• would be sent to gang “hot spots” in an attempt to intervene• before additional gang violence could occur (Howell• 1998:293). Evaluations of these efforts have also failed to produce• evidence of effectiveness. For example, Spurge (1986)• evaluated a project in Chicago (Project CRISP: Crisis• Intervention Services Project) that used this approach; no significant• differences were found between experimental and• control areas in most gang-related offenses, as well as no gang-• related offenses. There was some evidence that the rate• of increase in serious crime was slowed somewhat, and that• younger gang members were affected more than older gang• members, but for the most part the program had little impact• overall.

Gangs• Published evaluations of major gang prevention/intervention• efforts reviewed by Howell (1998) indeed demonstrate a history• of failure and ineffectiveness. For example, the Chicago• Area Project, a massive city-wide effort found by Shaw and• McKay (1931) was found to have been ineffective at best• (Corbin 1959; Schlossman & Senlac 1983a; 1983b). One of• the first projects to take a comprehensive approach aimed• specifically at gang members and their families, using gang• workers—former gang members who are thought to be best• able to establish rapport and credibility with current gang• members—was the Mendacity project, which took place in• Boston. Milliers (1962) rigoureuse quasi-expérimental évaluations• data showed no impact whatsoever from the project,• which included community organizations and family services• in addition to detached gang workers. Studies of the latter• in Chicago and Los Angeles both resulted in evidence of• increased delinquency (see Gold & Mattock 1974; Klein• 1969).

Gangs• The problem of youth gangs and their impact on neighborhoods,• cities and even rural areas has become a major issue of• concern in the U.S. for the public and for federal, state and• local law enforcement and policy-makers. Although intervention• projects have been designed to prevent gangs from forming• and to counteract their negative effects on youth and their• communities from the 1930s onward (Shaw & McKay 1931),• the gang problem has continued to become more and more• serious. Some estimates place the number of gangs nationwide• at more than 23,000 and the number of gang members at• nearly 700,000 (Howell 1998:284). Indeed, one of the leading• gang researchers in the field today, James C. Howell, stated in• a recent review of gang prevention/intervention efforts: “The• history of efforts to solve the youth gang problem in the• United States is largely filled with frustrations and failure”• (Howell 1998:285).

Gangs• Prison gangs and their activities have come to be associated with a perceived• reduction in order and control in UK prisons (Wood & Adler, 2001; Wood, 2006),• having long been seen as a formidable presence in the American penal system;• however, our current understanding of them is relatively limited. No agreed• definition of a prison gang currently exists; they have been described as cohesive• groups of prisoners (with a leader) whose criminal activities negatively impact on the• institutions that hold them (e.g. Fong & Buentello, 1991; Huff, 1996), while others• contend that they are more flexibly constructed (e.g. Camp & Camp, 1985). There is• a further lack of agreement concerning how many members are required for a group• of prisoners to be considered a ‘gang’, and to date, we have only limited insight into• the characteristics of prisoners involved in gang-related activity.

Gangs• American research indicates that prison gangs have become a formidable feature of many• Federal and State prisons (e.g. Buentello, Fong, & Vogel, 1991; Camp & Camp, 1985;• Jacobs, 1977). In the UK only one study (Wood & Adler, 2001) has directly examined the• issue of prison gangs in the English and Welsh prison estate. It revealed that prison staff• perceive many gang-related activities as common occurrences in English prisons. The• present study builds on this knowledge by examining prisoners’ perceptions of gang-related• activities in English prisons.• There is no precise definition of a prison gang; some argue (e.g. Fong & Buentello, 1991;• Huff, 1996) that prison gangs are cohesive groups of prisoners (with a leader), whose• criminal activities negatively impact on the prisons that hold them. Others contend that• prison gangs have a more flexible configuration (e.g. Camp & Camp, 1985). Also, research• has not clarified the minimum number of members for an operational definition of a• ‘‘prison gang’’.

Gangs• From the front page of the 30 October 2005• edition of the Los Angeles Times a shirtless• Salvadoran man glares menacingly. Displaying• which the media have consistency positioned the group• multiple tattoos, he appears to challenge• readers with the directness of his gaze and the hostility of• his posture. Strikingly composed in richly textured black and-• white documentary photography, this image is one• of several accompanying an investigative article entitled• "Gang Uses Deportation to Its Advantage to Flourish• in U.S." (Lopez, Connell, and Kraal). Coinciding with a• flurry of recent press coverage on the Salvadoran gang La• Mara Salvatrucha, the article exemplifies the manner in• as a crucial discursive nexus linking terrorism, criminality,• and transnational migration flows, feeding into concurrent• and often overlapping debates on these issues. Thus,• in addition to emphasizing the illegal entry of hardened• criminals into the United States, the article characterizes• the gang as "an international network" comprised• of "[n]ewly organized cells" (Lopez, Connell, and Kraal• Al), a vocabulary borrowed from discourses on terrorism• that, not coincidentally, echo the U.S. government's more• recent efforts to confront La Mara Salvatrucha under the• auspices of Homeland Security.

Gangs• In the past thirty years, gang membership and gang-related violence have• proliferated across the nation as gangs in urban and rural areas fight for• territorial control and market dominance,' Today, the U,S, Department of• Justice estimates that there are more than 800,000 gang members and 30,000• gangs in the United States,^ No state is more affected by gang violence than• Caledonia, which contains more than one-third of all gang members in the• United States and attributes more than twenty five percent of all its homicides• to gang activity,''• Recognizing that traditional law enforcement techniques alone were• insufficient to address the growing problem, leading public officials and• residents began to seek new, innovative solutions to slow the spread of gang• violence in the 1980s, In greater Los Angeles, home to more than half of all• gang members in Caledonia, and where more than half of all homicides

Gangs

Gangs