Ch. 7 Youth Gangs

How organized, durable, and dangerous are most gangs?

Most youth gangs are loosely organized, short-lived, and pose little threat to public safety.
Most crime and violence attributed to gangs is caused by a relatively small number organized groups

How long do most juveniles' gang "careers" last?

gang membership is usually a short term event. most youth abandon their gang memberships after one year or less.

Where do the biggest gang problems and most violent gangs occur?

major cities and metro areas with populations greater than 250,000

What risk factor categories have been identified for gang involvement and what the predictive nature associated with them?

as with risk factors for generalized delinquency, risk factors for gang involvement are grouped into the following categories: individual, family, school, peer, and community.
The more risk factors a youth has, especially if they occur in numerous domains

What population is at greatest risk of becoming victims of gang violence?

other gang members

civil gang injunction

a court issued order designed to disrupt a gang's routine activities by prohibiting specific gangs or gang members from gathering in a certain location and engaging in nuisance behaviors, such as loitering, playing loud music, cursing, and using certain h

crew

when taggers bound together

gang

an ongoing group of people that have a common name or common identifying sign or symbol.

graffiti

wall writings that are specifically a significant part of the Hispanic and Black gang traditions.
proclaims the status of the gang, creates boundaries of their turf, and challenges to rivals
shows opposition to gangs as well, by displaying the rival gang'

horizontal prosecution

an organizational structure strategy whereby individual/small group of assistant prosecutors are responsible for certain phases of the court process

marginalization

when someone or a specific demographic group (females, hispanics) feel inferior to mainstream society

moniker

a gang's street name. the color and type of clothing can also indicate gang membership

pulling levers

a deterrence strategy in which targeted gang members are arrested for the slighted infraction, even jaywalking, in an effort to stop the gang perpetrated violence.

representing

a manner of dressing that uses an imaginary line drawn vertically through the body. anything drawn to the left of the line is represent left, anything to the right is representing right, anything left of the line is representing left.

street gang

a group of people who meet over time, have identifiable leadership, claim control over a specific territory in the community and engage in criminal behavior, either individually or collectively

tagging

a type of graffiti that mimics gang graffiti. however, those who do the tagging are not members of gangs or involved in illegal activity
usually, it's a way for white middle class youths to call attention to themselves

turf

territorial boundaries by gangs, where they operate and protect at all costs from invasion by rival gangs.
gang graffiti usually appears throughout the turn and defines boundaries.

vertical prosecution

involves one assistant prosecutor or small group of assistant prosecutors handing one criminal complaint from start to finish throughout the entire court process

youth gang

preferred terminology in the context of juvenile justice to avoid confusion and stigma with the adult criminal street gang.

What is the main reasons people join gangs?

breaking down social controls, creating a society where there are no social controls, gangs are often in the center of appealing social action, increases self esteem, self identity, receiving emotional support that a member may not get from their own pare

How does a youth gang member differ from other juveniles?

behavior falls into 3 categories: selection, facilitation, and enhancement model.

How strong is the link between drugs, violence, and gang membership?

there is a correlation

How do gangs differ today from those of the 1960s - 1970s?

1960-70s: gangs remained fairly isolated to large cities, like Chicago, LA, and Detroit.
1980s: gang presence was felt in large, rural, and medium sized cities all across the U.S.
1990s: every state reported gang activity

T/F: Being in a gang in the U.S. is illegal

false. the activities that gang partake in are illegal.
often, gangs are a form of domestic terrorism. they commit shootings, assaults, robberies, and drug trafficking. loose-knit groups often evolve into powerful, organized gangs.

defining "gang

varies - gangs can be large, small, criminal, non criminal, etc.
treating all gangs the same will refute any method of treatment attempted to treat the issue
police departments seeking federal funding for gang suppression may take a broad approach in defi

types of gang members

hard core, regular, wannabes, potentials

hard core gang members

5-10% of the gang. have been in the gang the longest and are frequently in and out of jail. they're unemployed, involved with drugs, and very influential in the gang. mid 20s.

regular members

ages 14-17. already been initiated into the gang and tend to back up their hard core members.

wannabes

ages 11-13. not official members of a gang, but act like they are. they may being dressing in gang attire, hang out with the gang, or write the gang's graffiti

potential gang members

kids getting close to an age where they might decide to join a gang. they live in an area where there are gangs or have a family member who is involved with gangs.

classification of gangs

racial, hybrid, female.

racial gangs

classifies the majority of gangs in the U.S.

hybrid gangs

a gang whose members are mixed race and gender.

female gangs

the female's role is often sexual or a weapon carrier for male gang members .

why has gang participation increased so dramatically?

due to the fact that communities, law enforcement agencies, researchers, etc. began defining and counting them. federal funds were given to states who could adequately count and keep track of their gang problem.

why are kids fascinated by gangs?

gangs are often at the center of appeal for kids -- parties, hanging out, music, dancing, drugs, sex

typical" gang member

male, black/hispanic, single parent, highest parental education, limited educational opportunities, school commitment, parental monitoring, attitudes towards police and other authoritative figures, social isolation, street socialization

identifying characteristics of gangs

gang names, symbols, clothing, communication styles (hand signals), tattoos

illegal activities of youth gangs

offending ranges from property crimes, violent crimes against persons, graffiti painting, vandalism, arson, student extortion, teacher intimidation, drug dealing, rape, stabbings, and shootings.

selection model

delinquent or at risk youth join gangs because the lifestyle suits their already existing antisocial traits

facilitation model

asserts that delinquent predispositions may exist but are largely dormant until gang involvement "activates them

enhancement model

positing that gang members are more antisocial than non gang members to begin with

goals of gangs

initiate violence or make money

responding to existing youth gang problem

suppression and law enforcement efforts, gang units and task forces, civil gang ordinances and injunctions, arrest, prosecution, Boston Gun Project and Operation Ceasefire

Youth gang prevention efforts

participating in community awareness campaigns, alerting parents, gang hotlines, athletic events, social service, making presentations to schools about gangs

Operation Ceasefire

incorporated pulling levers and gun-tracing technologies to interrupt the flow of illegal firearms to kids and making them aware of the criminal consequences they would face

outcome of Operation Ceasefire

significant decrease in gun homicides/assaults, and youth possession of firearms per month

how many languages are spoken in Arlington county?

100

IPE records

ki

Counties patrolled by Arlington County Gang force

Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince Williams, Alexandria, Manassas, Arlington

steps to control gangs

intervention, prevention, education, and suppression. Requires a balance between all components, and establishing relationships with the family and community members.

gang task force speaker name

Robert Vilchez

old Clarendon

primarily Asian gang population

Largest gang in the U.S.?

MS13. accepts all races

Where do most gangs occur in Arlington?

southern Arlington

have crime rates in Arlington increased or decreased?

decreased by 35% since 2003.

victims of El Salvador

experienced trauma, murder, extortion

programs in Arlington to reduce gang involvement among youth

Soccer team, where volunteers are local law enforcement, teachers, etc.