Transcript Chapter 8: Peers and Delinquency: Juvenile Gangs and Groups

CHAPTER 8:
PEERS AND
DELINQUENCY:
JUVENILE
GANGS AND
GROUPS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students should:
1.
Be familiar with the influence of peers on
delinquency
2.
Know the various definitions used to describe
gangs
3.
Describe the
4.
Compare the various theories of gang formation
5.
Describe the various forms of gang-control
efforts that are in use today
makeup of gangs.
ADOLESCENT PEER
RELATIONS
 Parents are the primary source of
influence in early years
 Between ages 8 and 14, children typically
begin to seek out a stable peer group
 Friends have a greater influence than parents over
decision making
 Children form cliques
 Small groups of friends who share intimate knowledge and
confidences
 Also belong to crowds
 Loosely organized groups who share interests and
activities
 Adolescent self-image is formed by
perceptions of one’s place in the social
world
ADOLESCENT PEER
RELATIONS
 Acceptance by peers:
 Has a major impact on socialization
 Close affiliation with a high-status peer crowd
protects against depression and other negative
psychological symptoms
 Poor peer relations:
 Related to high social anxiety
 Types of Friends:
 Controversial status youth
 Aggressive kids who are either highly liked or
intensely disliked by their peers
 This sort of youth is most likely to engage in antisocial behavior
PEER RELATIONS AND
DELINQUENCY
 Research shows that peer group
relationships are closely tied to
delinquent behavior
Co-offending
 Delinquent acts tend to be committed in small
groups rather than alone
Adolescents who maintain
delinquent friends are
more likely to engage in
antisocial behavior and
drug use
QUESTION
1. A clique is defined as:
a.
b.
c.
d.
loosely organized groups of children who
share interests and activities
small groups of friends who engage in crime
and use drugs and alcohol
small groups of friends who share activities
and confidences
large hoards of youths who share common
locations like schools and neighborhoods
THE DIRECTION OF PEER
INFLUENCE
 Do antisocial peers cause delinquency or
do antisocial youths seek delinquent
friends?
 According to control theory:
 Antisocial adolescents seek out like -minded peers for
criminal association and to conduct criminal transactions
 According to labeling theory :
 Deviant kids are forced to choose deviant peers
 According to social learning theory:
 Delinquent friends cause law-abiding youth to get in
trouble
 According to routine activities:
 Kids with like-minded peers without parental control are
more likely to be involved in delinquency
QUESTION
2. Co-offending is defined as:
a.
b.
c.
d.
the tendency for youths to commit 2 or
more delinquent acts rather than a single
act
the tendency for youths to use drugs or
alcohol when they commit delinquent
acts
the tendency to commit delinquent acts
in small groups rather than alone
the tendency for youths to commit
delinquent acts when with older youths
Definition of A Gang?
• An association of peers, bound together by
mutual interests, with identifiable
leadership, well-developed lines of
authority, and other organizational features,
who act in concert to achieve a specific
purpose or purposes, which generally
include the control over a particular
territory, facility, or type of enterprise.
Could this not define a police department or any
other organization for that matter?
Walter Miller’s Definition of A Gang
 A youth gang is a self-forming association of
peers, bound together by mutual interests,
with identifiable leadership, well-developed
lines of authority, and other organizational
features, who act in concert to achieve a
specific purpose or purposes, which
generally include the conduct of illegal
activity and control over a particular
territory, facility, or type of enterprise.
YOUTH GANGS
 A gang is a group of youths who
collectively engage in delinquent
behaviors
Gang Expert Malcolm Klein argues that two
factors stand out in all definitions
① Members have self recognition of their gang
status and special vocabular y, clothing, signs,
colors, graffiti, and names
② There is a commitment to criminal activity
YOUTH GANGS
The National Gang Center Uses
these defining factors:
① The group has three or more members,
generally aging from 12 to 24
② Members share an identity, typically linked to
a name and often other symbols
③ Members view themselves as a gang, and are
recognized by others as a gang
④ The group has some permanence and a degree
of organization
⑤ The group is involved in an elevated level of
criminal activity
GANG COLORS BY NATION
CONTEMPORARY GANGS
 According to National Youth Gang
Survey (NYGS):
 A significant majority of urban areas report the
presence of gangs, and gangs exist in all level of
the social strata
 An estimated 27,000 gangs containing about 800,000
gang members were active in the United States
 Traditionally operate in disorganized neighborhoods
experiencing rapid population change – “transitional
neighborhoods”
 While gangs are dispropor tionately located in urban
areas, thousands of gangs are located in small cities,
suburban counties, and even rural areas
 Migration:
 NYGS found many jurisdictions have experienced
gang migration, and in a few areas more than half of
all gang members had come from other areas
Youth Gang Migration –
Current Example
 According to NYGS (2010), 65% of rural areas and 74% of
urban areas reported increased gang migration. There
are two reasons for migration:
① Illegitimate reasons, such as drug distribution and other
illegal activities, recruiting members, and avoiding law
enforcement, and
② Legitimate or “social” reasons, such as family moves and
relocating for job opportunities. According to the report,
social reasons outweighed illegitimate reasons as the
lead factors for gang-member migration
 What impact, if any, do you think gang migration has on
local law enforcement and local community?
 What can rural communities and law enforcement do
when they experience an influx of gang activity?
 Should they draw upon the experience of urban areas
who are experienced in dealing with gang problems, or
is there a particular way rural areas should deal the
issue?
Today’s Gangs
Age
 Ranges widely (ages 8 to 55), and average age is
increasing
Gender
 Traditionally male, 1/3 are females, gender-mixed gangs
are more common
 Females in all or majority-female gangs with lowest
delinquency rate
Leadership
 Delinquent gangs tend to be small and transitor y
 Youths often belong to more than a single group or clique
and develop an extensive network of delinquent associates
Communication
 Gangs seek recognition, both from their rivals and from the
community
 Graffiti
 Representing
QUESTION
3. An estimated 27,000 gangs
containing about ______________
gang members were active in the
United States,
a.
b.
c.
d.
320,000
600,000
800,000
1,200,000
QUESTION
4. Which of the following best
describes the most common reason
for gang member migration in the
United States?
a.
b.
c.
d.
political, to spread the influence of
gangs
social, the gang member’s family moves
economic, to spread the drug
distribution network
social, to spread the social networks of
the gang
TYPES OF GANGS
Four Categories:
① Social Gang
 Some minor drug and alcohol use; focus on social
activities
② Party Gang
 Focus on drug use and sales, but not other delinquent
activities
③ Serious Delinquent Gang
 Focus on serious delinquent activity, but not drug
dealing or use
④ Organized Gang
 Heavy involvement in serious delinquent behavior and
violence
 Just as there are different types of gangs, there are
also different types of roles played by gang members
GIRLS AND GANGS
Why Do Girls Join Gangs?
Financial opportunity
Identity and social status
Peer pressure
Escape turbulent family lives
Protection
National Data suggests…
 About 10% of gang members are female.
QUESTION
5. A(n) _________________ gang is
heavily involved in criminality,
particularly in drug sales and they use
violence to establish control over
drug sale territories.
a.
b.
social
party
c.
d.
organized
none of the above
QUESTION
6. National data indicate that about
_______ percent of gang members are
female.
a.
b.
20
15
c.
d.
10
30
ETHNIC AND RACIAL
COMPOSITION
 African American and Latino youths
predominate gang membership
1/2 are Hispanic/Latino
1/3 African American
1/5 European American
 Association between gang member
size, gang problem onset, and
race/ethnicity characteristics
 Larger cities with newer gang problems are
twice as likely to report greater variation in
racial/ethnic composition
 Ethnic distribution corresponds to geographic
location
AFRICAN AMERICAN GANGS
First organized in the early 1920s
Maintain a national presence in the U.S.:
 Black P. Stone Nation: 6,000-8,000 members
 Bloods:7,000-30,000 members
 Crips: 30,000-35,000
Unique characteristics
 Nicknames
 Nondescript attire
 Distinctive hairstyles
 Tattooing
 Distinctive graffiti
LATINO GANGS
 Gangs are popular in the Latino culture
 Admission involves rituals that prove their
machismo
 Leadership hierarchy is fixed in some areas, fluid in
others (Southern CA)
 Known for dress code:
 Tank-style t-shir ts
 Territory marked with colorful and intricate graffiti,
stylized lettering and 3-D designs
 Strong sense of turf
 Most feared Latino Gang
 Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)
 This is the nation’s most dangerous gang
QUESTION
7. About half of all gangs in the U.S.
are European American.
a. True
b. False
ASIAN GANGS
 Prominent in New York, Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Seattle, and Houston
 Tiny Rascal Gangsters is the largest and most violent
Asian gang in the U.S.
 Regional gangs also operate on the west
coast
 Unique because they do not share qualities with other
ethnically-based groups
 Victimize members of their own ethnic group
 More organized than other gangs, have recognizable
leaders, more secretive, less territorial, and less openly
visible
 Milwaukee - http://youtu.be/4rYL2FyLSY4
26
Tiny Rascals Gang – Current
Example
Tiny Rascals Gang is the largest Asian gang in the
United States. It consists of both male and female
members (females are known as the “Lady Rascals
Gang”) with an age range of 13-26. Its members are
primarily Cambodian and Laotian. Its known
criminal activities include murder, drive by
shootings, robberies, narcotic violations and
weapons offenses on a nationwide scale.
Why do you think some young Asian-Americans join
gangs?
Are the reasons different from the reasons some young
African-Americans, European-Americans, and Hispanics
join gangs?
ANGLO GANGS
First American youth gangs were
European American
Gangs Of New York
During the 1950’s they competed with
African American and Latino gangs
Today they account for less than 10% of
all gang members
 Members are often alienated middle class youth
 Today they are often referred to as skinheads,
and may be identified by a shaved head and Nazi
or KKK markings
GANGS AND DELINQUENCY
 Members of youth gangs commit more
crime than any other group of youths
 Three explanations for association of gang
membership and delinquency:
①
Selection Hypothesis-kids with histor y of crime and
violence join
②
Facilitation Hypothesis-they join to facilitate their
deviant behavior
③
Enhancement Hypothesis-selection and facilitation work
interactively
 Gang criminality has numerous patterns
 Some gangs specialize in drug dealing, others
partake in a wide variety of criminal activity
GANG VIOLENCE
Gang members are:
More violent than non-members
More likely to carry weapons
More likely to commit homicide
Violence is used to:
Transform a peer group into a gang
Maintain the gang’s internal discipline
Prestige crimes
 When a gang member steals or assaults to gain
prestige in the gang
The 5 US Cities with Worst Gang Violence
– Cur rent Example
 According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (2012), Long Beach, CA, Los Angeles, CA,
Newark, NJ, Oakland, CA and Oklahoma City, OK, are the
U.S. capitals of gang homicide. In L.A. and Long Beach,
less than 5% of all homicides were associated with drug
trade or use. In Oakland 12.5% of homicides were drug related, and in Oklahoma City, 25.4% of homicides were
related to drugs. In Los Angeles and Long Beach, gang
homicides account for the majority of homicides among 15
to 24-year-olds: 61 and 69%, respectively.
Why do you think gangs are involved in so much violence?
What impact does gang violence have in our communities?
What can be done to reduce gang violence?
What can be done to discourage youths from joining gangs?
Do you think if less teens joined gangs, overall gang member
ship would decline? Why or why not?
WHY DO YOUTHS JOIN
GANGS?
 Anthropological View
 Appeal to tribal instincts
 Social Disorganization/Sociocultural
View
 Youth gangs form due to destructive
sociocultural forces in disorganized areas
 Anomie/Alienation View
 Alienation leads to gang involvement
 Social conditions encourage
gang activity
WHY DO YOUTHS JOIN
GANGS?
Psychological View
Youth with antisocial personality defect
are the most likely group to join gangs
Rational Choice View
Youths join to obtain desired goods and
services
 i.e. illegal drugs
Personal safety
Fun and support
QUESTION
8. According to the ________________
view, gangs appeal to adolescents’
longing for the tribal process that
sustained their ancestors.
a.
b.
c.
d.
liberation
social injury
rational choice
anthropological
CONTROLLING GANG
ACTIVITY
Law Enforcement Efforts
Youth service programs
Gang details
Gang units
Community Control Efforts
Detached street worker
Gang outreach
 Homeboy Industries, Inc.
Recreation
WHY GANG CONTROL IS
DIFFICULT
 Aggressive tactics can be overzealous
and alienate the community
 Social and economic solutions seem
equally challenging
 It is a socio-ecological phenomenon,
requiring social solutions that do not
have an easy fix
SUMMARY
Peers influence delinquency
Different views on association between
peers and delinquency exist
Historical development of gangs
Recognize the extent and location of gang
problem
Know the roles of females in gangs
Racial and ethnic makeup of gangs differs
Understand gang criminality
Know the theories of gang formation
Be familiar with gang control strategies