Confronting gangs: crime and community

1. What is a gang and why does it matter?

Counting gangs, gang members, and gang crimes

The National Youth Gang Survey / Walter Miller

Police handling of youth gangs / Needle and Stapleton

The National Youth Gang Suppression and Intervention Program / Spergel and Curry

The National Assessment of Law Enforcement Anti-gang Information Resources / Curry, Ball, and Fox

The NIJ Extended National Assessment Survey / Curry, Ball, and Decker

The study of gang problem cities / Malcolm Klein

National Youth Gang Survey / Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

History and trends in gangs and gang behaviors

Demographic correlates of gang involvement

Age

Gender

Race and ethnicity

Socioeconomic status

Region and urban residence

How does the National Survey data compare to national police data?

2. Explaining gangs and gang membership

Why do some places have gang problems and others do not?

Structural control

Structural adaptation

Gang violence across places

Gangs and gang membership across places

Why do some people end up in gangs and others do not?

Criminal propensity theory

Social bond theory

General strain theory

Social learning theory

Gang membership trait theory

Integrated gang membership theories

3. From play groups to Al-Qaeda: how are gangs structured?

Gangs and organization

Gang typologies and gang member behavior

Gang leaders

Gang rules

Gang roles

Gang meetings

Gang money

Gangs in relation to other criminal groups

Gangs and terrorist groups

Transnational organized crime groups and their activities

Comparing criminal groups

4. Gang membership in the life course

Why do adolescents join gangs?

How do adolescents join gangs?

Are all gang members equally involved in gangs?

How long do adolescents remain in gangs?

Why do gang members leave the gang?

How do gang members leave the gang?

5. The link between gangs and crime: why is "gang" synonymous with crime?

Models of gang membership, criminal behavior, and victimization

What types of crimes do gang members commit?

Drug use

Drug dealing

Gun ownership and gun carrying

Serious violence

Violence, victimization, and group process

Coping with gang violence.

6. Girls, women and gangs : does gang membership differ for females?

The scope of female gang involvement

Perspectives on females and gangs : liberated, exploited, or marginalized?

The marginalization hypothesis : Frederic Thrasher and female invisibility

The liberation hypothesis : Anne Campbell and female autonomy

The social injury hypothesis : Joan Moore and female exploitation

Molls

Girls in the gang

Pathways to gang membership

Serious consequences of life in the gang

Leaving the gang

7. Gang members, gangs, and gang crime around the world

Gangs in a global context

Global scope of gang activity

Canada

Europe

Gangs in Great Britain

Gangs in Scandinavia

Latin America and the Caribbean

Gangs in Mexico

Gangs in Trinidad and Tobago

Africa, the Asia Pacific Region, and elsewhere

Gangs in Africa

Gangs in Asia

Gangs in Israel and Russia

Gangs in Australia

8. Gangs and social institutions: causes and consequences

Traditional social institutions

Family

Schools

Labor market

Politics

Emerging social institutions

The Internet

The gang

9. Gangs and the juvenile and criminal justice systems

Addressing gangs in street settings

The police

Police gang units

Gang databases

Civil gang injunctions

Specialized gang prosecution

Anti-gang legislation

Specialized gang probation and parole

Addressing gangs in incarcerated settings

Gang members and jails

Gangs and prison

Prison gang types

Prison gangs and offending behind bars

Correctional responses to prison gangs

Gang members, reentry, and recidivism

Comprehensive criminal justice-based gang interventions

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Anti-Gang Initiative

Boston ceasefire

Massachusetts Shannon Grant Program

10. Responding to gangs : comprehensive programs and a look to the future

Categories of response strategies

Community organization

The Chicago Area Project

Mobilization for Youth, New York City

Crisis Intervention Network, Philadelphia

Social intervention

Midcity Project, Boston

Chicago Youth Development Project

The Group Guidance Project and the Ladino Hills Program, Los Angeles

Opportunities provision

Homeboy Industries (HBI)

Los Angeles Gang Reduction Youth Development (GRYD)

Suppression

Organizational development and change

Gang Crime Prevention Center, Illinois

The legacy of Irving Spergel and the comprehensive gang strategy

The Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative (CAGI)

Prevention

Gang Resistance and Education and Training Program

Continuing issues in responding to gangs

Delinquency programs or gang programs?

National versus local responses

Denial

Definitional issues

Linking causes and responses

Evaluation

The role of gang members in responding to gang crime problems

Variations in gang crime problems

What is the future of gangs?