1. Gangs
Role of the police

2. Definition No one definition Common elements Persistence over time
Appearing in a group publicly
Self-Identification as a gang
Symbols
Claims over turf and criminal activity

3. Gangs
Over gangs, 780,000 gang members (broad estimates, usually based on police data)
Traditionally common in urban slum areas
Migration to smaller communities? Occurring, does not appear to be planned
Provides sense of belonging, status, success, self-esteem and cohesion, protection

4. Studies Thrasher (1920s) Cloward and Ohlin (1960s)
Do gangs cause delinquency?
Recruitment of already delinquent youth
Or, do gangs make it easier to become delinquent?
Increase in violence in gang, esp. lethal

5. Studies Considerable drug use
Sale of drugs for profit varies from gang to gang
Increase in autonomous female gangs
Traditional: “auxiliary” groups
Increase in females as members of predominantly male gangs

6. Interventions Suppression (CJS)
Intervention: detached workers, outreach workers, social work orientation
Organizational change: units that deal with gangs that are specialized, trained (often police)
Community organization: community mobilization, outgrowth of social disorganization theory

7. Interventions
Opportunity: providing alternative opportunities to gang members
Suppression: Harsher penalties, making gang activities a crime, not particularly effective
Detached workers: rather mixed results
Gang units: an evaluation indicated that police actually receive little training

8. Interventions: GREAT Gang Resistance education and training
Sme positive results: better attitudes toward police, more negative views of gangs, less victimization, less risky behaviors
However, gang participation was not reduced

9. Gang units
Most focus on intelligence gathering and description and investigations of crimes committed by gangs. Not particularly effective
Boston Gun project: targeted firearms among gang members—if a gang member commits a crime with a gun, all members are given increased attention (stop and question,

10. Gang units
Loitering ordinances, check on probationers and paroles, (legal harrassment)