Gangs and CrimeGangs and Crime

The Consensus Based Approach to The Consensus Based Approach to Defining Gangs: Defining Gangs: Walter MillerWalter Miller

• Surveyed police and youth workers in 26 cities

• Asked respondents “How would you define a gang?”

• Five criteria most commonly mentioned

Characteristics of Gangs:Miller, 1975

73

91

100

95

100

0 20 40 60 80 100

Territoriality

Continuousassociation

Identifiableleadership

Organization

Violence

Percent Reporting Criterion

The Result of Survey Findings: A Consensus Based Definition of A Consensus Based Definition of

GangsGangsA gang is a group of recurrently associating individuals with identifiable leadership and internal organization, identifying with or claiming control over territory in the community, and engaging either individually or collectively in violent or other forms of behavior

Extent of Gang Problem According to Extent of Gang Problem According to Law EnforcementLaw Enforcement

• The National Youth Gang Survey conducted since 1995• In 2002, over 2100 LE agencies surveyed• Youth gangs defined in survey as group of youths or group of youths or

youth adults in your jurisdiction that you or some other youth adults in your jurisdiction that you or some other responsible persons in your agency or community are responsible persons in your agency or community are willing to identify or classify as a ‘gang’willing to identify or classify as a ‘gang’.

Number of Gangs Reported Number of Gangs Reported NationallyNationally

23,888

31,000 30,50028,700

26,00024,500

21,500

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2002

Source: National Youth Gang Survey

Number of Gang Members Reported Number of Gang Members Reported NationallyNationally

664,906

846,000 816,000780,000

840,500772,500

731,500

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2002

Source: National Youth Gang Survey

Gangs & Gang Members in Las VegasGangs & Gang Members in Las Vegas

119 146 159 167 179 321 308

3,508

4,263

5,098

5,8056,232

7,216

6,660

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Gangs Gang Members

Are These Groups Gangs?Are These Groups Gangs?

Police Perceptions v. Research Findings on the Nature of Gangs

Characteristics of Gang According Characteristics of Gang According to Policeto Police

• Organized

• Clear leadership

• Continuous association

• Territorial

• Distinctive dress

• Violent

How Organized Are Street Gangs?Two PerspectivesTwo Perspectives

1. Gangs as organized crime1. Gangs as organized crime • Martin JankowskiMartin Jankowski• Influential gang structures

– no formal leadership, leadership shifts

• Horizontal gang structures– several leaders with equal authority

• Vertical gang structures– formal and fixed leadership structures

Second perspectiveSecond perspective

2. Gangs as disorganized “non-groups”2. Gangs as disorganized “non-groups”• Leon Yablonsky• Street gangs comprised of sociopaths • No leadership structure• Shifting memberships• Limited cohesion• Little normative consensus• Gangs are something between a mob and a

group

What Research Shows About Gang What Research Shows About Gang OrganizationOrganization

• Gangs are loose collections of age-graded cliques

• High member turnover

• Little normative consensus

• Generally no hierarchical leadership

• No collective goals

Are Gangs Territorial?Are Gangs Territorial?

• Historically true

• Degree of territoriality varies greatly

• Autos have decreased territoriality

Do Gangs Have Distinctive Styles of Do Gangs Have Distinctive Styles of Dress?Dress?

• The diffusion of gang culture

• Adoption of gang garb and mannerisms

What is Being Counted As Gangs by What is Being Counted As Gangs by Law Enforcement?Law Enforcement?

• Reality NE to LE perceptions

• Counts primarily “law violating youth “law violating youth groups”groups”

• Concept developed by Walter Miller

The Law Violating Youth GroupThe Law Violating Youth Group

• 3 or more youth• Temporary and casual relationships• Leadership shifting and undefined• Engage recurrently in illegal activities• Crimes not systematic

Recalculating Number of Gangs and Recalculating Number of Gangs and Gang MembersGang Members

• Ratio of law violating youth groups to street gangs in typical urban area is 80 to 80 to 11

• Ratio of law violating youth group members to gang members is 30 to 130 to 1

• Thus, revised LE counts

• 300 street gangs300 street gangs

• 26,000 street gang members26,000 street gang members

Gangs and CrimeGangs and Crime

The Threat Posed by The Threat Posed by Street GangsStreet Gangs

The Gang-Violence NexusThe Gang-Violence Nexus

• Gang members more likely to commit crimes

• Particularly true for violent crimes

• Also commit crimes at a higher rate

Cross-Sectional Evidence of Link Cross-Sectional Evidence of Link Between Gangs & ViolenceBetween Gangs & Violence

• Interviews with samples of gang members and non-gang members in Denver, Aurora, and Broward County, FL

• Gang identified through social service referrals and self-reports

• Self-reported criminal behavior

Huff’s Findings on Gang vs. Non-Huff’s Findings on Gang vs. Non-Gang ViolenceGang Violence

Gang member

Non-gang member

Auto theft 45% 4 %

Assault 51 % 35 %

Mugging 11 % 4 %

Drive-by 40 % 2 %

Homicide 15 % 0 %

CCW 79 % 22 %

Drug sales 19 % 8 %

Shoplifting 30 % 14 %

Problems with Cross-Sectional Problems with Cross-Sectional StudiesStudies

• The problem of causal order

• A selection effect– gangs recruit violent youth

• Need different methodology to isolate effect of gang membership on violence

Longitudinal Longitudinal Studies of Gang-Crime NexusStudies of Gang-Crime Nexus

• Denver and Rochester Youth Development studies

• Follow sample of youth over course of early adolescence into early adulthood

• Find more violent during active gang membership

Putting Gang Violence Putting Gang Violence into Contextinto Context

Few Youth are in GangsFew Youth are in Gangs• 7-9 percent of all young males report gang

membership at some point • active for only a few months to a year• According too NYGS - 731,500 gang 731,500 gang

membersmembers in 2002- almost all male• That year, were 28 million males age 10-24 28 million males age 10-24

in U.S.in U.S.• Or, roughly 2 percent of all males gang 2 percent of all males gang

membersmembers

Gang Crime Represents Small Gang Crime Represents Small Proportion of All Crime in Proportion of All Crime in

CommunitiesCommunities

• How “gang-related” crime defined affects statistics

• Affects extent of gang crime reported by LE

• Two ways “gang-related” crime is defined

1. Motive-based definition1. Motive-based definition

• Crime that is function of or motivated function of or motivated by gang goalsby gang goals

• Used in ChicagoUsed in Chicago

2. Member-Based Definition2. Member-Based Definition

• Any crime committed by known gang Any crime committed by known gang member, regardless of motivationmember, regardless of motivation

• Used in Los AngelesUsed in Los Angeles

How We Know Gang Crime How We Know Gang Crime is Small Proportion of All is Small Proportion of All

CrimeCrime

4 Sources of Information4 Sources of Information

1. National Estimates of 1. National Estimates of Gang Crime from LEGang Crime from LE

• 1994 NIJ Gang Survey

• LE asked for number of gang-related crime

• 580,000 gang-related crimes reported

• 14 million Part I crimes that year

• Roughly 4%4% of all serious crimes

2. Survey of State 2. Survey of State Prison InmatesPrison Inmates

• Find similar proportions

• 6 percent6 percent report having been gang member at time of the arrest

3. National Crime 3. National Crime Victimization SurveyVictimization Survey

• Only 6 %6 % of all serious offenses involved 2 or more juveniles

• 5 %5 % of victims reported crime involved gang members

Gangs and GunsGangs and Guns

What We KnowWhat We Know

• Gang members more likely to report gun ownership

• No evidence gangs routinely possess sophisticated weapons

• Guns seizures from gang members in Chicago and LA

Gangs and DrugsGangs and Drugs

The Gangs-Drugs The Gangs-Drugs ConnectionConnection

• Jerome Skolnick’s research

• Concluded gangs were highly organized drug distribution networks

• LA Crips and Bloods migrating across U.S.

• Search for new drug markets

Majority of research has failed to Majority of research has failed to confirm gangs-drugs linkconfirm gangs-drugs link

• LA DA study• Malcolm Klein study• McCorkle and Miethe study

Responding to GangsResponding to Gangs

Gang SuppressionGang Suppression

• Priority given to law enforcement, legislation, & prosecution

• Low priority to prevention and Low priority to prevention and treatmenttreatment

• Establishment of police gang units

• Gang rosters and tracking systems

• Focus on surveillance and sweeps

Gang LegislationGang Legislation

• Some states have adopted new criminal codes in response to gangs

• Two forms of legislation enacted• Laws targeting specific “gang” activityLaws targeting specific “gang” activity

– drive-by shootings, graffiti, victim intimidation

• Adoption of comprehensive gang statuteAdoption of comprehensive gang statute– enhanced penalties for gang-related crime

Gang ProsecutionGang Prosecution

• Special problems posed by gang cases

• Creation of specialized prosecution units

• Created in 1/2 of large jurisdictions

• Low caseloads

• Vertical prosecution