CHAPTER 8 PEERS AND DELINQUENCY JUVENILE GANGS AND

CHAPTER 8: PEERS AND DELINQUENCY: JUVENILE GANGS AND GROUPS © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

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 © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

ADOLESCENT PEER RELATIONS § Acceptance by peers: § 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: most likely to engage in antisocial behavior © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

PEERS 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 © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

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 © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

THE DIRECTION OF PEER INFLUENCE § Do antisocial peers cause delinquency or do antisocial youths seek delinquent friends? § According to routine activities: § Kids with like-minded peers without parental control are more likely to be involved in delinquency § According to rational choice theory: § Kids choose to get involved with delinquent peers because they have high status in the youth culture © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

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 § Members have self recognition of their gang status and special vocabulary, clothing, signs, colors, graffiti, and names § There is a commitment to criminal activity © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

WHAT ARE GANGS AND HOW DO THEY DEVELOP? § Some defining factors: § Three or more members, generally aging from 12 to 24 § A shared identity, typically linked to a name and often other symbols § Some permanence and a degree of organization § Involved in an elevated level of criminal activity § Caused by cracks in the normal fabric of society—interstitial area (Thrasher) © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

CONTEMPORARY GANGS § Extent and location: (NYGS): § A significant majority of urban areas report the presence of gangs, and gangs exist in all level of the social strata § Disorganized or “transitional neighborhoods” § While gangs are disproportionately 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 © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

TYPES OF GANGS AND GANG BOYS § Social gang § Some minor drug and alcohol use; focus on social activities § Party gang § Focus on drug use and sales, but not other delinquent activities § Serious delinquent gang § Focus on serious delinquent activity, but not drug dealing or use § Organized gang § Heavy involvement in serious delinquent behavior and violence © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

COHESION § Gangs are “near-groups” § Groups with limited cohesion, impermanence, minimal consensus of norms, shifting membership, disturbed leadership, and limited definitions of membership expectations © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

AGE AND GENDER § Age § Ranges widely (ages 8 to 55); average is increasing § Gender § Traditionally male § Gender-mixed gangs are becoming more common § One-third female; females in all or majority-female gangs with lowest delinquency rate © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

GIRLS AND GANGS § Why do girls join gangs? § § § Financial opportunity Identity and social status Peer pressure Escape turbulent family lives Protection © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

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 © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

AFRICAN AMERICAN GANGS § First organized in the early 1920 s § 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 © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

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-shirts § 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) § The nation’s most dangerous gang © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

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 © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

ANGLO GANGS § First American youth gangs were European American § 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 § Often referred to as skinheads, and may be identified by a shaved head and Nazi or KKK markings © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

HYBRID GANGS § Mixture of racial/ethnic groups § Mixture of symbols and graffiti associated with different gangs § Wearing colors associated with rivals § Less concerned with territory § Members who switch gangs © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

CRIMINALITY AND VIOLENCE § Members of youth gangs commit more crime than any other group of youths § Three explanations for association of gang membership and delinquency: § Selection hypothesis § Facilitation hypothesis § Enhancement hypothesis § Gang criminality has numerous patterns § Some gangs specialize in drug dealing; others partake in a wide variety of criminal activity © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

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 © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

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 © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

WHY DO YOUTHS JOIN GANGS? § Trait view § Gang members have biological and psychological traits that make them prone to violence and to joining gangs § Life course view § Gang involvement is indirectly related to continued participation in street crime and to the probability of being arrested. § Rational choice view § Youths may make a rational choice to join a gang © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

CONTROLLING GANG ACTIVITY § Law enforcement efforts § Youth service programs § Gang details § Gang units § Community control efforts § Detached street worker § Gang outreach § Recreation © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

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 © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

INTERVENTION Ø The Cure Violence program approaches violence as an infectious disease by: ü Detection and interruption ü Behavior change ü Changing community norms Ø How effective has Cure Violence been? Ø Is it possible for a community program to truly neutralize a lifetime of social deficits? © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

SUMMARY § Different views on the association between peers and delinquency exist § Characteristics of gangs § § § Extent and location Role of females in Racial and ethnic makeup Criminality Method of formation § Be familiar with gang control strategies © 2017 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.